(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.
2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Pure, delicious, precise red cherry fruit, excellent freshness. A top Bourgogne rouge. Less than 25% whole cluster. Tasted from tank, will bottle in January. (88-91)
2018 Beaune 1er Cru Les Perrières
Medium-weight, red fruits, purity, length, some tannins, nice freshness. 2/3 whole clusters. Thin soils, ripens early. 20% new oak. (89-92)
2018 Beaune 1er Cru Sizies
Rounder, more weight than Perrières although still on the lighter side. Red fruits, pure, smooth, good freshness. Younger vines than Perrières, average age is about 25 years; use older vines for whole cluster. Currently in tank, will bottle in January. 1/3 whole clusters, 20% new oak. Clay limestone soils. (90-93)
2018 Beaune 1er Cru Grèves
Juicy red fruits in nose. In mouth, medium-weight with some dark fruits, a wine that can age well but take aging very well. Long, penetrating. Almost 50% whole cluster; 2/3 of vines are over 50 years-old, 1/3 are under 20 years. Iron, clay limestone. Vines were purchased at two different times, but the parcels are contiguous. (92-94)
2018 Volnay 1er Cru En Champans
Champans breadth, some power here but with finesse still, red cherry fruit, chewy, fleshy, some tannins. Typical Champans. Over 50% whole cluster, 30% new oak. (91-94)
2018 Volnay 1er Cru Mitans
Pure red cherry fruit, silky texture, medium-weight, chewy. Already racked, will bottle early. 100% whole cluster. 1/3 new oak. 45 year-old vines, but not great vegetal material, so they act like 80 year-old vines, yielding very little. (92-94)
2018 Volnay 1er Taille Pieds
Intense red cherry fruit, firmness of Taillepieds, some minerality. Still relatively closed, but great material here. 100% whole cluster, 80 year-old vines. 1/3 new oak. (93-96)
2018 Pommard Les Cras
Round, fleshy, exuberant red cherry and cranberry fruit, some; tannins kick in at end. Very old vines. (Directly below Rugiens, primarily clay soils, some iron.) 1/3 whole clusters. Very late malos — August-September. 25% new oak. (90-92)
2018 Pommard 1er Cru Grands Epenots
Smoky nose. Medium-light, dark fruits, round, finesse for Pommard, as one expects from the northern side of Pommard. 1/3 whole cluster. Deep soils, gets a lot of sun. (91-94)
2018 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles
Finesse of Pézerolles, fine dark fruits, fine tannins (but they are present and show on the finish). Limestone, sandy soils. About 1/3 whole clusters — a lot of young vines in proportion to domaine’s holdings. Hasn’t been racked yet. (91-94)
2018 Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens-Bas
Smoky nose. Medium-weight, elegant for Rugiens, dark fruits, a serious wine. 2/3 whole cluster, almost 40% new oak. (92-94)
2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Saint-Julien
Juicy, upfront red cherry and dark fruits. Some tannins, but fruit overwhelms them. Very pleasurable already and an outstanding village wine. At least 50% whole clusters. (91-93)
2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Thoreys
Iron aromas. Dark fruits, round, medium-weight, good acidity and power. Peppery, power, sensuality. 2/3 whole cluster, close to 40% new oak. (92-94)
2018 Corton Clos-du-Roi
Floral nose. Intense, dense, red and dark fruits, good complexity, penetration, freshness, acidity. A complete wine. 2/3 whole cluster — a decision based on amount of extraction occurring on initial cuvaison, as with many wines here. 40% new oak. 75 year-old vines. (94-96)
2018 Clos de Vougeot
Black raspberry, dense, sappy, deep, long. Lots of power, needs time. 1/3 whole cluster. Two parcels, one on either side of the tower; heavy clay soils. (93-95)
2018 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts
Complex nose — spicy dark fruits with great finesse. Dark fruits, intense, deep, pure, energetic, penetrating. Just on verge of overripe. 2/3 whole cluster. Picked on 9 September. (93-95)
2018 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts
Obviously riper than the regular Malconsorts, sacrificing finesse for power and ripeness. Not as convincing to me. Picked on 9 September. 2/3 whole cluster. (91-93?)
2018 Monthélie
This is a “natural” wine. After malo, 1g sulfur, in barrel for a year, now in bottle. Round, chunky, dark fruits, still some tannins. Very unformed. ?