2007 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Corton-Rognet Grand Cru Burgundy 750 ml

Wine is always best when it’s shared. That’s what it’s good at—bringing people together. There’s the collective thrill of drinking something under-the-radar or value-driven, and then there’s the profound admiration that stems from opening a once-in-a-decade bottling—a wine that has been so taken care of that it returns the favor, drawing those who share it closer together in heart and mind. That’s the kind of wine the 2007 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Corton-Rognet Grand Cru is. 

A delicate garnet hue, the 2007 offers a mesmerizing bouquet of primary fruits—black cherry and black raspberry—layered with aged wisdom: truffle, leather, tilled earth, and licorice. More generosity follows on the palate as ripe black cherry, wild mushroom, charcuterie, and spice box are unfurled, wrapped in a satiny texture. Ten years of cellar slumber has allowed this Grand Cru to both soften and come alive in serene balance. Brooding power and depth are matched by mouthwatering vibrancy and elegance in a way that only perfectly aged Grand Cru Burgundy can deliver. 

We’ve rarely been so in love with a wine. If the price tag makes you think twice, don’t let it. This deserves its spot on the top shelf. That being said, our eight cases are here at the best price in the nation. We hope you take advantage of it. 

When co-owner Romain Taupenot was 12 years old, he helped his grandfather sell their family wines as a part of a caravan camped out on Burgundy’s iconic Route Nationale 74. Today—20 years after he took the reins along with his sister, Virginie, at the Taupenot-Merme estate—the wines they once sold from their car to tourists grace the wine lists at venerated establishments like Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, Proof in DC, NoMad in LA, and Michael Mina’s paean to Burgundy, RN74 in Seattle. 

Part of this success is because of the changes that Romain made: The business-school graduate—who never missed a harvest, even when he was working in finance—converted the estate’s 25 acres (including many Grand Cru and Premier Cru parcels) to organic farming in 2001, and he preached the gospel of Taupenot wines globally, gaining the tiny label adoring fans on every continent. 

But much of the winemaking success of Taupenot-Merme is due to the changes that Romain resisted. He uses native yeasts, no enzymes, and no additives, eschewing the next-generation instinct to change and outsmart tradition. “I have learned to stay behind my wines,” he says. “I think today that great wines have this ability to surpass themselves in time and that the intervention must be minimalist to guarantee their authenticity.” 

At the heart of Taupenot’s 2007 then, is its source: the Côte de Beaune’s famed hill of Corton. Taupenot’s parcel is not even one acre in size, a single climat known as Corton-Rognet, situated on a northeast-facing slope that perfectly captures the morning rays while avoiding over-exposure in the afternoon. It is some of the best terroir on earth and Taupenot has deftly translated it into a wine of equal billing. 

When we opened this in the office last week a hush came over the room. Swirling and sniffing the wildy complex nose from oversized Burgundy stems was like group meditation. When the wine hit our palates, laughter broke out. It was preposterously good. “This is it,” someone said, and we all knew it was true.