Dubreuil-Fontaine – 2016

Update 13.12.2017(10.12.2017)billn

Tasted in Pernand with Christine Gruère-Dubreuil, 21 November, 2017.

Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Père et Fils
Rue Rameau
21420 Pernand-Vergelesses
Tel: +33 3 80 21 55 43
www.dubreuil-fontaine.com

Christine on 2017:
2017 started easily with nice weather – it was really warm in April – but then the experience of 2016 returned, and the same day we were frosted in 2016. Fortunately it was more worry than damage. Onwards it wasn’t too wet, with a summer that was warm and dry. We started harvesting 31 August – 2003, 2007, 2011 and now 2017 have started in August. And finally we had a good harvest, a healthy harvest – I’m very happy with both the quality and quantity.

Christine on 2016:
Frost 27 April. Directly we could see ‘That’s not good.’ In the commune of Pernand we were particularly touched – 70-80% losses. The vines just stopped growing – it was June before the vines were green again… but from July the weather was really super and the vines looked great – but there was no fruit. We could be happy if we found on cluster per vine. The whites of Pernand was the lowest spot but we had the chance that the red Corton was lovely and not touched – Pommard Epenots too. In the end it’s less than half a harvest here – we lost roughly two-thirds of the whites, but at least the quality is super. The reds fermented faster than the whites, but nothing took long.

The wines…

A very good address in 2016 – actually in most years. The usual suspects were excellent and highly recommended!

 
Bottling will mainly be in the Spring, but the early wines will commence in December.

2016 Pernand-Vergelesses
Three parcels, Noirets, Boutières and one, Les Fichots is 1er cru
Open and with good freshness. Hmm, depth, freshness again – this is an open, easy and delicious wine with a beautiful expression of pinot.

2016 Pernand-Vergelesses Clos Berthet
Even more open with a fine width. More volume on the palate, long with a super and fresh line, there’s more flavour dimension here – this is really excellent!

2016 Aloxe-Corton
A more perfumed nose, a little more subdued at the same time. A hint of reduction, but lots of flavour dimension here – a bigger wine – today I prefer the Berthet. A lovely juicy finish and it’s long too.

2016 Pommard
Trois Follots and En Beouf
Floral, wide, lovely. Fresher, open, framed with modest tannin and a little salinity. Great energy – the perfume is in the finish too.

2016 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Vergelesses
A narrow, deeper, almost silky nose. Much more elegant after the Pommard. Modestly floral, more depth of flavour, growing wide in the finish. This is lovely.

2016 Volnay
As always, a high percentage of 1er Cru in this wine.
A bright and open nose, some flowers. Open, fresh, delicate, a hint of structure, but the melting flavour is gorgeous for the label great! So often this wine is quite tight – but not in 2016!

2016 Beaune 1er Montrevenots
Some width, the the nose is today a hint diffuse. On the palate a little reduction but then finally a beautiful and melting fruit flavour ooh – that’s so good! Floral too – today, just half a great wine.

2016 Pommard 1er Les Epenots
Gorgeous, just gorgeous. A little extra depth of texture, floral notes, melting. Just a fabulous wine! So often this is my favourite wine chez DF

​2016 Aloxe-Corton 1er Vercots
A tighter nose. Slight reduction, but there is is fine weight and a growing, melting, flavour from the core. This will be super.

2016 Corton Perrieres
Lost about 20% in this vineyard.
A nice open freshness, not so wide but deep and interesting. Ooh – wide – melting, saline but with fine sucrosity, this is delicious!

2016 Corton-Bressandes
Also an open top with fine fruit and flowers, again betraying a hint of reduction below. A touch of gas, but fresh, lithe muscle, long, rounder in the middle – really a fine and persistent flavour – yum!

2016 Corton Clos du Roi
A silky nose, with some width of pure fruit, but this is a little tighter. Of line, of fabulous texture, melting flavour. Not as open as the Perrières but in terms of the cut of its cloth this is always the most beautifully tailored wine of the range – fabulous suave texture. It will be great.

Les Blancs:
The whites were all bottled end of August.

2016 Pernand-Vergelesses
Good weight of aroma here. Supple, wide, like the reds, the flavour melting over the palate – a little savoury flavour too, but very tasty wine – particularly the finish!

2016 Pernand-Vergelesses Sous Frétile
More depth and complexity a little oak in this one too. Fresh, riper fruit, but lovely energy. This is excellent, but I’d wait at least 18 months for some of the oak complexity to fade. The length again, widens considerably – here it’s even a little floral.

2016 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Clos Berthet
More depth, more fineness of pure and precise aroma. Wide, more elegant, beautiful width. I’d wait a little here too just so it relaxes a little more. A great finish again.

2016 Corton-Charlemagne
Pernand side so lost about 2/3rds
Really a tight nose but with height and depth. More volume, more richness of flavour, really a sunny aspect to this wine in 2016, but fresh and extending long, long, long in the finish. I never find this wine overtly expressive young, but I’ve a reasonable experience of older bottles and they are both robust and tasty – this is along those lines… lovely layered and long finishing.

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

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