Michel Digioia said that for the whole domaine, his production was only 40% of a full vintage. Chambolle, of course, was very badly hit, and no wine was produced from Savigny-les-Beaune.
He began harvesting on 25 September, and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits was harvested on 30 September. Malolactic fermentations were a little later than usual here — the Chambolles finished in April and May, the Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits in July. As usual, grapes were entirely destemmed.
One definitely feels the effect of the frost in the concentration of these wines.
2016 Bourgogne Chardonnay
White flower aromas are followed in the mouth by minerality, purity, and a medium-light body with finesse. This is a charming wine for what it is. The wine finished its alcoholic fermentation in barrel, something that occurred in some other cellars I visited in Burgundy. 87/A-
2016 Bourgogne rosé
This rosé features strawberry and raspberry fruit with some minerality, good length, nice acidity, and a dry finish. It is made from press wine. 87/A-
2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
The red Bourgogne has cassis fruit with minerality and freshness. There’s good concentration here and plenty of acidity (for acid freaks such as me). 86/B
2016 Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits Pinot Noir
The Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits has a bit more finesse here than in the previous wine, and still the good concentration, freshness, and high acidity. The vines here are in Concoeur and more than 50 years-old. 20% new oak. 87/A-
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Charmois
Digioia's Nuits, Charmois features red currant fruit, a smooth texture, medium-weight body, good tannins and depth, and finesse. Very good length here. (87-91)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny
The Chambolle is quite concentrated with cassis fruit, density, and finesse. (88-91)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny Frémiers vieilles vignes
The Chambolle, Frémiers is dense and pure with dark fruit and some spice. There’s old vine concentration here, as well as concentration from the tiny yield, but the wine remains balanced. (88-92)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
The estate has two premier cru holdings, Groseilles and Gruenchers. Normally they’re bottled separately, but with the losses from the frost in 2016, they were combined into this single wine. Even so, there are only two barrels, one of which is new. I tasted both barrels and overall the impressions were similar, except that the new barrel had dark fruit and the older one had some red fruits to go with the dark. The wine is medium-weight, long, pure, and concentrated. (91-94)