Francois Raquillet Mercurey Les Naugues 2017
- wa92
Category | Red Wine |
Varietal | |
Region | France, Burgundy, Mercurey |
Brand | Francois Raquillet |
Coming from a long ancestry of 11 generations of father-to-son winegrowers, François Raquillet started working the vineyard with his father in 1984 and took over the estate in 1990 with his wife, Emmanuelle. Since then, he has made significant changes to the work philosophy by reducing yields and introducing premium quality barrels. The estate cultivates fourteen hectares of vines in the Côte Chalonnaise and offers a diversified range of white and red wines. Since 2018, their daughter, Jeanne, has joined her parents on the estate.
At Domaine François Raquillet, harvests are manual and each grape is scrutinised by a team of six people at the sorting table so that only the best are selected for production..
The estate has 14 hectares, including 3.5 hectares as Premier Cru, with a yield of approximately 40 hectolitres per hectare for red wines and 50 hl per hectare for white wines. The density is 10,000 feet/ha, which encourages competition between vine stocks and therefore reduces the number and size of the grapes.
Wine Advocate
- wa92
Always one of the high points in the tasting, Raquillet's 2017 Mercurey 1er Cru Les Naugues is showing well, bursting with notes of spicy berry fruit, cherries, dark chocolate and grilled meats. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and altered, with good concentration, bright acids and fine, chalky tannins.