2012 Cotes de Nuits Villages

30% whole bunch and 25% new oak. Brochon, Violets et Les Vignois; adjacent parcels. First to finish malolactic fermentation and first to be picked. Concentrated yet fresh. Great stuff! Very charming and vibrant. GV but only 2,400 bottles in 2012 and not sold in UK. (JR)

The 2012 Cote de Nuits Village comes from two parcels south of Brochon close to the chateau “La Croix Violette” and “Les Vignes Noirs”. It includes 30% whole cluster fruit. There is a touch of reduction on the nose, but the palate is crisp and taut with chalky tannins, clean and pure black cherry and blueberry fruit with a crisp, tense finish that punches above its weight. This is an excellent addition to the vintage. If you love Burgundy then Sylvie Esmonin has the ultimate back garden. I mean, imagine opening your back door and walking straight into Clos Saint Jacques. Sylvie’s parcel, one of five lucky enough to own vines in Gevrey-Chambertin’s greatest premier cru (all reviewed in this report incidentally) is part of her 7.80-hectares of vineyards, although like many other growers her Bourgogne Rouge and Volnay Santenots were both reduced down to a measly one barrel. Sylvie spoke with intense, infectious passion about her wines and her 2012s despite the depleted quantities. In 2012, she commenced picking on 24 September and finished around one week later. Sylvie has been practicing with whole cluster fermentation from 2000 and it is no different this year (see tasting notes for exact percentages.) She told me that she has a particularly cold cellar that meant that malo-lactic fermentations were very late – which suited her fine. She will make two rackings, one just after the malo-lactic and a second will be one month prior to bottling, though she is considering a third. Despite having to peer through a bit of reduction in the barrel samples, I adored her 2012s that stylistically reminded me of Trapet’s: cerebral wines, quite tannic, very linear, every atom imbued with freshness and tension, perhaps uncompromising wines that express their respective terroirs. This comes as no surprise given that she applies biodynamic practices in her vineyard, though perhaps she is less dogmatic than Jean-Louis. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191 and through Berry Brothers & Rudd.

The 2012 Cote de Nuits Village comes from two parcels south of Brochon close to the chateau “La Croix Violette” and “Les Vignes Noirs”. It includes 30% whole cluster fruit. There is a touch of reduction on the nose, but the palate is crisp and taut with chalky tannins, clean and pure black cherry and blueberry fruit with a crisp, tense finish that punches above its weight. This is an excellent addition to the vintage. ||If you love Burgundy then Sylvie Esmonin has the ultimate back garden. I mean, imagine opening your back door and walking straight into Clos Saint Jacques. Sylvie’s parcel, one of five lucky enough to own vines in Gevrey-Chambertin’s greatest premier cru (all reviewed in this report incidentally) is part of her 7.80-hectares of vineyards, although like many other growers her Bourgogne Rouge and Volnay Santenots were both reduced down to a measly one barrel. Sylvie spoke with intense, infectious passion about her wines and her 2012s despite the depleted quantities. In 2012, she commenced picking on 24 September and finished around one week later. Sylvie has been practicing with whole cluster fermentation from 2000 and it is no different this year (see tasting notes for exact percentages.) She told me that she has a particularly cold cellar that meant that malo-lactic fermentations were very late – which suited her fine. She will make two rackings, one just after the malo-lactic and a second will be one month prior to bottling, though she is considering a third. Despite having to peer through a bit of reduction in the barrel samples, I adored her 2012s that stylistically reminded me of Trapet’s: cerebral wines, quite tannic, very linear, every atom imbued with freshness and tension, perhaps uncompromising wines that express their respective terroirs. This comes as no surprise given that she applies biodynamic practices in her vineyard, though perhaps she is less dogmatic than Jean-Louis. eRobertParker.com.December, 2013