Jacques PRIEUR (Meursault) -- 2018 Part I: Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Please see my overview of the vintage here.)

Harvesting began on 29 August, the same date as in 2017.

Yields are about 35hl/ha for the red grands crus, 35-42 hl/ha for the 1er crus. There was very little sorting out of grapes. Skins were thick, there were good quantities of juice. Alcohols are in the range of 13.5º-14.5º. There was no acidification. 25-30% new wood for village premier cru reds, no more than 60% for grands crus.

Malo-lactic fermentations finished in spring, April-June/July, which is normal timing here.

All wines were still in barrel and had not been racked when I tasted.

This is a very successful set of wines, especially the Côte de Nuits grands crus. (Continue reading here.)

Anne GROS (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Tasted from Tank

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage here.)

2018 was the larges harvest in Anne Gros’ career. Harvesting began on 4 September. No sorting of the grapes was necessary. As usual, all grapes were destemmed. Malo-lactic fermentations were quick for this estate, beginning at the end of November and finishing by Christmas. There was no chaptalization and alcohols are 12.5º for the white Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits, 13º for the Bourgogne blanc, 12.8º for the red Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits, 13.8º for the red Bourgogne. The only other note I have for alcohol levels in the other wines is 13º for the Chambolle-Musigny. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine Armand ROUSSEAU Père & Fils (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel

(Please see my overview of the vintage here.)

Is there ever a vintage where Rousseau doesn’t get it right? Not that I can recall, and I’ve been visiting at this estate annually for nearly three decades. Ho-hum, another year of great wines for those lucky enough to obtain bottles. 

Harvesting began on 1 September. Malo-lactic fermentations finished in February, and alcohols are in the normal range. (Continue reading here.)

FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2018 Part II: Whites Tasted from Barrel and Tank Samples

(Please see here for my overall description of the vintage and here for my background on the vintage at Faiveley.)

Interestingly, technical director Jérôme Flous said that the grand cru whites used to be harvested last, but now they are harvested first — presumably a result of changing climate.

Wines marked “Joseph Faiveley” are negociant wines sold under that label, the other wines are estate wines sold under the Domaine Faiveley label. (Continue reading here.)

FAIVELEY (Nuits-Saint-Georges) -- 2018 Part I: Red Wines from Bottle and Barrel and Tank Samples

(Please see my overview of the vintage here.)

Technical director Jérôme Flous said that harvesting began on 28 August on the Côte Chalonnaise and the Côte de Beaune. The Côte d’Or finished about 16 September. 

The Amoureuses and Echézeaux are made with some whole clusters, as were a few other wines that I did not taste and that are in the area of Chambolle-Musigny. 

Some young vine cuvées were acidified. There was no chaptalization. Alcoholic fermentations were slow, and there were still some cuvées that hadn’t finished when I visited in October 2019. Malo-lactic fermentations were uneven; some finished by December, some finished in summer. Alcohols range from about 13º to about 14.5º. On the Côte Chalonnaise, yields were 39 hl/ha. They were higher in Côte d’Or, and the whites were much higher — around 50 hl/ha.

There was a big risk for brettanomyces, so the premiers and grands crus were racked in spring — first time in Jérôme’s 12 years that he has done this.

Given the inherent trickiness of the vintage and the very quick ripening of the grapes at harvest, it’s not surprising that there is some unevenness in the wines from a producer that covers as great an area as Faiveley.

All wines below are estate wines under the label Domaine Faiveley, except for those indicated Joseph Faiveley, which are negociant wines. (Continue reading here.)

Maison de MONTILLE (Meursault) -- 2018 Whites from Barrel and Tank Samples

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage here and my introduction to the vintage at de Montille here.)

The lack of biodynamic viticulture and other control over the vineyard in the extreme 2018 vintage show in these wines compared to the Domaine whites. These are not bad, but clearly a step below the Domaine wines in 2018.

All the wines below are from purchases of musts. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de MONTILLE (Meursault) -- 2018 Part II: Whites Tasted from Barrel and Tank Samples

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage here and my introduction to the vintage at de Montille here.)

Old-timer that I am, I can recall the excitement when tasting at the estate in 1994. A white wine had been added, and not just any white wine, a Pulginy-Montrachet Le Cailleret. (Moreover, although I did not know it at the time, the wine was made by Hubert de Montille’s son-in-law, Jean-Marc Roulot.) Over the years, the estate has grown in red, but even more in white. These wines show the enjoyability that the 2018 vintage can provide in white, although as I have mentioned previously, I think they are wines to drink and enjoy young. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de MONTILLE (Meursault) -- 2018 Part I: Reds Tasted from Tank, Barrel Sample, and Bottle

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage here.)

Harvesting started on 28 August, and finished on 9 September, with one or two rain days in between. Alcohols are 12.7º-13º; the highest picked was 13,5º, and normally about 0.4º is lost while the wines are in cask. 

There was a bit less extraction than usual but use of whole cluster remained the same as normal. 

Except for the Volnay-Mitans, malo-lactic fermentations were all late; low temperature was used to block them. They took place from spring to late summer for the reds; for the whites, earlier malos are desired. 

Total acidities are higher than 2017, but pHs are lower; thus there is good acidity in the wines, but not as much bite. Compared to 2009, there is more acidity and less alcohol in these 2018s.

Yields for the reds are about 40 hl/ha overall, but it is uneven. Whites have  higher yields, but de Montille doesn’t have a lot of property in Meursault, and Meursault is where yields were very high. Overall yields for whites was about 45-50 hl/ha. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine des Comtes LAFON (Meursault) -- 2018 Part II: Whites Tasted from Barrel and Tank

(Please read my introduction to the vintage here and my introduction to 2018 at Lafon here.)

Although yields were very high in 2018 (60 hl/ha for the straight Meursault. 40-50 hl/ha for the premiers crus), Dominique Lafon pointed out, correctly, I think, that had they not been, the wines would have been too high in alcohol. Malo-lactic fermentations were very quick here, even some starting before alcoholic fermentation, but fortunately there was no problem with volatile acidity.

With all this and the first few wines that were good, but not better, I was not expecting the outstanding quality of the premier cru wines and the greatness of the Montrachet. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine des Comtes LAFON (Meursault) -- 2018 Part I: Red Wines Tasted from Barrel

(Please read my introduction to the vintage here.)

As I mention in the introduction to the vintage, Dominique Lafon justified harvesting earlier than the traditional 100 days from flowering on the basis that the flowering now takes place earlier than when the rule was established, and as a result the grapes have more exposure to the long days of summer. The results back his reasoning.

Harvesting for the whites began on 28 August and finished at the beginning of September; for the reds, harvesting began at the end of August. Yields for red are less than in 2017 (when the vines reacted vigorously after the frosts of 2016). For reds, they are 35-40 hl/ha, a bit more for Monthélie; for the whites, yields go up to 60 hl/ha for the village wine.

Malo-lactic fermentations were finished long before I tasted in late October, and the wines are going to receive a longer élévage than the 2017s. 

For the reds, all grapes were destemmed. Alcohols are in the range of 13.0 - 13.4º.

Starting, as always here, with the reds: (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de l'ARLOT (Premeaux-Prissey) -- 2018 Tasted from Bottle and Barrel Sample

(Please read the vintage summary here.)

Géraldine Godot, technical director, showed these wines on the last day prior to her taking maternity leave. She said that the vineyards in Premeaux had three big storms that not all villages got, which alleviated the drought in 2018; but the hail also damaged the vines to some extent.

Malo-lactic fermentations finished by end of October. Some wines are acidified - Gerbottes and Clos de l'Arlot in white, Côtes de Nuits-Villages, Clos de l’Arlot, and Suchots in red.

Hails in July (3 times) kept yields down, having the effect of a green harvest. Overall average yields were 29 hl/ha in 2018 for the domaine; there was no hail damage at Vosne-Romanée.

Suchots and Romanée-Saint-Vivant have 35% whole clusters, all the rest of the red wines have essentially none.

Harvesting began on 1 September at Vosne with Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Suchots. The harvesting finished on 7 September.

The Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits and the Côtes de Nuits-Villages in both colors have been in bottle since late August. The rest are samples closed with Coravin. I, and other colleagues, have found the Coravin closures not to preserve the wine samples very well, and hopefully we will not see them in the future. (Continue reading here)

Domaine de la VOUGERAIE (Premeaux-Prissey) -- 2018 Tasted from Bottle and

(Please read my vintage summary here.)

After having heard Jean-Marie Fourrier’s case for waiting for the traditional 100 days to pick in order to get phenolic maturity, I encountered my first challenge to that theory at Vougeraie. Harvesting began on 23 August with reds, specifically young Volnay vines. The harvest on the Côte de Beaune finished on 15 September, and on the Côte de Nuits on 18 September, with the last of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits grapes coming in. 

Neither here, nor anywhere else where picking began early, did I encounter problems that I could ascribe to lack of phenolic maturity. Indeed, as you can see below, the vintage is quite a success here.

Some wines have whole clusters, with the grands crus having 100% whole clusters. 

Macerations were about 21 days, which is normal for Vougeraie. Malolactic fermentations were quick. There was no acidification. The highest alcohol is 13,4º. New oak in village and premier cru wines is a maximum of 20%, 30% for the grand cru wines. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine FOURRIER (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel Samples

(Please read my vintage summary here.)

My first visit to taste 2018s was at Jean-Marie Fourrier’s Gevrey-Chambertin estate. Not all wines were available to taste as some were being transferred from barrel to holding tank.

Harvesting began on 6 September and there was a 4-1/2 or 5 day picking window, said Jean-Marie. He went with the 100-days-from-flowering rule because when he tasted grapes in the vineyards prior to then, they were sweet, but did not have flavor (i.e., they had physiological maturity but not phenolic maturity). Harvesting took place from 6.30 in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon; later in the afternoons, the grapes were too warm to bring in, and Jean-Marie did not want to use dry ice to cool them because he believes that it is too brutal to the gapes exposed directly and also that it provides uneven cooling. 

There was no acidification here, and as usual in the past, no whole cluster fermentation (but in 2019 there will be about 20% whole clusters). Malolactic fermentations took place in the spring.

Alcohols range up to 13.8% (Clos Sorbés) (Continue reading here.)

2018 Burgundy Vintage Overview

It was the best of years. It was the worst of years. 2018 in the Côte d’Or was a very hot, dry, sunny year, and for most producers, it yielded large crops. Additionally, it yielded wines that qualitatively and stylistically are all over the map. Some are classic in style; some have overripe, jammy fruit. Some have normal alcohols in the 13% range, some are in excess of 15% (and I have even heard from one of my colleagues who tastes more widely than I that he has tasted wines at 16.5%!). And yet, some of the wines above 14% (even at 14.5%) do manage to be surprisingly good. 

This diversity has caused me to delay writing about the vintage until I felt that I had tasted enough to understand this very complex vintage and give you an introduction that explains what to expect and why. I have now finished three weeks out of four of tasting the wines and finally feel competent to give that summary. (Continue reading here.)