A vintage noted for the early return of springtime warmth, followed by a hot and sunny summer that was to extend well beyond harvest time.
Winemakers trembled with fear on 27th and 29th April. Temperatures forecast to be below 0°C in the early morning led to fears of reliving the frost havoc of the previous year. The mobilisation of the whole Côte to light straw bale fires allowed damage to be avoided.
The exceptionally lovely month of June engendered perfect vine flowering and rapid swelling of grape bunches, promising a generous crop. July and August were also very favourable. Some light rainfall at end August was most welcome in countering the very dry period and accelerating ripening. Despite short pruning in springtime, the domain carried out green harvesting during the summer, so as to limit production, particularly in the vine parcels frost damaged in 2016.
We began harvesting on 9th September on the Côte. Ten days later, the whole crop had been brought in as ripeness was progressing quickly. The wines reflect this very well-achieved ripeness, with silky tannins and moderate acidity levels that occasionally needed lifting during vinification. The excellent healthiness of grapes made sorting almost meaningless and translated into vibrant, deep colours, as well as great purity of aromas.
In summary, this is a vintage that is very pleasant and attractive in its youth, but with sufficient consistency and concentration to increase in complexity over the next 10 years. In recent years, it is perhaps the 2012 vintage that most resembles it.
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Ripe, but savoury. It has a rich stone smoothness. Note of almonds. Nice acidity and a dry minerality on the finish, with plenty of richness in the middle. I do like this.
Beautiful glistening yellow-gold. Expressive, intense nose marrying white fruit and fresh lemon notes with a delicate oaky tone. The palate shows the same harmony with racy, delicate, oaky aromatics that linger. 92/100
A mildly toasty nose flashes notes of petrol, pear, apple and lemon scents. The round, succulent and lightly stony flavors possess unusually good volume, indeed the texture is almost seductive while the sappy finish is balanced and long though the toast does reemerge. Still, this is really quite good for what it is and is worth a try.
Cherry aroma… so smooth onto the palate. It is supple, very nicely ripe – generous summer fruits and a nicely balanced freshness at the end. The texture is so very attractive. Succulent and fresh. Most appealing Bourgogne.
A fresh and distinctly earthy nose is composed primarily by various dark berry scents. The supple, round and delicious flavors possess both good cut and energy before concluding in a persistent if mildly tangy finish that stops just short of dryness though this may well dissipate before the wine is bottled.
Hedgerow and earthy aroma. Sweet blackberry fruits. I like the depth and sweetness with a sweet acidity too. It is really nice and fresh. Appealing. Rounded palate. Part is at the top of the hill and is flat and another is south facing. Easy charm. My fav with the Saint Martin.
Firm reduction renders the nose difficult to evaluate today. Otherwise there is a slightly finer mouthfeel to the lighter weight flavors that are also nicely energetic while offering just a bit more depth on the better balanced finale.
Fresh and peppy.
A little raw and rustic but impassioned and honest. 16/20
This is also reduced but it’s sufficiently light to discern that the underlying fruit appears to be ripe. There is slightly better volume to the punch and attractively textured middle weight flavors that display good length on the slightly more structured if not more complex finale.
Violets on the nose. This is elegant. It is quite racy. It is colder in feel. Not as ripe and sweet as the blend, but with a more interesting floral aromatics on nose and palate and a longer finish.
Intense ruby hue with purplish tinges. Fine nose, structured, with notes of black berries (blueberries, cassis), red fruits (cherry) and wild flowers combined with discreet hints of spices (pepper) and liquorice. Balanced palate, smooth, round fruity. On plum and black fruits, with fine and melted tannins. Long and round finish.
Appealing light ruby-red. Intense floral and fruity nose with an earthy, mineral touch. Clean characters are a key feature on the palate which is light-bodied with fairly upfront tannins and great quality fruit. Drink lightly chilled. 88/100
A mildly toasty nose features notes of lightly spiced red and dark currant. Here too the middle weight flavors possess reasonably good volume and vibrancy, all wrapped a lingering if mildly atypical finish…
Really quite rich and very pleasing and intense – tastes more like a premier cru than a village wine. Most of the fruit comes from close to Clos des Réas apparently.16,5/20
Light aroma of summer fruits. Strawberries. Very supple and inviting. quite soft. Light tannins, maybe with a touch of a leafy bite just at the end, which works well with the ripe summer fruits. It is rounded, but light bodied. Modest concentration. 15.75/20
An attractively ripe and exuberantly fresh nose offers up notes of red cherry, plum, dark raspberry and a variety of spice nuances. Once again the barely middle weight flavors are not particularly dense but I like both the texture and vibrancy of the sneaky long finish where a hint of wood surfaces. This is very Vosne in character and should drink well young or with age.
Needs some air, reductive now so cannot write about the nose, but the palate has good freshness and energy. It is more dynamic than the softer, prettier VR. Note of rose briar. A certain edginess which counter the nicely ripe and well concentrated fruit. It looks very promising. 16.65
… Lots of sweet fruit and energy. Good stuff for the money. 16/20
Needs some air, reductive now so cannot write about the nose, but the palate has good freshness and energy. It is more dynamic than the softer, prettier VR. Note of rose briar. A certain edginess which counter the nicely ripe and well concentrated fruit. It looks very promising. Score 16.65 16/20
A village of high quality resulting from the assembly of four plots which “give an elegant wine, with fairly supple tannins for this appellation. An intermediary between Vosne type wines and those of the night type”, explains the estate. In fact, this cuvée does not lack structure around tight tannins, nor concentration, but the substance also shows a beautiful finesse. An aromatic note on blackcurrant, and more generally on ripe black fruits, accompanies the tasting of this gala night. Coup de cœur * *
Beautiful light ruby. Heady, fruity nose showing ripe redcurrant notes and a subtle smoky, mineral touch. The palate delivers a very silky texture with lots of delicacy and crisp fruit already displaying great persistence. A very promising wine. 91/100
Reduction again has the upper hand versus the fruit today. More interesting are the velvety and utterly delicious medium weight flavors that possess better volume and particularly so on the moderately rustic, compact and first finish where a hint of acid tang arises.
This has a higher and smokier tone than the Vosne-side blend. It is quite smoky on the palate too. Good energy and edginess. There is a gun-flint note. Savoury umami note blend with black currant. It finishes on a fresh and bright note. Top notch village wine. 16.65/20
Firm reduction. The mouthfeel of the less concentrated flavors is more refined thanks to the relatively fine grained tannins shaping the even stonier, linear and youthfully austere finish. This isn’t especially dense but it’s certainly pretty and has the structure to reward 6 to 8 years of cellaring.
Strike shows delicious sweet red cherries. The tannins are fine and light. It is ripe, but not at all rich and has a lightness and elegance. Just nicely fresh and slightly mineral and floral on the finish. It is pretty and has just a tiny crunch at the end. There is a light bite of cherry kernel. 16/20
Firm reduction. The mouthfeel of the less concentrated flavors is more refined thanks to the relatively fine grained tannins shaping the even stonier, linear and youthfully austere finish. This isn’t especially dense but it’s certainly pretty and has the structure to reward 6 to 8 years of cellaring.
Nice depth to the nose. Very supple onto the palate. The tannins give some good structure, but a smooth. It has bite. There is nice concentration and black fruit ripeness. It is an elegant NSG and I like the long and fresh finish. 18/20
A pungent nose is composed of strong reduction and wood toast where the latter element can also be found on the solidly concentrated medium-bodied flavors that offer good depth and persistence on the mildly tangy but not drying finish. This appears to have the necessary density to eventually integrate the generous oak treatment though today the wood is not subtle.
Powerful palate. This is quite a step up. A lot of structure here. The tannins are firm, just nicely ripened, there is a slight grip to them. There is good density. Firm finish. The sweetness of the summer, but with lots of structure. 18,75/20
Rich and intense with some floral notes and still pretty dry on the end.
Prominent but not dominant wood frames the spicy aromas that are comprised mostly by notes of cassis, violet and anise. The more refined and precise if less concentrated flavors brim with evident minerality that also suffuses the moderately austere, long and well-balanced finale. Some patience will be required.
Always first to be picked. This is supple textured and fluid. Seamless. The tannins are fine and elegant. Just sufficient acidity woven in. Summer fruits and a long and silky finish. 18,5/20
Refined and intense but with real sophistication. Sumptuous. And with fine tannins for the future too. 17,5/20
A great classic, and a monopoly, from Domaine Michel Gros. Complex notes of cherry, blackberry and peony form a pleasant aromatic palette. The palate is generous and velvety, the finish a little more fluid.
Blazing garnet to dark purple hue. Complex bouquet of melted aromas combining small red fruits (strawberry), black (blackcurrant, blueberry) and leather. Smoothness, elegance, voluptuousness, the balance of its chewiness and its architecture offers a full-bodied attack. Velvety and delicate finish.
Light red. Intense, complex nose accented by red berry fruits with a subtle oaky and roasted coffee tone. The palate is very mouth-filling, silky and expressive and offers up well above average aromatic persistence. Remarkable. 93/100
There is just enough reduction to hide all but the much more subtle wood and spice wisps. The round, delicious and velvet-textured middle weight flavors retain a lovely sense of detail and energy, all wrapped in a refined and again youthfully austere finish.
Appealing summer fruit aroma and white pepper. This is layered and powerful. There is no lack of structure, but I find it nicely restrained and compact:, not overly burly. A well honed Vougetos. Great aromatics on the palate too.1 9/20
Once again there is plenty of wood surrounding the distinctly earthy aromas of red and dark berries where a pretty top note of violet appears. The relatively supple and forward flavors aren’t dilute but neither are they dense, all wrapped in a firm, austere and solidly complex and persistent finish. This is pretty and I like the depth but it would be fair to say that it is not at its usual level.