Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Domaine Derey Frères – Marsannay “Les Vignes Marie” 2021 🇫🇷
Marsannay AOC, Côte de Nuits – Burgundy, France

Overview
100% Pinot Noir from Marsannay, the only Côte de Nuits village allowed to produce wines in all three colors (red, white, and rosé). “Les Vignes Marie” is a standout parcel that shows the classic finesse of Burgundy Pinot while keeping Marsannay’s hallmark freshness and approachability.

Aromas & Flavors
Bright red cherry, raspberry, and wild strawberry lead the nose, with hints of rose petal, subtle spice, and earthy forest floor. A touch of mineral undertone brings lift and precision.

Mouthfeel
Elegant and medium-bodied with silky tannins, lively acidity, and a refined structure. Balanced and supple, finishing with freshness that keeps you coming back for another sip.

Winemaking Notes
The Derey family has been established in Marsannay since the mid-17th century, and their work focuses on organic farming and gentle cellar practices. The 2021 vintage, cooler and classic in style, emphasizes delicacy over power.

Food Pairing
Perfect with roast chicken, duck breast, mushroom risotto, or a charcuterie board. Its finesse makes it versatile across light meats and earthy vegetarian dishes.

Verdict
A graceful Burgundy Pinot that captures Marsannay’s balance between Côte de Nuits structure and charming approachability. For me, this sits as one of my most favorite wines in the Côte de Nuits — at a very affordable price point, it punches well above its weight and shows how Burgundy can still deliver tremendous value.

📚 Educational Sidebar – Why Marsannay Matters
Marsannay, at the northern gateway of the Côte de Nuits, is often overshadowed by its neighbors like Gevrey-Chambertin. But its wines deliver exceptional value, showing Pinot Noir with purity, finesse, and terroir character — a smart entry point into Burgundy without the Grand Cru price tag. Cheers! — 10 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Groth Vineyards & Winery is a family owned winery producing Napa Valley wines since 1982, sustainably farming 121 acres of vineyards. Dark Ruby with aromas of dark fruit and smoky spice. On the palate flavors of black cherry and plums with a touch of tobacco and pepper spice. Firm tannins on this full body wine, long finish ending with fruit and toasty oak notes, needs more time to develop and soften. Tasting Sample. — 4 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.2

2015 vintage. As I am moving to Bordeaux (and more precisely Bourg sur Gironde) it makes sense to dig a bit deeper in the Côtes de Bourg appellation. It's not the most renowned part of Bordeaux, even with one pricey superstar (Roc des Cambes). But wow, did this one exceed my expectations! The estate has an ancient history, but up to 1993 the grapes were sold to a local co-operative. The present owner Philippe Betschart moved the estate since 2010 into organic and biodynamical farming. This "Terroir" is a somewhat atypical blend (65% of both Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, with the remainder Merlot) for the region where Merlot is king. More black than red fruit in the nose (cassis, blackberry) with some tobacco and a discrete licorice touch. In the mouth it has amazing elegance. The 14% alcohol go unnoticed, the fruit is bright and lively and the tannins velvety. This has class and depth for the price range (under 20 euros). Highly recommended. — 6 years ago

web bond

9.1

Classic for era/time period. Wines are arguably a step up in more recent vintages with Bio farming and all the additional knowledge and experience time provides. — 6 years ago

Friday Hill

10

Organic farming. Sustainable. — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

Every champagne lover should get to know Fabrice Gass! His tiny estate in Damery, Alexandre Filaine, was a great discovery for me this year. Age-old story of minuscule production, biodynamic farming, and upholding tradition. This older bottling of his NV was stunning and perhaps one of the best I've had recently.

2012 base, with some 2011 blended in as reserve. 2/3 Pino, the rest Chard, and a touch of Meunier. No dosage, no malo, and fermented in old Bollinger barrels - Fabrice's keepsake from his last gig.

Elegant, with laser focus but impressive body. On the nose, super chalky, floral, green apples, pears, and brioche. The palate's incredibly vinous. A complexity that ebbs and flows, with a length that matches. Quite rich and showing some oddly fresh grassy tones. Citrus pith and really mineral on the back notes. What a joy to sip on! — 8 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

The nose shows lemon, lemon peel, chalk, a bit of a creamy, pastry thing, this is a beautiful, inviting mix of scents and flavours. The palate is showing some great acid drive, as expected, lemon curd and a tiny zesty thing, there is width and some grip, it's almost round in the rear, as if some residual sugar was left to bring some balance and fun to this wine. The finish is long, fresh and balanced with delicious lemon curd, some zest and some grip that goes on for a good while. This is not the greatest of german rieslings, but it's good fun. Indigenous yeasts, 5 months on lees. Organic farming. — a year ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

‘Las Alturas' Spanish for 'the heights', a fitting name, this vineyard located on one of the highest grape-growing benches in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. 4th gen Winemaker Joseph J. Wagner from family with farming & winemaking roots in Napa since 1906. Met Joe several times. Deep Ruby (darkest Pinot I have come across). Nice berry and floral spice aromas. Rich cherry/plum flavors with oak, spice and vanilla. Long finish, bold ending with sweet oak notes. Very Nice! A Fav! — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.9

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard emerges mostly from upper blocks on this site, a striking hillside that faces Colgin, where the steep exposure can yield wines of tremendous pedigree. That is exactly what comes through here. Inky red/purplish fruit, spice, rose petal, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco meld together effortlessly, with silky tannins that wrap it all up. Bold and luscious, but with tremendous nuance, the Melanson Cabernet is a total stunner in 2018. As I have written in the past, farming here has improved tremendously in recent years. This is another superb example of the quality that this site is capable of. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown gave the 2018 a relatively short 10 days on the skins. I imagine he thought the site would take care of the rest. It's hard to argue with that. The 2018 is off the charts great. Don't miss it. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2021)
— 5 years ago

Norma Normington

9.2

Light, crisp and refreshing! I’m traditionally not a huge fan of white, when given the choice, this this is wonderful! Added bonus the wine maker and owner recently hosted a virtual wine tasting! Love their organic farming methods ♥️ — 6 years ago

Chris Gillespie

9.0

Felix does a great job on his estate Pinot, big bold and smooth finish. Biodynamic farming at its finest! — 7 years ago

Boxer Briefs

10

Someone said natural. Think this is organic farming but I don’t think this is natural wine. Pierre Gauthier, almost 40 acres of Clay/Limestone Tufa in Benais outside of Bourgeuil. Probably just over $25-$30retail, $45-$60 on a wine list. Smoking good. The composite rating here is insanely low for the QPR. Everyone should be drinking these wines. This is a great wine in the grand scheme of things, it’s all about perspective. Entry level wine, the Jour de Soif has no oak, bright fruit, amazing green edge. There is a wet tobacco thing. Classic wine! Love it. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

The nose reveals; dark currants, blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries. Black tea, expresso roast, anise, crushed dry rocks, big vanilla, clove, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, woody notes with dark fresh & withering flower bouquet.

The body is big and lush. The tannins are big, meaty and tarry. Very dark currants. Blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries & strawberries as they open up. Black tea, expresso roast, steeped fruit tea, anise, crushed dry rocks, dry clay, big graphite, big vanilla, dark spice, clove, light dry herbs, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, cedar with violets dark fresh & withering flower bouquet. The acidity is round, fresh and beautiful. The big, long, well balanced finish is excellent and look forward to having this in 15-20 years. This one will be a stunner!

Photos of, the barn where they make wine and hosts tastings, our private tasting area inside William’s old office. William desk and their outside terrace area.

Producer history & notes...Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, about 15 minutes from the valley floor.

This historical property was originally a cattle ranch. However, records indicate grapes were planted on some of the hillsides as early as the 1870’s. The stone dairy barn, still in existence, was built in 1881.

William & Mary Seavey purchased this property in 1979. The estate was originally founded by the Franco-Swiss Farming Company in 1881 which, closed down when Phylloxera destroyed their grape vines and the Volstead Act (Prohibition) went into effect. At the time of their purchase, they were a horse and cattle ranch. They quickly planted the slopes with grapes and initially sold their fruit to Raymond Vineyards. They have never purchased grapes, all their wine is made from estate grapes. Their vineyards are separated into 20 plus individual blocks.

Today, the property is about 200 total acres of which, 40 acres are planted to vine. Their hillside vineyards produce low yields of rich concentrated fruit. A small block of Chardonnay grows in a cooler lower part of their property. Besides grapes, they also raise cattle which are used to graze the hillsides. They feed the vineyard with the cattle cuttings. In 2003, they were one of the first Napa wineries to install solar.

Mary passed away in 2008 and William died in 2016. There daughter Dorie returned to the family business and now oversees the winery operations. Her brother Arthur also handles national and some small international sales, primarily to restaurants. However, most of their wine is sold direct to consumers.

Seavey’s first commercial vintage was released in 1990 a year after they renovated the stone dairy barn into a working winery. Today this stone building is the centerpiece of the property and is where tastings are hosted.

Since 2011, Jim Duane has been their day to day Winemaker. He’s worked at Robert Mondavi and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It should also be noted that Philippe Melka Winemaker/Consultant has been with Seavey since 1995...one of Philippe’s two initial wine making jobs in the Napa Valley were with Seavey and Lail Vineyards.

Seavy makes about 3,200 cases annually depending on what mother nature brings. They make around two hundred cases of Chardonnay, slightly more Merlot and the rest is of the production is comprised of their Caravina and Estate Cabernets.
— 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Martinelli family has been farming in Sonoma County since 1860. Deep Ruby color with aromas of red berry fruit and sweet spices. On the palate ripe cherry and blueberry flavors, with some dried fruit notes, oak, cinnamon spice and cola tones. Fine mouth coating tannins with balanced acidity carry this rich wine to a long finish. Good now will age a bit! — 2 years ago

Caleb Kneip

9.0

Awesome taste, bright & crisp with a nose like baked bread. But as much as I appreciate the farming and work that goes into it, I would pay $50-60 for it, not 70-100 which is the range I paid. — 2 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.7

Sticking with previous score, I forgot how good this was. 1 bottle left

Their 2016 Syrah SJR Vineyard is a wine from this estate. A blend of 91.6% Syrah and 8.4 Viognier that spent 14 months in 60% new French oak,


estate was created by Steve and Mary Delmas Robertson and focuses on their estate SJR Vineyard located in the Rocks region of Walla Walla. Their daughter Brooke Delmas Robertson manages the farming, and the wines are made by Billo Naravane. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Winemaker Joseph J. Wagner is a 4th generation winemaker from a family with farming and winemaking roots in the Napa Valley since 1906. Met Joe several times. Deep Ruby with red berry fruit aromas and sweet spice notes. On the palate flavors of raspberry and ripe blackberry with sweet oak, cacao and espresso notes. Soft fine tannins perfect acidity and balance long finish ending with mineral character. Nice! A Fav! — 6 years ago

Kendra Knapik

9.2

Good Bordeaux, very clean, biodynamic farming, buy again — 6 years ago

B Williams

8.9

Very nice. Interesting vineyard farming techniques. Pricey — 7 years ago

Ron from VA

9.2

While not as energetic at first release, this is aging beautifully with a real sense of Dave Hilti’s viticulture. Micro farming has its advantages and you can taste the richness and opulence of working just 2 acres. At five full years old, the tannins are tempered about 50% and the acidity “sophisticated”. Settling into a nice place...1 bottle remains — 7 years ago