Yves Confuron said that harvesting began on 5 October and he had no problem with the rains that came some days later (presumably all the grapes were in — the small yields made for very rapid harvesting). Overall yield for the estate in 2016 was but 11 hl/ha. As always, the grapes were vinified without destemming.
Year after year, this estate produces, at all appellation levels, some of the most compelling wines in Burgundy to my taste. The village wines are at premier cru level, the premiers crus at grand cru level, and the grands crus at the top of their respective appellations.
The wines may not be as easy to understand as those from other estates and may need more time than many, but the quality here is magnificent.
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges
The Nuits is pure, focused, and mineral with spicy dark fruits, freshness, and some sucrosity of texture. (91-94)
2016 Vosne-Romanée
The Vosne is spicy with dark fruits, and it is long, pure, and fresh. This wine is a bit steelier than the Nuits. (91-94)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny
Confuron-Cotétidot’s village Chambolle has violets, dark plums, and black pepper aromas. The mouth shows dark fruits with black pepper and outstanding depth. (92-96)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin
The Gevrey features more red fruits along with black pepper and floral aromas. The mouth is very dense with mineral red fruits, purity, freshness, and the wildness of Gevrey. (91-95)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Craipillot
Moving to the premiers crus, the Gevrey-Craipillot is very intense, pure, deep, and concentrated with dark, mineral fruit, length, and good tension. (92-96)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle
Red cherries dominate the nose of the Gevrey-Petite Chapelle. The mouth is tightly-wound, energetic, and wiry with red fruits. This is Petite Chapelle as it should be — very nervous and with outstanding tension. (93-96)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaut Saint-Jacques
Confuron-Cotétitdot’s Gevrey-Lavaut Saint-Jacques has wild dark fruits with depth, energy, and power. As with the foregoing wines, it is an outstanding expression of its terroir. (93-96)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Derrière la Grange
From what may be the most underrated vineyard in the Côte d’Or, the Chambolle-Derrière la Grange has spicy, pure dark fruits. The wine is energetic, concentrated, and complete. (93-97)
2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
The Vosne-Suchots is dense with dark fruits, a smooth texture, and very good depth, but the wine is still quite primary. (92-95)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vignes Rondes
Derrière la Grange may be the most underrated vineyard in the Côte d’Or, as I suggested above, but the most underrated group of vineyards is, I submit, the northern, or Vosne, slope of Nuits-Saint-Georges, which is where the Nuits-Vignes Rondes sits. Here the nose is spicy with black pepper. In the mouth, there’s a sweetness from the dark fruit with a Vosne-like velvet texture and excellent length. (93-96)
2016 Echézeaux
2016 in general is a very good vintage for Echézeaux, even if there isn’t much wine, and Confuron-Cotétidot has one of the greatest wines I tasted from that vineyard. The wine has the sensuality of the vineyard with dark fruit that is deep, pure, long, fresh, and precise. (94-98)
2016 Clos-de-Vougeot
The Clos-de-Vougeot has spicy red and black raspberry aromas typical of the vineyard. The black raspberries continue in the mouth with depth, length, and tannins. This is an excellent representation of the terroir, and one that shows why in centuries past, Clos-de-Vougeot was held in such high esteem. (94-98)
2016 Charmes-Chambertin
From the Aux Charmes lieu-dit of Charmes-Chambertin, this wine features pure, wild dark fruits and it is energetic and complete. Charmes-Chambertin doesn’t get any better than this. (94-97)
2016 Mazis-Chambertin
The top wines from Mazis-Chambertin are among the greatest of the Chambertin growths, and Confuron-Cotétidot is regularly in that group. From vines that are about half a century old, this wine features explosive, exotic dark plum fruit that is intense, energetic, and pure. (94-98)