Christophe Roumier said that production was the lowest for the estate since 1971, down about 55% from a normal yield. No Bourgogne, Chambolle-Combottes, or Corton-Charlemagne was produced in 2016. He says that he never saw as strong a freeze as in 2016, not even in 1981.
Christophe said that where the vines froze, he feels more concentration in the wine. There was less new wood than usual, but whole clusters were employed, as indicated below. Where the vines froze, there was a smaller proportion of whole clusters than normal because of the very small grapes. In general, whole clusters comprised 30-35% for the village and premier cru wines, 55-60% for the grands crus.
As I’ve previously mentioned, Christophe has an investor who has purchased about half an hectare of Bonnes-Mares (mostly white soils), bringing the total exploited up to 1.89ha. Additionally, there is is some Échézeaux (0.1311ha) that in the En Orveaux lieu-dit that will begin to be commercialized in 2017 (production in 2016 was too small to permit commercial distribution), and, finally, the sharecropper agreement that had underlain the Charmes-Chambertin has been superseded beginning with 2018, with Christophe getting the full production of the vineyard. The total surface area now exploited is 12.43 hectares.
2016 Chambolle-Musigny
The wine shows red currants and is smooth and pure. Production is 1/3 of normal. 9.5 hl/ha here. (90-93)
2016 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière
Roumier’s monopole premier cru, this wine is smooth and perhaps a touch less concentrated than the village Chambolle, but by no means lacking in concentration. The fruits are dark and there is good structure here. Although most of Morey-Saint-Denis did not suffer from the freeze, this vineyard, on the border of Chambolle-Musigny, lost 30-35% in 2016. (91-94)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras
The Cras is firm, pure, and deep with dark fruit and some minerality. The texture is smooth and the wine is quite concentrated. About half whole clusters. 10 hl/ha. (92-96)
2016 Charmes-Chambertin Aux Mazoyères*
This wine has dense, dark fruits with the slight gaminess of Mazoyères. The wine is concentrated with length and smoothness. The vines date 1/3 each to 1991, 2000, and 2011. 60% whole clusters. (92-95)
2016 Ruchottes-Chambertin*
The Ruchottes-Chambertin is smooth and creamy; perhaps not as energetic as usual, but that could be due to the recent racking. The wine has red fruits and is very concentrated. About 60% whole clusters. There was a small frost effect here. (91-95)
2016 Bonnes-Mares
With the addition of the new property, the proportion of white soils (terres blanches) changes from roughly half to 2/3. That, in turn, changes the character of the wine: previously, it took about twenty years for the finesse of the terres blanches to dominate the power of the red soils (terres rouges), but now one sees the finesse already. The wine shows more lightness, nervosity, and tension than usual with penetrating dark fruit and excellent length. (95-98)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses
This wine shows more red fruits that I usually find in Roumier’s Amoureuses. The characteristic spiciness is here and great length. But this wine is in an undeveloped phase and needs more time in barrel. Loss of half the crop means only 450 or so bottles made. (93-97)
2016 Musigny
In my tastings of 2016s, there were four unforgettable wines that rose above all the others. The Musigny was one of them, and indeed the first one that I encountered. The wine contains dark fruits, especially blueberries, and is concentrated with a velvet texture. Due to the heavy loss of crop, the wine is raised in a 180-liter barrel that is new, yet there is so much to this wine that it has absorbed the new wood completely with no woody overtones. 100% whole clusters here. The pity is that there will be but 240 bottles of this amazing wine. (97-99)