(Originally published November 5, 2017)
Sébastien Cathiard said that the Nuits-Clos de Thorey, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, and Bourgogne were all hit by frost and that mildew appeared thereafter in the Vosne-Romanée and the Bourgogne.
Sébastien Cathiard said that the Nuits-Clos de Thorey, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, and Bourgogne were all hit by frost and that mildew appeared thereafter in the Vosne-Romanée and the Bourgogne.
Harvesting began on 28 September and finished on the 30th. No whole clusters in these wines. Sébastien continues to lower the use of new oak (30-50% for the village wines, 50-67% for the premiers crus and the grand cru) and the toast level of the new oak.
The wines have been difficult to locate in recent years and will be even more so with the reduced yields in 2016, but should you come across them, they are excellent examples of the high quality of the 2016 vintage.
2016 Coteaux Bourguignons Les Croix Blanches
This is a new appellation in Cathiard’s line up. The wine is 2/3 Gamay and 1/3 Pinot Noir. The vineyard is located between Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges and between the route nationale and the railroad. The wine is mineral and calm with red fruits, finesse, and freshness. (85-88)
2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
There are 3 barrels of this wine (900 bottles); in a normal year there would be 7 barrels. The wine has smoky dark fruit aromas. The mouth is powerful with dense dark fruits. (86-89)
2016 Vosne-Romanée
The spicy nose is followed in the mouth with power to the dense, spicy dark and red fruits. The wine is juicy and shows some tannins. It should be excellent village Vosne. (89-92)
2016 Chambolle-Musigny Clos des Ormes
The nose is deep and floral. The mouth here shows good acidity and freshness with precise, crunchy dark fruits and excellent energy. (89-93)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey
The vines here are 64 years-old. New wood on this wine is about 60%. The nose shows stony aromas to go with blackberry and red currant fruit. The mouth features a beautiful, firm, stony texture with red currants, precision, freshness, crunchiness, and length. (91-95)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers
The Nuits-Murgers shows spices in the nose, not unexpected given the vineyard’s position near Vosne-Romanée. The mouth contains dense red and dark fruits, and it shows finesse for Nuits (again, the vineyard's position on the Vosne slope of Nuits is key). But there are tannins here and the wine needs time to develop. One part of the vineyard here is about 70 years-old, the other part about 50 years-old. (91-95)
2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Raignots
The nose here is full, round, and fruity, dominated by black and red cherries. The mouth is round and broad, full of black and red cherry fruits with good freshness. The vines here are about 20 years old. 60% new wood on this wine. (91-94)
2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru En Orveaux
I used to not look forward to tasting Vosne premiers crus from En Orveaux or Chaumes because they seemed closer to village wines than premiers crus. But the producers (or at least the ones I visit) have learned to handle the specifics of each vineyard, and suddenly, the vineyards produce bona fide premier cru wines. The nose is all perfume and roses. The mouth is medium-full and smooth with red fruits, spice, and roses. The wine has good length, power, and elegance. (92-96)
2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
The Suchots’ red cherry nose is followed by a palate that is deep, pure, and long with more red cherry fruit in a medium-weight body. The wine is both joyous and sensuous. 50% new oak here. (92-96)
2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Malconsorts
This was the first of the wines from Malconsorts that I tasted. As in 2015, it was a favored vineyard in the vintage. The nose is stony and animal — typical young Malconsorts. There are also red fruit aromas. The mouth is deep, pure, mineral, and powerful with dark fruits. This is a wine that will need time to come around. (94-97)
2016 Romanée-Saint-Vivant
The spiced nose is typical of the vineyard. The mouth is dense, pure, and spicy with dark fruit, smoothness of texture, and the sensuality of Romanée-Saint-Vivant. The wine is backward at the moment, but shows great potential. (94-98)