Domaine David DUBAND/François FEUILLET (Chevannes) -- 2018 Tasted from Cask Samples

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage in the Côte d’Or here.)

David Duband said that harvesting began on 3 September. The first grapes to come in were at 12.5-13º potential alcohol, and after nine days, the grapes being harvested were still in the mid-13’s. Yields were good, comparable to 2017: 35 hl/ha for the grands crus, 45-48 hl/ha for the premiers crus, and 50 hl/ha for the village wines. Whole clusters were 60% for the Hautes Côtes and village wines, 75% for the premier cru wines, and 90% for the grands crus. Vinification was standard; no modifications of punching down (pigeage) or other aspects. Malolactic fermentations went very fast.

(Wines bottled under the Feuillet label are identical to those bottled under the Duband label.)

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Domaine du Comte LIGER-BELAIR (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Tasted from Tank Samples and Barrel

(Please see my over view of the 2018 vintage in the Côte d’ Or here.)

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair said that he began harvesting on 2 September. Alcohols range from 12.5º to 14º. A few wines use whole cluster fruit. Malolactic fermentations were very quick in 2018. All wines are in 100% new oak.

Overall yields for the past four vintages: 

2016: 22 hl/ha

2017: 34 hl/ha

2018: 32 hl/ha

2019: 19 hl/ha

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Domaine G./Christophe* ROUMIER (Chambolle-Musigny) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel

(Please see my overall comments on the 2018 Côte d’ Or vintage here.)

Christophe Roumier said that he began harvesting on 5 September. Harvesting lasted six days and he characterized it as “easy” and “quick.” Yields were normal and less than in 2017. Alcohols were relatively high -- up to 14.2º, although most were in the 13.2-14.0º range. Whole clusters are 35% for the village wine, about 50% in the premier cru wines and 55% in the grand cru wines. Christophe performed very little punchdown (pigeage) in 2018. Malolactic fermentations began in April and finished in July.

Wines marked with an asterisk (*) are labelled as Christophe Roumier; the other wines are labelled Domaine G. Roumier.

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Domaine Denis MORTET (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage in the Côte d’ Or here.)

Arnaud Mortet said that he began harvesting on 3 September and it went very fast. Alcohols did not exceed 13.6-13.7º. He performed a big green harvest, the largest since 1999, and would up with 45 hl/ha for the village wines, 40-45 hl/ha for the premier and grand cru wines. Whole clusters in some wines, not in others this vintage. Some wines finished malolactic fermentation in January and February, others were later at the usual time. Arnaud has shortened vinifications compared to the past.

The three relatively new grands crus, Echézeaux, Mazis-Chambertin, and Bonnes Mares, are included.

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Domaine DUJAC (Morey-Saint-Denis) -- 2018 Part II: Red Premier and Grand Cru Wines Tasted from Barrel

My introduction to the 2018 vintage at Dujac is here.

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Domaine ARNOUX-LACHAUX (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Part II: Premier Cru and Grand Cru Wines Tasted from Barrel

My introduction to the 2018 vintage at Arnoux-Lachaux is here.

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Domaine Jean GRIVOT (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Part III: Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel; and Some 2017s Tasted from Bottle

Please see my introduction to the vintage at Grivot here.

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BOUCHARD Père & Fils (Beaune) -- 2018 Part II: Côte de Nuits Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

My introduction to the vintage at Bouchard P&F is here.

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Domaine Georges MUGNERET-GIBOURG (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2017 Tasted from Bottle

My notes on the 2017s tasted from barrel at Mugneret-Gibourg are here.

As is evident from these notes compared to my previous post, 2017 is a vintage at this estate more to my style than 2018.

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Domaine Georges MUGNERET-GIBOURG (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage in the Côte d'Or here.)

Although quantities are good in 2018, they will go down again in 2019 — lacking 40%, and so comparable to 2016(!). 

Harvesting began on 4 or 5 September. There is some whole cluster fruit in the Echézeaux only. 

There was a bit of a gap between the end of the alcoholic fermentations and the beginning of the malo-lactic fermentations, but the latter were done by December. Alcohols range from 13.5º to 14.2º. 

The percentage of new oak is 20% for the Bourgogne, 30% for the village wines, 40-45% for the premiers crus, and 60-80% for the grands crus — the normal percentages here.

Here one can see the rapid progression of the ripening at the time of harvest — some wines are in a more classic style, others go to a riper style.

With the reclamation of vines that had been sharecropped, the estate now is 8 ha, as opposed to 6 ha about ten years ago. 

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Domaine de la ROMANÉE-CONTI (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2017 Tasted from Bottle

My review of the 2017 wines from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti tasted from barrel and explanation of the vintage is here.

The most notable fact is the exceptional quality of each of the wines. Should you be lucky enough to have access to and means to afford these wines, you don’t have to go for Romanée-Conti or La Tâche to experience the top greatness of Burgundy here. Each wine is in its proper place, although there is the unusual inversion of personalities of Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg that I observed already last year.

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Domaine de la ROMANÉE-CONTI (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2018 Tasted from Barrel

(Please see my overview of the 2018 vintage in Burgundy here.)

It was a roller-coaster growing season for everyone in Burgundy, but magnified in Vosne-Romanée where there was the most serious mildew pressure of recent years (but virtually no mildew in adjacent Flagey-Echézeaux or at Corton). There was some roasting of grapes in August in Vosne as a result of the mildew, and so those grapes were removed through sorting in the vineyards and again when the grapes came in to be crushed.

By mid-August, sugar levels of the grapes were already showing maturity, but the phenolic ripeness wasn’t there, and so the harvest waited. The vines were in a better position than in 2003, however, because there were better groundwater reserves to provide resistance to the heat. With hot, but not overly hot, weather the last ten days of August, the ripening accelerated, and on 31 August, the harvesting began at Corton, the first time the Domaine had harvested in August since 2003.

On 3 September, the harvesting began in Vosne with Richebourg, then in order Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Romanée-Conti (on 8 September, the day after a small storm the previous night), Grands-Echézeaux, Echézeaux, and La Tâche (finishing on 12 September). The Montrachet was harvested on 7 September. As mentioned above, there was a sorting of the grapes.

Yields ranged from 18 hl/ha for Romanée-Conti to 32 hl/ha for Grands-Echézeaux and 35 hl/ha for Corton. For Montrachet, I do not have a precise figure, but Aubert de Villaine’s vintage summary described the quantities as those “which we have not seen for some time”, keeping with what many other white producers experienced.

The vintage summary (dated 15 October 2018) also describes the wines as having the fruit of 2015 and the ripeness of 2003.

(Continue reading here.)