Lavaux St-Jacques is the signature cuvée of the Mortet estate, with Domaine Denis Mortet crafting what many consider the benchmark example. Now, Arnaud Mortet has two wines coming from this great 1er Cru—and there is very little between them in terms of quality. Lavaux is always the last site to be harvested by Arnaud Mortet due to its cooler location. Even if it sits right next door to Clos St-Jacques, Lavaux does not have the protection of the high walls, and is fully open to the cooling, northern airstreams that flow down from the Combe de Lavaux valley. The Arnaud Mortet bottling comes from two small parcels of over 70-year-old vines with rocky and shallow soils (less than 50 cm) and many pieces of ‘Gevrey silex’ indicating a notable alluvial influence on the site.
Denis Mortet, Arnaud’s late father, once described archetypal Lavaux as having “…an exquisite texture. It is solid, becoming more and more slender, very elegant and close to what one expects from a Grand Cru.” What was true then remains true today. The 2022 is a blinder: opulent, layered, packed with dark cherry fruits and loads of spice. All the fruit was destemmed; roughly 30% by hand, with the central stem painstakingly removed with scissors, leaving perfectly intact berries. Only 30% new oak was used this year.