The Fine Wine Review: August 2019

Domaine Michel LAFARGE (Volnay) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel and Tank

(Originally published October 2017)

It was fitting that I began my tastings at Michel Lafarge: my first visit to review Burgundy for The Fine Wine Review started at this estate, and I’ve visited every year since, making this the thirtieth consecutive year I’ve visited. Throughout that time, Lafarge has been consistent in upholding the highest standards, notwithstanding the many years that posed very difficult conditions such as rain, hail, and now frost.

It was Michel Lafarge who received me on that first visit and for many years thereafter. In more recent years, Michel’s son Frédéric has received me, but I often see Michel to say hi, too. Frédéric is about the same age now as Michel was on that first visit, and Michel will be turning 89 in just a few weeks. Time flies!

Lafarge’s vines suffered from the freezes on the nights of 27, 28, and 29 April. Losses amounted to about 70%. Following the freezes, there was lots of mildew, but the estate was equipped to handle it well.

Harvesting began on 21 September with the Volnay 1er Cru, Clos du Château des Ducs. As always, all grapes were destemmed by hand. Generally, the wines finished their malolactic fermentations in March or April, but the Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains was considerably later. Alcohols are in the 12.8-13.0º range and there was very little chaptalization.

Frédéric characterizes the vintage as joyous, and I agree. The style here, as with many of the 2016s that I’ve tasted, is similar to 2014 but with more gentleness to it. Without knowing the story of 2016, one would not guess that these wines came from a very small harvest. The wines are very good expressions of their respective terroirs.

Overall, in the last five years, Lafarge has made as much wine as it makes in two normal years; to put it another way, the average for each of the past five years is only 40% of a normal year’s harvest. This, alas, is typical of the producers on the Côte de Beaune. (In 2017, there was a harvest of normal quantity, the first since 2009.)

We start with the whites here: (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Réyane et Pascal BOULEY/Pierrick BOULEY (Volnay) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published October 2017)

Young Pierrick Bouley has been working with his father Pascal in the past years and gradually taking over the estate. Beginning with the 2016 vintage, new foreign customers will see the wines under the label "Pierrick Bouley,” French customers will continue to see the estate’s wines under the "Réyane et Pascal Bouley" label, and existing foreign customers will be able to choose whether they want to switch to the new name. The négociant wine(s) (see below) will be under the "Pierrick Bouley” label, regardless of where sold.

Pierrick said that 2016 was about like 2012 (one of the years of severe hail damage in Volnay) in quantity. As for style, he said that the wines were more typically Burgundian than 2015, characterized by good freshness. The wines were racked a month ago and presented in drawn-off barrel samples.

Harvesting here began on 20 September and finished on the 27th. There was very little triage. All bunches were destemmed. There was no chaptalization other than 1 kg of sugar added to the Bourgogne. Nor was there any acidification. Four wines have not received any SO₂ up to now. There was less pigeage (punching down) than previously, now only two times in three weeks.

Malolactic fermentations took place in November and December. Pierrick said that he was thinking of bottling the wines at the end of the year because they taste so good now.

As with most estates that I’ve visited so far, there is an appellation that was not made in 2016. Here, it was Beaune. For the appellations that were made, you’ll see pitifully low yields for most of them. Keep reading until the end, though, for fortunately it is the last three wines that turned out commercial yields. The silver lining in this year of disastrous yields is that the three best vineyards were the ones that did not suffer from the freeze and so produced decent quantities of wine (indeed, the Champans and Clos des Chênes were abundant). (Continue reading here.)

Domaine ARNOUX-LACHAUX (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2016 Tasted from Tank and Barrel

(Originally published November 2017)

This estate was my first introduction to the sad fact that losses from the frost and the subsequent mildew were more severe than had previously been stated. In particular, I learned here that counter to what many have said, vineyards in both Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin were affected. Overall, the estate lost 60% of what would be a normal harvest. Two appellations, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Les Poisets and Clos-de-Vougeot, were not made in 2016 because damage losses there were so severe. Vosne-Romanée, Aux Reignots was the estate’s only appellation that did not suffer losses.

Harvesting began on 22 September with the Reignots. There was then a pause, and the harvesting of the remaining vineyards began on 26 September. There was no triage here, and only a minor amount of chaptalization in order to extend the fermentations. Malolactic fermentations began in late November and early December and finished in January, except for the Vosne-Chaumes, which took a bit longer.

These are dazzling wines with great finesse, precision, and fidelity to terroirs. Charles Lachaux continues to do wonderful things since he took over this already much-esteemed domaine.

The first four wines were racked three weeks prior to my tasting them and had been transferred to tanks to await bottling. (Continue reading here.)

Jean-Marie FOURRIER (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Part II: Domaine Wines Tasted from Tank and Barrel Samples

(Originally published November 2017)

The disaster that the frost caused in Chambolle-Musigny was well-known, so there was no surprise that the estate lost 50% of a normal crop there. But word had been that only Chambertin had been badly hit in 2016, so I was surprised at my visit here, the first in Gevrey on the trip, to learn that Fourrier lost 30% of his crop in Gevrey-Chambertin (I subsequently visited other producers who had serious Gevrey losses).

Harvesting here began on 28 September and lasted four days. Malolactic fermentations were late for the estate, finishing between April and June. As always, all the grapes were destemmed (but see an exception in Fourrier’s negociant wines that I will next review). The wines should be bottled in the first two months of next year. (Continue reading here.)

Jean-Marie FOURRIER (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Part I: Négociant Wines Tasted from Tank and Barrel Samples

(Originally published November 2017)

These are the negociant wines that Jean-Marie Fourrier has been making for the last several years. The wines are from purchased fruit, and Fourrier sometimes does the harvesting (as opposed to receiving fruit already harvested by the owner).

With the exception of the Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Aux Échanges, all the grapes were destemmed. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Marc ROY (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Tasted from Bottle

(Originally published November 2017)

Alexandrine Roy continues to turn out top-level wines from her village vineyards.

Harvesting in 2016 began here on 23 September. As always, the grapes were entirely destemmed. The red wines are raised half in new oak, half in one year-old barrels. Bottling, always early here, took place in August, just prior to the 2017 harvest. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de l'ARLOT (Prémeaux-Prissey) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel and Tank Samples

(Originally published November 2017)

Géraldine Godot, the technical director of this biodynamic estate, said that losses in 2016 represented 70% of a normal crop. For the estate as a whole, the yield was 11 hl/ha.

Harvesting in 2016 began on 27 September and lasted six days. Malolactic fermentations were quite quick, finishing by the end of December. The percentages of whole clusters were quite high — not just because that is common practice here, but also because the stems were necessary to fill up the fermenting tanks. As a consequence, except for Clos de l’Arlot and Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges, the reds are entirely whole cluster. All the reds have 50% or less new oak.

There was some acidification for the Hautes Côtes de Nuits in red and white and also for the Côte de Nuits-Villages, Nuits-Clos de l'Arlot, and Vosne-Suchots.

The white wines were already in tank, the reds still in barrel. The whites and the red Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits will be bottled in December, the other wines in April of next year.

Here, we start with the white wines: (Continue reading here.)

Domaine des LAMBRAYS (Morey-Saint-Denis) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel and Bottle

(Originally published November 2017)

When I arrived for my visit, I was greeted in the office by Thierry Brouhin, who guided this estate since 1979, bringing it back from a seriously deteriorated reputation to one that is now worthy of the Clos des Lambrays's grand cru status. Thierry postponed his retirement to stay on under LVMH, the recent purchaser of the domaine, and then to work side-by-side with Boris Champy, his successor. It was good to see Thierry again and I wish him the very best in his retirement.

It was Boris who took me into the cellar to do the tasting. Boris and I are not strangers, as I had visited Dominus in Napa Valley when he was charged with making the wines there. From there, Boris returned to his native France, and had been in charge of the vineyards for Louis Latour before taking his position with Lambrays.

Here we start with the whites, which had been bottled just a few days before. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Alain HUDELOT-NOËLLAT (Chambolle-Musigny) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published November 2017)

Harvesting here began on 24 September. Overall, the estate suffered a loss of 30% from a normal harvest, reported Charles van Canneyt. In this vintage, he destemmed all the grapes because of the unevenness of the stem ripeness. The grapes, though, were very healthy, he continued, and there was almost no chaptalization for the wines. The village wines see about 20% new oak, the premiers crus 30-40%, and the grands crus 50%.

This is another in a string of very fine vintages under Charles. The terroirs really show through here.(Continue reading here.)

Domaine Anne GROS (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2016 Tasted from Tank

(Originally published November 2017)

Harvesting began on 25 September with the Clos-Vougeot and the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits red and continued to the beginning of October. The white Hautes Côtes de Nuits was harvested later than the other wines.

As usual, the grapes were entirely destemmed. Malolactic fermentations were relatively quick, finishing between February and mid-May. As with the vast majority of estates that I visited, there was at least one appellation that was not made in 2016; in this case, it was the Chambolle-Musigny “Combe d’Orveaux”.

All wines were tasted from tanks, where they were stabilizing in preparation for December bottling. (Continue reading here.)

Robert GROFFIER Père & Fils (Morey-Saint-Denis) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published November 2017)

This estate has important holdings in Chambolle-Musigny (as well as Gevrey-Chambertin), and yet amazingly, there was a good size crop here in 2016. Nicolas Groffier attributes this fact to the estate’s old vines and use of the Cordon Royat pruning system which, he says, means that the vines are late budding, and so they were not in such a vulnerable state when the frost hit. It’s an interesting explanation, but other vignerons I visited can point to old vines and use of the Cordon Royat system in some of their vineyards that were completely destroyed. In short, there is no consistent rhyme or reason to which vines escaped the frost and which ones didn’t.

Nicolas thinks that 2016 is a great vintage (hard to disagree with that, at least for the better estates such as here). In style, he compares it to 2006, where the weather was roughly the same and the wines in a classic style. One can also add that each came after a vintage of different style that had received much attention.

Harvesting began on 28 or 29 September (in the cellar, without the records, Nicolas did not remember exactly) and lasted for five days. Nicolas prefers to harvest at about 12º natural alcohol and then chaptalize up to about 12.8-13.2º. Whole cluster fermentations were used in many of the wines, as I indicate below.

The wines had been racked and transferred to tank two weeks prior to my visit.

In recent years, the estate has been holding back 1/3 of the crop for later release when the wines are mature or closer to maturity. A few other estates have done this in the past (I’m not sure in such large quantities) and some others are starting to do so now or are intending to do so once they achieve more normal-size crops again. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de la POUSSE D'OR (Volnay) -- 2016 Part II: Côte de Nuits Tasted from Tank

(Originally published November 2017)

See here for introductory material about the 2016 vintage at Pousse d’Or. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de la POUSSE D'OR (Volnay) -- 2016 Part I: Côte de Beaune Tasted from Tank

(Originally published November 2016)

As I previously reported, Benoît Landanger, son of owner Patrick Landanger, will be taking over operation of the estate on January 1, 2018. Benoît has been working with his father at the estate for the past few years. Additionally, the estate was fortunate enough to acquire about 20 ares of Chevalier-Montrachet from Olivier Leflaive, the first vintage of which will be 2017.

In Chambolle-Musigny and Puligny-Montrachet, the estate lost the great majority of the crop to the frost on 27 April. In Chambolle, the estate made 20 barrels of wine in 2015, but only three in 2016. In Puligny, production was 20% of normal. Other appellations did better.

As always, the wines were entirely destemmed here. Malolactic fermentations were rather late for the estate, finishing in April, May, and June. The wines were racked into stainless steel after the 2017 harvest. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine des Comtes LAFON (Meursault) -- 2016 Tasted from Tank and Barrel

(Originally published November 2017)

Harvesting began with the whites on 16 September (Meursault, Clos de la Baronne young vines and Meursault-Bouchères) and finished on 27 September with the red Monthélie-Duresses.

In 2016, all red wines were destemmed. Malolactic fermentations were rather early for Lafon, finishing in January and February. The Monthélie and many of the whites were already in tank when I tasted, and by December, all the wines will be in tank. For the reds, at least, there was almost no new oak, but more recent barrels than usual.

Acidities are a little less than in 2015 and in the range of normal.

The quality is certainly here in 2016, but as for the quantity . . . . (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Robert CHEVILLON (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published November 2017)

Bertrand Chevillon said that losses due to the frost were from 50-80% of a normal crop. Even on the Bousselots and Chaignots on the Vosne slope of Nuits suffered losses. As with most producers I visited, there is at least one wine not made in 2016 — here the Chardonnay.

Harvesting took place between 24 September and 3 October. As is always the case here, all grapes were destemmed. Malolactic fermentations were very late for the estate: the village Nuits finished in February, but the others in June. Bottling will be in April, the usual time here.

The fruit here is ripe, almost syrupy, but without sacrificing freshness or purity.

Those lucky enough to obtain some of the wine will find that as usual, the quality here is superb. (Continue reading here.)

RIDGE VINEYARDS -- Fall 2017 Releases

(Originally published November 2017)

For the most part, this release consists of 2015 wines from the Sonoma County operation. The vintage there is quite ripe, to some extent beyond my preference. And then there is the 2014 Monte Bello from the home vineyard, always one of the world’s most notable wines. (Continue reading here.)

Languedoc and Roussillon Wines from Aupilhac/Fadat, Clos du Gravillas, Bojanowski, Clot de l'Oum, Garance/Quinonéro, Lascaux/Clavelier

(Originally published December 2017)

(Continue reading here.)

Domaine de la VOUGERAIE -- 2016 Part III: Whites Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

See here for background information on the 2016 at Domaine de la Vougeraie. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de la VOUGERAIE (Prémeaux-Prissey) -- 2016 Part II: Premier and Grand Cru Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

See here for an introduction to the vintage at Domaine de la Vougeraie. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de la VOUGERAIE (Prémeaux-Prissey) -- 2016 Part I: Regional and Village Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

The harvest here began on 19 September with both reds and whites and on both Côtes, and it finished on 4 October on the Hautes-Côtes. No sorting was necessary. Maceration was a little shorter than usual. Whole clusters were used more than usual and there was a little less pigeage (punching down) and a little more remontage (pumping over) than usual.

Generally, the wines are raised 1/3 in new oak, 1/3 in one-year barrels, and 1/3 in older barrels, and when the wines are racked, they go into older barrels. (Continue reading here.)

CLOS DE TART (Morey-Saint-Denis) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

I visited on Friday, 27 October, just as all Burgundy was buzzing about the news of an incipient sale of the estate — although the purchaser would not be announced until the following week.

It turned out that François Pinault, owner of Domaine de l’Eugénie in Vosne-Romanée, was the purchaser. I’ve not heard yet anything about whether Clos de Tart will remain separate or will be folded into Eugénie, where Frédéric Engherer of Pinault’s Château Latour in Bordeaux is in charge.

In any event, Jacques Desvauges, who recently succeeded Sylvain Pitiot at Clos de Tart, has made a 2016 Clos de Tart that is as pure and beautiful an expression of this great terroir as one could want.

As with most of Morey-Saint-Denis, the estate came out with minimal damage from the frost — there was a little bit at the bottom of the Clos. There was, however, lots of mildew as the estate was in the second year of organic practice and the first of biodynamic conversion. Overall, production was 35 hl/ha vs. an average for the previous ten years of 25 hl/ha. — “un miracle” exclaimed Jacques.

Harvesting began on 28 September, the same as in 2010. Jacques described the grapes as “splendid.” The natural ripeness varied from 13.2 to 13.6º, there was good acidity, and lots of aromatics.

Continuing recent trends, the estate is moving to more whole clusters. In 2016, 60% of the wine is made with whole clusters, but none of the second wine had whole clusters. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Armand ROUSSEAU Père & Fils (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

Domaine FAIVELEY/Maison Joseph FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part IV: Côte de Beaune Whites Tasted from Barrel Samples

Domaine FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part III: Red Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

Vintage conditions at Faiveley in 2016 are described here. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine FAIVELEY/Maison Joseph FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part II -- Côte de Nuits Premiers Crus Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

Erwan Faiveley said that harvesting began in late September, sometime around the 22nd. There is a little bit of whole cluster in the Chaignots, more in all the Chambolles, and none in the Gevreys. Alcohols are all 13.5º or below, and except for two cuvées, there was no chaptalization at the estate.

Malolactic fermentations were considerably later than usual because of the cold cellars, and so bottling will accordingly be retarded. Prices should remain the same as for the 2015s (presumably this is in euros, so they may change as local currencies fluctuate).

All wines below except for the Amoureuses are Domaine Faiveley. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part I: Côte Chalonnaise Tasted from Bottle and Barrel Samples

(Originally published December 2017)

Erwan Faiveley said that harvesting on the Côte Chalonnaise began about 22 September.

The wines provide outstanding potential. The word in the Côte d’Or is that the wines of the Côte Chalonnaise are moving up in quality (ils bougent), and that includes Faiveley, where the quality has always been high. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine ROSSIGNOL-TRAPET (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

Losses here were heavy in parts of Gevrey-Chambertin, not to mention the Côte de Beaune holdings. Losses were not only due to the frost, but also the following mildew, which seems to have posed a special challenge to many biodynamic estates such as this one in 2016.

At harvest, there was a little triage, but most of the grapes were healthy. There was just a little chaptalization — to extend fermentation time. As in 2015 and 2017, here was no pigeage (punching down). About 25-30% whole clusters were included in the wines. Malolactic fermentations here were very early, finished by Christmas 2016. Overall, the wines seemed lighter in extraction and more elegant than in some other vintages here presumably a result of the lack of pigeage.

The lesser appellations should be bottled around Christmas this year; for the remainder, bottling should take place from February through the end of May 2018. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine TRAPET (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

Jean-Louis Trapet said that the frost affected the wines in Chambertin and Marsannay, but not really the other appellations. With the rain at the beginning of the season, the vineyards had to be worked manually. Additionally, there was mildew that weakened the vines. As a result, the first half of the season was quite difficult. However, with the favorable second half of the year, things went differently, and once again this estate has come up with some of the most brilliant wines in Burgundy.

Harvesting began around 27-28 September, and a significant triage of the grapes was necessary. Fermentations included some whole clusters, and there was very little chaptalization — only enough to prolong fermentations. Malolactic fermentations were late here, as is usually the case. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Henri GOUGES (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel and a 2015 and 2014 Tasted from Bottle

(Originally published December 2017)

Gregory Gouges reported that production overall in 2016 was 16 hl/ha, roughly half of what the estate aims for each year. The vineyards south of Nuits suffered the most. The two flagship vineyards, Vaucrains and Les Saint-Georges, yielded but 10 and 11 hl/ha, respectively. The wine from two vineyards, Chaignots (50% of a normal crop) and Chênes Carteaux (10% of a normal crop) was declassified into the village Nuits in order to keep the village wine quantity sufficient (it is necessary to insure a sufficient quantity of village wine for commercial reasons, such as supply to restaurants).

There was a little mildew, but the estate continued to work without chemical treatments, and in the end, only about 2-3% was lost to mildew.

Harvest took place between 3 and 7 October, finishing before the rain. There was almost no triage — the harvesters were instructed not to take bunches that were not good, and in the end, only about 2-3% was eliminated. The estate uses chaptalization only in years where there is insufficient maturity or there is some dilution due to large yield, neither of which was the case in 2016. Pigeage and remontage (punching down and pumping over) were like normal, but fermentation temperatures were a little lower than usual because of the lower masses. As usual here, whole clusters were not used.

Malolactic fermentations began in December; the reds finished in June, but the whites were later — finishing just a little before my visit at the end of October.

Bottling will probably begin in early 2018. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Georges NOËLLAT/Maison Maxime CHEURLIN-NOËLLAT (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

Maxime Cheurlin said that losses overall were 40% from a full harvest. There was little triage, but many passes in the vineyards that froze were required.

All grapes were destemmed. Malolactic fermentations were late, and indeed, some still had not finished when I visited on 31 October; I tasted those near the end of their malos, but others I did not. Additionally, four appellations were not made in 2016 because of damage from the frost.(Continue reading here.)

Domaine Emmanuel ROUGET (Flagey-Echézeaux) -- 2016 Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

Overall, Emmanuel Rouget said, he only has 20% of a normal crop, although the Cros Parantoux and Beaumonts vineyards did escape the frost.

Harvesting began on 1 October. There was very little triage, and as usual here, all grapes were destemmed. There was no chaptalization and alcohols are almost the same as in 2015.

Malolactic fermentations are a little on the late side — the Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains had not even started when I visited on the last day of October, and the Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits was still in full malo. (It’s not unusual for Rouget to still have wines in malo when I visit in October-November.)

Bottling will take place in July, as usual.

As usual, this is an excellent set of wines. Emmanuel says that the acidity of the vintage gives the wines energy and finesse. (Continue reading here.)

Maison MARCHAND-TAWSE (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part III: Whites Tasted from Tank

(Originally published December 2017)

Marchand-Tawse is known best for its red wines, which are produced in much greater number than the whites. But the wines below demonstrate that the whites are also worthy of attention, and the amply demonstrate the favorable aspects of the vintage’s whites. (Continue reading here.)

Maison MARCHAND-TAWSE (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Pat II: Red Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel and Tank

(Originally published December 2017)

The Marchand-Tawse grands crus, like the lower appellations, are very good examples of their respective appellations, but there’s not a lot of any one wine. (Continue reading here.)

Maison MARCHAND-TAWSE (Nuits-St-Georges) -- 2016 Part I: Côte de Nuits Regional, Village, and Premier Cru Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

This negociant operation founded by Pascal Marchand and Moray Tawse, has put together an excellent selection of Côte de Nuits wines. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine TAWSE (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- Part II: Whites Tasted from Tank

Domaine TAWSE (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2016 Part I: Reds Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published December 2017)

These are Tawse’s own vineyards and treated biodynamically. There’s plenty to like here in quality, but quantities, as with so much of Burgundy in 2016, are often distressingly low. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine DUJAC (Morey-St-Denis) -- 2016 Part III: Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published January 2018)

I’ve mentioned previously that in 2015, one sees the vintage’s strength in the quality of the lesser appellations; the wines from the grands crus can be truly outstanding, but with a small number of exceptions, the grands crus hit ceilings that are below their maximum potential. In 2016, although there are very good wines from top producers from lesser appellations, it is with the top appellations that one sees the vintage at its most impressive. And that is certainly the case with Dujac, where the vintage has been most successful. These wines are all in the top group for their respective appellations, and the more one continues through the list, the greater the wines get and the fewer the challengers for top wine of the appellation. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine DUJAC and DUJAC Fils & Père (Morey-St-Denis) -- 2016 Part II: Premier Cru Reds Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published January 2018)

There’s quite a good selection here, and quality goes from good for premier cru to what would be more than good for grand cru. Alas, the Chambolle-Gruenchers, habitually one of my favorite wines at this estate, was declassified into the village Chambolle due to minute quantity, as I previously reported. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine DUJAC and DUJAC Fils & Père (Morey-St-Denis) 2016 Part I: Village Reds Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published January 2018)

Harvesting for the reds began on 27 September.

The Dujac Père & Fils wines have continued to improve, and as you see here, I put them on the same level as their peers for domaine village wines, quite an accomplishment. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Louis BOILLOT et Fils (Chambolle-Musigny) -- 2016 Part II: Côte de Nuits Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published January 2018)

Background on the harvest at Boillot is here.

This remarkable selection of wines shows wines potentially at the level of the an appellation above; that is, the Bourgogne at the level of a good village wine, the village wines at the level of good premiers crus, and the premiers crus at the level of grands crus. With high prices due to low stocks and high demand for Burgundy, it is wines such as this that most Burgundy fans need to focus on. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Louis BOILLOT et Fils (Chambolle-Musigny) -- 2016 Part I: Côte de Beaune Tasted from Barrel

(Originally published January 2018)

Louis Boillot has much of his vineyards located in the areas most affected by the frost — especially village Volnay, Pommard, and Beaune; Nuits-Pruliers; Gevrey-Chambertin; Volnay-Champans; and Volnay-Caillerets with overall losses of 70-80% from a normal vintage. The wine that was made is worthy of your serious interest.

Harvesting began around 19 or 20 September. As always, grapes were entirely destemmed. Malolactic fermentations were early, with many finishing by Christmas, others in March.

Louis is looking to March and April 2018 for bottling.

All these wines are of very good quality, but pay attention to the village wines, which are almost at the same level as the premiers crus. (Continue reading here.)