Tasted in Meursault with Sylvain and Anne Caroline Dussort, 29 September 2022.
Domaine Sylvain Dussort
12 Rue Charles Giraud
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 27 50
www.sylvaindussort.com
More reports on Domaine Sylvain Dussort
The eagle-eyed amongst you will note a year of absence for this domaine from my reports but no loss of a vintage – the reason is simple. Bottled wines from this domaine continue to bring pleasure but the normal year-end timing of my visits to taste at the end of elevage did not please. It’s a slow elevage here and the wines were rarely showing well – so like at some other addresses, I’ve moved to taste after bottling. It works here!
Sylvain and Anne Caroline on 2022:
“We’re happy this year: The juice balance was very good and I think we harvested at the right time – sugar and acidity – I’m very happy with though the pH was relatively high – but everything went so fast with the fermentations this year. Harvesting Sept 1st, quickly into barrels, some barrels have already finished fermenting so it’s perfect. We have done a little stirring of the lees to make sure that the last of the yeast is used up. So after half the normal volume in 2021 we are now much happier but, luckily, we have some flexibility as for a few years half of our production – mainly the young vines – was sold in bulk. For our Chorey, we didn’t take ‘the risk’ to include any stems as there was some triage due to hail in July.”
Sylvain and Anne Caroline on 2020:
“It warm and then warm again – we had practically no rain. There was much less need to treat the vines due to the lack of rain. The first week of August brought extra heat, we started harvesting reds first on 24-25th August and then stopped for 2 days. We finished about 5-6 September. We still brought in great grapes, very different depending on the area – the quality was good everywhere but the quantity was the variable. The chardonnay withstood the temperatures much better than the pinot. Good acidities and degrees between 13 and 14° and in the end it was a good harvest here – volume and quality – also for the reds. We didn’t have the same dryness as there was some regular rain and it showed in the volumes here.”
The wines:
I think it was a good idea to wait an extra year to taste this domaine’s wines – they showed very well – and the Limozin is a great villages if you can find some!
Sylvain tells that DIAM is working well for his Bourgogne and the Origine version for the Chorey – “Never a problem – I don’t know why I haven’t changed the Meursaults yet! Maybe soon! ” Their 2020s were bottled in February to May 2022:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté
The vines in Meursault – 3 parcels one opposite the domaine, some 90-year-old vines are going to be replanted but with chardonnay so there will be less aligoté in the future. The largest parcel, just over the RN is still about 70 years old.
Freshness – airy, sappy, stony – lots of aromatic character. Mouth-filling and energetic. Slightly mineral. Fine aligoté.
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Blanc Cuvée des Ormes
More density but with a subtle and very attractive accent of perfume. Hmm, an extra richness but beautifully balanced and with a lovely intensity, ripe citrus finishing. Moreish and long. Really excellent…
2020 Meursault Vieilles-Vignes
Mainly bottom of the hill locations – three parcels again; Tessons, Pell Dessous and Les Forges
A smaller but silky nose – hinting towards a ginger spice. More scale to the shape in the mouth. Structurally interesting but has no hard or sharp edges. Extra persistence. Still very much a baby but with great potential.
In the corner of the vineyard between the bottom parts of Genevrières and Charmes 1er Crus.
Hmm – more openly aromatic and attractive – that’s a great invitation. Hmm, that’s mineral but with a roundness that brings some generosity, beautiful in both scale and texture – the simmering almost vibrating acidity in the middle and finishing flavours. Potentially great villages again a wine to wait for but still with so much interest today.
A little rouge:
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
Also vines in Meursault but direction Volnay.
A little graphite and dark soft fruit. The dark fruit and graphite is obvious here in the flavours too. Some interesting bitters in the finish and structure but no overt tannins. Really well put together and for keeping – wait 3-5 years.
2020 Chorey-lès-Beaune Les Beaumonts
A rounder more cushioned nose, like the last, darkly accented in graphite style – but with some perfume too. Full, faintly spiced, complex and energetic – there are plenty of stems here. Excellent hearty Beaumonts – as most are from here – but with a bit extra complexity.