Tasted in Morey St.Denis with Cécile Tremblay, 24 April 2019.
Domaine Cécile Tremblay
8 Rue de Très Girard
21220 Morey-Saint-Denis
Tel: +33 3 45 83 60 08
www.domaine-ceciletremblay.com (currently inactive)
Related to the Noellats, the Confurons and, of-course the Jayers of Vosne-Romanée, Cécile has Vosne coursing through her veins, yet her cuverie is in Morey St.Denis.
It’s to my great shame that I still hadn’t visited Cécile since she moved from her early base in Gevrey-Chambertin – she’s already been here in Morey St.Denis, close to the Hotel-Restaurant Très Girard since 2012 – but I’ve kept in touch – at arms length – with many lovely bottles from her since then.
It’s an airy, high-ceiling, cuverie, with a much more intimate – and immaculate – barrel cellar below, but then Cécile still works just 4 hectares (potentially 7 hectares in the future) so she has plenty of space. It’s quite a discreet position here, no big signs proclaiming the domaine, but always with a nice lunch on the other side of the road! Cacao, her dog, remains ever-present, ‘guarding,’ but much slower than the last time I met him when he wanted to eat my Ridgeback!
Cécile on 2018:
“Not the simplest vintage. It demanded much attention in the first months – April until mid-June was very wet – were have been certified organic since 2005, always trying to do the minimum in terms of treatment – so this period was challenging. The weather was nice, post-flowering, and with no disease, so everything became relatively easy from mid-June, onwards. 2018 for me is completely new – I haven’t seen or worked with such material before, all my references are useless, here all is new. The balance is good but with everything 13.2°-13.8° – nothing incredibly high but we had to wait for the right maturity – but not too late! We started 31 August in two parcels; one in Chambolle one in Vosne but properly started our harvest Tuesday 4th September. I’m happy – fewer grapes than 2017 in but still a good yield, I thought there might be a little less juice but no… I think it a great vintage.
“I did a little shorter elevage with the 2017s but there is plenty of wine here in the 2018s – I think they will have longer, probably 15-18 months of elevage – probably not for bottling until this time next year.…”
The wines…
My first taste through a full range of 2018s – and ‘delicious’ is insufficient a word. There is depth, balance and an absolutely moreish quality to the wines. Of course, they are made in tiny quantities and their pricing reflects that – but they are gorgeous things…
Half each from the Vosne and Chambolle communes…
A deep nose, aided by a faint firework reduction. A lovely combination of both depth of flavour and texture. Bitter chocolate finishing, slowly mouthwatering – simply great Bourgogne!
Higher toned, more floral, also a faint aromatic touch of reduction. Ooh – beautiful in the mouth – silk, more floral more direct – great wine – this is not going to be an easy tasting! Airy, floral but of fresh line and a super vibration of finishing flavour! Bravo!
2018 Chambolle-Musigny
Multiple parcels – 3 – Fremiers, Au Echanges and Maladières – in the domaine since 2009
Deep colour – but far from black. A tight nose that starts modestly reductive. More width, more layered – more concentrated on the palate too – ooh – this is quite something, more serious. Brilliant finishing – my style preference is for the Morey, but I could drink this concentrated but delicious wine all day – excellent!
4 vine ages, vinified with stems – no sulfur – though it’s bottled with some. There is usually only a couple of barrels so this is bottled only in magnum, some next to the 1er part
The nose soars from the glass – roses, round, pure – vibrant, pure, touched by a little tannic drag today. Deeply impressive – it could have more freshness but it is what it is – it’s showing brilliant energy without overt acidity. Bravo – great villages!
2018 Vosne-Romanée Vieilles-Vignes
A lighter colour, a little reductive but still quite an airy aroma – growing in volume, in power. More direct, more drive, more mouth-watering, energetic, but like the nose an airy style – simply delicious already.
Practically no reduction here – bright, pure flowers and fruit – roses from the stems – a brilliant invitation to drink. A good weight to this wine, round and with concentration but still airy and open in style – it’s the class of the fruit of the flowers rather than their weight that differentiates this from the villages Au Echanges. Bravo!
2018 Vosne-Romanée 1er Beaumonts
Floral above but there’s more aromatic depth below – faint reduction too. The reduction shows more in the flavours – but this is very open, very complex airy wine – similar shape to the Feuselottes but quite different more mid-register flavours vs the higher-register flavours of the Chambolle. More mineral, and mouthwatering in the finish. Gorgeous.
Two warm climates the last two but still with freshness in the aromatics. The domaine also has Vosne-Romanée 1er Rouges de Dessus – but Cécile explained that it was too reduced to taste.
2018 Echézeaux du Dessus
A more herbed nose – less fruit, more complex. Wide, very complex – ooh that’s so good – less overt fruit, but more overt mineral, spice, everything but less fruit. Great length – not impactful – except in terms of my reaction to it. Beautifully moreish wine…
A little more colour. Big powerful, cushioned, full – some rose from the clusters – yes! This wine could never come from the same place as the Echézeaux! Clean lines, fine texture, cool fruit wine of drive, of bubbling complexity – hedonistic if you prefer – but without overt cushioning, just brilliant, moreish, delicious, grand cru flavour. Bravo!
Just 10 days later I had the opportunity to taste these bottled 2017s – so this seemed the best place to store the notes:
2017 Vosne-Romanée Vieilles-Vignes
Modestly medium coloured. Lovely depth of attractive aroma, slowly adding some more direct red fruit. A beautiful roundness in the mouth, complex, not with impact but with love. Just beautifully delicious wine.
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Feuselottes
A little more direct aroma, almost a textured depth too. Vibrant, layered, lovely wide complexity. Not the big difference between these two that you experience with the 2018s, but still completely delicious.
Actually not the very big maturity of colour seen in some 2009s. Quite an obvious development of complex aroma. Ooh, that’s a beautiful energy – freshness but depth of complex flavour coupled with much maturity. That’s really delicious. Bravo!