2023 Romanee St Vivant

The 2023 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is deep and structured, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, burning embers, orange zest, petals and exotic spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a dense core of fruit framed by powdery structuring tannins, even in this vintage it will demand a little patience. This is another strong set of wines from Charles Van Canneyt—but that won't surprise readers familiar with this estate's consistent excellence. Van Canneyt has had the reins here for over a decade now, and his approach has crystalized: the predominantly destemmed fruit, retained intact, is fermented in cement tanks for a classical maceration of two to three weeks. Élevage is in barrels now predominantly sourced from Cavin, with Cadus in a supporting role, and lasts fully 18 months in the domaine's cold cellar, with the exception of the Bourgogne Rouge, which is bottled before harvest. These uncomplicated methods, combined with an enviable palette of appellations planted with notably old vines, produce elegant, charming wines with impressive substance and aging potential. I've been buying them for my own cellar since my student days, so this is an address I warmly recommend.

(from a .48 ha parcel of vines). Here the elegant nose is cool, airy and beautifully layered with its essence of red cherry, violet, Asian-style tea and hoisin scents. The lacy, even silky, textured middle weight flavors are shaped by wonderfully fine-grained tannins on the moderately austere, balanced and impressively long finale. This does need to develop better depth but that should simply be a matter of exercising some patience.

The 2023 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is deep and structured, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, burning embers, orange zest, petals and exotic spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a dense core of fruit framed by powdery structuring tannins, even in this vintage it will demand a little patience.