Vosne-Romanée 2020
Vosne-Romanée is a mythical place. This modest village (in size) is home to
some of Burgundy’s most prestigious Grands Crus…
Origin
The village is located at the heart of the Côte de Nuits, between Vougeot and Nuits-Saint-Georges. The vines grow at an ideal altitude of approximately 250 metres and cover just over 150 ha.This cuvée is a blend of 2 parcels: "Les Vigneux", located in the northern part of the village, in the extension of the combe on a gentle slope and close to the Grand Cru Romanée-Saint-Vivant and "Les Jacquines", located in the south of the appellation, on the Nuits-Saint-Georges side. This parcel probably belonged to Mr. Jacquinot de Richemont, a member of parliament from Dijon, who we know was a large landowner in places close to "La Tâche".
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: limestone and marl scree.
Orientation: East, South-East.
Surface area under vine: 0.2683 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 49 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 46 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 27 & 28 August 2020.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were 50% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% of whole bunches lasted a total of 274 days including 4 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 3 punchings of the cap. Vinification without sulfur.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 15 months with no racking using a proportion of 33% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at a very low temperatures for a long time to impart a very subtle and delicate touch of oak to the wine.
Bottling
Bottling in December 2021, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 1,781.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 12 years.
Awards
Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France 2023 - 93/100
JamesSuckling.com - 96/100
Tasting notes
With a beautiful dark ruby color, this wine reveals a very clean bouquet of fresh red fruits and sweet spices as well as smoky notes. The mouth is dense with a nice minerality and a lot of elegance.
