(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage in Burgundy here.)
It was a roller-coaster growing season for everyone in Burgundy, but magnified in Vosne-Romanée where there was the most serious mildew pressure of recent years (but virtually no mildew in adjacent Flagey-Echézeaux or at Corton). There was some roasting of grapes in August in Vosne as a result of the mildew, and so those grapes were removed through sorting in the vineyards and again when the grapes came in to be crushed.
By mid-August, sugar levels of the grapes were already showing maturity, but the phenolic ripeness wasn’t there, and so the harvest waited. The vines were in a better position than in 2003, however, because there were better groundwater reserves to provide resistance to the heat. With hot, but not overly hot, weather the last ten days of August, the ripening accelerated, and on 31 August, the harvesting began at Corton, the first time the Domaine had harvested in August since 2003.
On 3 September, the harvesting began in Vosne with Richebourg, then in order Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Romanée-Conti (on 8 September, the day after a small storm the previous night), Grands-Echézeaux, Echézeaux, and La Tâche (finishing on 12 September). The Montrachet was harvested on 7 September. As mentioned above, there was a sorting of the grapes.
Yields ranged from 18 hl/ha for Romanée-Conti to 32 hl/ha for Grands-Echézeaux and 35 hl/ha for Corton. For Montrachet, I do not have a precise figure, but Aubert de Villaine’s vintage summary described the quantities as those “which we have not seen for some time”, keeping with what many other white producers experienced.
The vintage summary (dated 15 October 2018) also describes the wines as having the fruit of 2015 and the ripeness of 2003.
2018 Corton (minus the Clos du Roi, which had not yet been assembled in)
Not everyone has reacted as positively to the Corton since the Domaine began producing it, but I have been enthusiastic from the beginning and it is possible that 2018 the best version yet produced; the caveat is that what I tasted here did not include the portion from the Clos du Roi vineyard (see below), although that will be blended in before bottling. The nose and mouth are stony and deep with ripe black fruits. The wine is rich, flamboyant, and long. (95-97)
2018 Corton-Clos du Roi
As indicated above, this will be blended with the two other Corton vineyards to produce a single bottling. This wine features ripe dark plum fruit. In principle, it should perhaps be finer than the prior wine, but in fact, there’s more structure here, if the same overall level of quality. (95-97)
2018 Echézeaux
The Echézeaux is sensual with intense, pure dark fruits. It is lively and ripe, but not overripe. The wine has sweetness from the fruit and tannins on the finish. (95-97)
2018 Grands-Echézeaux
The Grands-Echézeaux is quite ripe with sucrosity to its dark fruits and some of the licorice that I always find as a special marker of the terroir. Nevertheless, I find it a little below the Echézeaux in clarity of terroir expression. The wine is deep and long. Aubert de Villaine thinks this is one of the most successful of the 2018s at the Domaine and that with time in barrel has been getting more classic. (94-97)
2018 Romanée-Saint-Vivant
The Romanée-Saint-Vivant is dense and pure with good acidity for the vintage, some licorice, length, elegance, and purity. It is maybe a bit less ripe and more nervy than the Echézeaux and Grands-Echézeaux. (95-97)
2018 Richebourg
As at my previous appointment, Hudelot-Noëllat, it’s always fascinating to compare the Richebourg with Romanée-Saint-Vivant. Here, the wine is racy and fresh with dark fruits and purity. There is ripeness, but also minerality and freshness, and excellent length. (95-98)
2018 La Tâche
La Tâche shows typical spiciness in the nose, and also some menthol. The mouth is pure and intense with lightness on the tongue, tension, and penetrating dark fruits. The length is fabulous, and overall the wine has outstanding freshness and elegance. (96-98)
2018 Romanée-Conti
The Romanée-Conti has intensely fresh dark fruits with, again, some menthol. The wine is deep, fresh, long, and ever-changing in the mouth. (96-98)