Tasted with Guillaume Tardy in Vosne-Romanée, pictured right with his father Jean, 30 April 2019.
Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils
46 Départementale 974,
21700 Vosne-Romanée
Tel: +33 3 80 61 11 86
domainejeantardy.canalblog.com
Guillaume on 2018:
“2018 looks similar to 2015 from the wines’ character and taste – a ripe but not too ripe flavour. I started early – the 5th of September – with no acidification. 2015 with 30% more juice – a great surprise as we expected to lose a lot – a juicy surprise! All came in between 13°-13.4° I’m happy not to have waited!”
Guillaume on 2017:
“I harvested from 7th September – so another early vintage but less ripe than the 2018s. With 2015 and 2016 two low volume harvests the vines tried to recover the lost volume – so we did a green harvest. There’s a more red fruit character with Medium-plus acidity – good freshness – wines that are very approachable and which are for the medium term – drinking earlier than 2015 and 2016 and certainly with better quality than we expected before the harvest. At the end I’m very pleased with the wines – It’s not as serious a vintage as 2016 but it doesn’t need to feel inferior.”
The wines…
Another vintage, another great set of wines here – Guillaume has captured the energy of the vintage but not at the expense of dilution – well done!
2017 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Cuvée Maelie
Named for Guillaume’s daughter. Vines from Conceour, just above Vosne-Romanée; 40-year-old vines, no new oak, rather with one and two-year-old barrels – we still get a decent maturity here in cooler years, harvested 5-6 days after the crus..
Ooh, that’s a bright berry fruit – so fine. Growing with florals too. In the mouth lots of intensity, more weight in the middle, a very modest roll of ripe tannin across the palate with a little finishing bitters.
2017 Fixin La Place
The lieu-dit, near Fissey. 40-45-year-old vines, near the route de grand cru. 35-40% new oak, the last was only 5%
Cushioned but pure dark fruit. Lovely in the mouth – vibrating with favour – some oak texture but will fade easily. This has beautiful freshness a taste – wait 6 months…
2017 Vosne-Romanée Vigneux
From the north of the village
Less aromatic volume, but a beautiful depth of aroma – like all so far. More mouth-filling – again a shimmering style of flavour – fine energy, concentration, lovely texture. Slowly evolving, mouth-watering minerality in the finish.
50 year-old vines. Lost about one-third, compared to many this was a good result. Bottling around February is the current plan.
Lots of colour like the others. Ooh, what a lovely, floral, round aroma. Big in the mouth, intense, lots of acidity but so much flavour energy too. This is driving, delicious wine. To wait a little time – 1-2 years – but gorgeous. I love the fine, fine finishing grain and matching flavour. Bravo!
80-year-old vines – on the border of Vosne and Nuits – the oldest of the domaine. Small grapes, low yields but naturally concentrated.
Big, serious, depth of dark-fruited aroma – there’s much here. Fresh entry – wider, but good acidity, still driving though less direct than the Chambolle – a little more finishing texture. More floral finishing – bravo villages again.
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles-Vignes
60-year-old vines whose roots go directly into the base rock.’
High tones and depth – a very silky nose, but tighter than the previous wines. Silky, cushioned some sucrosity – fine acidity but so cushioned that you hardly notice – ooh becoming more mineral in the finish. Long. Ooh, that’s excellent and very, very drinkable.
2017 Nuits S.Georges 1er Aux Argillas
‘From the north of Nuits, not the southern Argillières!’ 50% new oak here
A fine width but much tighter below. The width and top notes are expressive. Energy and intensity. Complexity, more oak texture but depth and complexity. Long finishing and very pretty length too.
2017 Echézeaux Les Treux
On the flat near Grands-Echézeaux. 80 year-old vines from 0.3 hectares.
Lots of colour. Deep, dark, brooding, yet opening out and becoming floral to add to the fruit. Bigger in the mouth, no fat, a fine layer of very fine tannin. Stable but fine acidity – a wine that simply sits, very slowly releasing its wares. A wine that’s compact but perfectly put together, it will take all of ten years to open fully. Excellent wine.