Tasted in Vosne-Romanée with Sébastien Cathiard, 07 December 2020.
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard
20 Rue de la Goillotte
21700 Vosne-Romanée
Tel: +33 3 80 62 36 01
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Sébastien on 2020:
“Well, it was hot and very dry. Our Hautes Côtes suffered from minus 40% yield. Fortunately, it was better in the Côte d’Or, similar to 19, which in turn was less than in 2018. We had less rendement in Murgers, more in Reignots, about same in Thorey and Malconsts, less in Chambolle in 2020 – you could say rather heterogeneous!”
Sébastien on 2019:
“2019 was a good harvest in the Hautes Côtes where we ha, 2 new cuvées in Au Chaumes and Les Dames Guettes. The Bourgogne has grown with a smaller new plot and also there’s a Gevrey now too. We started harvesting 20 September; we definitely weren’t in the early wave of pickers. The grapes had quite high degrees, almost everything was 13.5 to 14.5° and a bit lower for Hautes Côtes. Fortunately, still with good freshness with correct pHs – even though it was mainly tartaric acid in the grapes.”
Talking of Sébastien’s extra plots “We have 8.35 hectares of vines in 2020 but for 2021, we are up to 12.5 hectares with new Bourgognes, aligoté and Hautes Côtes – I want more people to have access to our wines.”
The wines…
Some nice new wines in the range chez Sébastien – but on this visit the usual suspects were in imperious form!
2019 Côteaux Bourguignone Croix Blanche
These vines are between Nuits and Vosne – toward the railway – the area called Croix Blanche. A cuvée here since 2016. Roughly two-thirds pinot the rest is gamay – co-planted – sp all vinified together.
A big and forward nose that’s round and accented with a faint chocolate note. Supple, sweet, wide, nice shape. Oh and far too easy to drink!
2019 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Vines between Vosne and Vougeot, no new oak.
Less broad but a finer, almost perfumed, nose. Extra energy here, more things to find, more purity of flavour too. More length of finish – really long. A super Bourgogne.
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Aux Chaumes
Above Nuits. A place that holds its acidity well in the current climate – 400m altitude. Only about 1-2 days later maturing than the rest, and in 2019 not at all!
That’s lovely; a sweetness of fruit but open and attractive too. Nicely open, slightly structural, faintly (20%) oaked. Very long, in waves of delicious flavour. The last drops in the glass are just super.
More width and a little more depth of aroma. This a more saline style, wide, more considered, there’s some extre depth in the middle. More mineral and saline style – bravo Bourgogne
2019 Gevrey-Chambertin
One parcel, in Champs Francs but not on the label.
A burst of extra aroma here – very forward and a little floral. A structural wine – quite architectural – always mouth-watering, wide, a faint grain to the tannin. Long again and mineral too – super length to these wines. Delicious!
New vine,s all fermage from a vigneron who has retired, so they do all the work ‘and the vines were in great shape.’
Yes – beautiful purity of fruit here – I’m ready! Direction, drive, a cooler fruit but seemingly with extra mid-palate concentration too. There’s extra in the finish too – that’s a great villages.
2019 Vosne-Romanée
From 5 parcels, 4 lieu dits, about one-third new oak
A big width of aroma – this needs more time to open. But in the mouth extra freshness, extra tannin too – you could confuse this with the last, blind. There’s extra oak showing but the dimension of finishing flavour is excellent indeed with tons of density. This will need more time for sure.
2019 Chambolle-Musigny Les Clos de l’Orme
That’s showing directly an extra clarity of aroma, great depth to that aroma too. Extra width and freshness here. A large finishing wave of deliciously intense flavour – so good here!
More density of aroma, good freshness and clarity too. Open, accessible, layered. The energy building so never insufficient vs the richness of flavour. There’s extra in the finish too – thats a great 1er – bravo.
2019 Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Murgers
A faint touch of reduction but at the same time beautifully floral. More together, a little more open and mouthwatering, more perfumed too than the Thorey. Extra elegance and a simply excellent wine that has a lovely saline line of finishing flavour…
2019 Vosne-Romanée 1er Aux Reignots
Planted 1997 – the youngest vines here
This nose has a higher tone, slowly relaxing and adding florals too. Ooh, that’s good over the palate; melting, layered, a certain elegant and airy style but the finish is no pushover. Ethereal, excellent wine.
2019 Vosne-Romanée 1er En Orveaux
1/3rd less than in 2018. 70-year-old vines
A more compact nose but still a beautifully attractive one – red fruit is visible. A little structure showing in here. More density and impact vs the more melting style of the Reignots. A great finish again – such concentration and persistence of flavour.
2019 Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Suchots
A width of aroma and an extra mineral quality in here too, becoming floral with aeration. More depth this time and relatively open in profile – red-fruited and wide. Fine complexity in this ever-changing finish – not the biggest but as long as any. Excellent again…
1972 and 1973 in two plantations.
This is directly the most open nose, the most floral and the shows finest clarity of red fruit. Silkier, but direct. More mineral and structural – a wine that has all the best bits of the others. Wide, wide, wide, finishing. The tannin present but micro-grained. Great Vosne.
Ooh, that’s an always changing nose – each sniff is different – floral, spice for sure, red fruit but always different. There’s tannin at the base but with virtually no grain. Not extra concentration vs some others but an extension of the seamless quality of the Malconsorts. A haunting finish, that’s a great, great wine. Composed, not too energetic, but with all that I could wish for.