Tasted in Vosne-Romanée with Peer Reiss and Jean-Nicolas Méo, 06 December 2018.

Domaine Méo-Camuzet
11, rue des Grands Crus
21700 Vosne-Romanée
Tel: +33 3 80 61 55 55
www.meo-camuzet.com

Peer on 2018:
“A crazy season! So much humidity early on, the vines were on the verge of disease, but some magic came and turned the weather around and there was the north wind to keep us dry despite some showers. We started harvesting 29 August in Corton Rognets, but really started our harvest 02 September as we had a couple of breaks. Great yield, the wines are ripe, a certain aspect of power but a relatively classic profile – the wines lost some power after being placed in barrel. Malo was quick, a couple of tanks were slow to ferment but I think that was a technical thing from us rather than the vintage.”

Peer on 2017:
“The 2017 harvest started with picking 06-10 September, then we waited until 12th and finished on the 14th. Good to normal yields – particularly those vines that had some frost the year before. The wines are showing an easiness and drinkability but with really good complexity. They reveal their sites very well. After the big vintages like 2015, 2016 it’s nice to have something that we can drink – the higher you go the more serious are the wines, so you have everything.”

Jean-Nicolas on 2017:
“I was a little concerned that the vintage started lite, but following 2015 and 2016 what wouldn’t have been? The wines have put on weight in elevage though. The malo was back to normal after not a lot in the previous two vintages, so didn’t smell great and we had to wait for CO₂ to fade – so we didn’t really see the vintage’s true face until after the 2018 harvest. We like what we have it’s delicate it’s refined, a few wines have some reduction starting – not a big problem in 2017 as we rack it away. I would say the grand crus will be good 6-12 years from bottling – they are for drinking young – I think 2007 was already good after 4 years. 2000 I never understood – as the volumes were low but the wines never seemed concentrated!”
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The wines…

Red wines of colour, of depth of concentration – sometimes magnificently so! Hard to go wrong, except, being picky, like a touch more energy in my Philibert…

2017 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Clos St. Philibert
This has been fined and will be racked off that at the end of the month – bottling towards end of January.
Deep, faintly toasty, seems more serious than once before. Round, good depth, layers and rich perfumed fruit but with fine balance if not an overt energy – a great finish. Yum!

2017 Fixin
Will bottle at the start of January
Ooh yes, that’s a beautiful nose. Fresh, bright, layers of concentration, but plenty of freshness too. I love the finishing intensity, a certain serious mineral rigour in an otherwise welcoming wine.

2017 Vosne-Romanée
2 parcels mainly Barraux the rest Au Communes so top and bottom slope with separate elevages.
A much deeper nose, maybe a suggestion of reduction and spice. Cool, fresh, beautifully textured, energy and structure here. Holds really well in the finish. A delicious wine that presents itself with real class.

2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Cras
Ooh! What a fine and pure nose – tiny red berries, floral too – brilliant if not yet full-power. More scale here in the mouth, more mineral too, not giving up its complexity as easily as the previous two… a bit of finishing oak complexity though. A baby wine that requires some patience, but what’s 5 years between friends?

2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Feuselottes
Ooh again – more open, more weight of aroma – larger, darker fruit. Easier in the mouth, more supple, more mobile, some oak in the finish. Much more weight of flavour here – ‘it’s the clay’ super wine.

All the following all direct from barrel…

2017 Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Murgers
Just the new barrels as older are reductive
Actually a tighter nose – last drops in the glass nave a lovely floral aspect. In the mouth it’s sleek, fresh, with lovely energy. Goes very long in the finish – delicious wine.

2017 Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Boudots
Very small berries about 10-15% stems. The use of stems is more by location than particularly vintage specific at this address.
This is an openly gorgeous nose – perfumed floral notes – great! Silky but with power behind, a touch more mineral depth to the flavour, a touch more power, rippling with finishing energy and a touch of tannin.

2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Chaumes
Great colour here. A velvet width of aroma, the first sniff has gorgeous fruit the second sniff – it’s gone! A roast fruit in the mouth, lots of volume and power, I don’t see the delicacy yet – probably the new oak to blame. Power and weight, but it needs more time to open…

2017 Corton Clos Rognets
Ooh, much intensity to this fruit and flower nose – really something. Full, concentrated – ooh that’s so silky, growing a hint of tannin at the end. Excellent – as a minimum!

2017 Clos de Vougeot
Ooh – a beauty silky, wide, floral, depth. Great. Good volume, more considered than many, a depth of concentration, weighted, only slowly mouth-watering. Honestly I’d like more energy today but this is really quite something – excellent.

2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Brûlées
A narrow nose, dark fruit. Round, ooh that feels great on the palate, only giving up its flavour slowly, a touch of finishing tannin, some from the barrel. Starts quiet finishes much larger, indeed it’s great finishing…

2017 Richebourg
A deep nose, reductively oaky. Easier entry, more louche, but with weight of flavour too. But this wine really only takes off from the mid-palate. The finish is fruited and floral but is quite magnificent here – the best of all wines. Let’s see!