Domaine Sylvain Cathiard
2015Vosne-Romanée “Aux Malconsorts” ♥1er Cru Red barrel
Score: 93-96
Tasted: Jan 15, 2017
Drink: 2033+
Issue: 65
Don’t miss! Outstanding
Note: from a .74 ha parcel of 35+ year old vines
Producer note: Sébastian Cathiard described his 2015 campaign as “about as easy as one could hope for. The growing season was reasonably straightforward to manage, yields were good despite a relatively high incidence of shot berries, the harvest went well, the fruit was super clean, the vinifications were easy and the wines are excellent. What more could one hope for? More specifically, we began picking on the 12th of September and while there was rain that day, the skins were already so thick and the fruit so clean that it was a non-factor, in fact it might actually have helped rebalance the sugars and solids somewhat. Yields were in the 42 hl/ha with potential alcohols that ranged from 12.5 to 13.5%. I did my normal vinification except for a bit more punch down than I did in say 2014 with no whole cluster inclusion. I also used a bit less new wood in a few cuvées but nothing significant. Overall, I like the style of the 2015s because they’re ripe but with no loss of typicity.” As long-time readers know, I rarely give blanket endorsements but the Cathiard 2015s are, quite simply, among the very best wines of the entire vintage. Moreover, while you may find a wine here or there that will rival Cathiard’s RSV, if the standard is to compare the quality of an entire range against another, I don’t believe that you will find better. I appreciate that is a bold statement but I was absolutely knocked out by how good the wines are, indeed the word “brilliant” comes to mind. Moreover, don’t pass on his ’14s either as they are terrific as well. Speaking of which, the 2014s, revisited below, were bottled in April 2016. (Becky Wasserman & Co., www.leserbet.com, Beaune, France; The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com, Robert Rolls & Co., www.robertrolls.com, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, Fields, Morris & Verdin, www.fmvwines.com, Flint Wines, www.flintwines.com, La Réserve, and O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, all UK; Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com, CA/NV/CO/AZ/NM, Fine Vines, www.finevines.com, Chicago, IL, Wines Unlimited, www.winesunlimited.com, New Orleans, LA, Frederick Wildman, www.frederickwildman.com, NY/NJ/CT, Classified Wine & Spirits, LLC, www.classifiedwine.net, Austin, TX, Small Potatoes Wine, www.smallpotatoeswine.com, Boise ID, C’est Vin, LLC, 703.243.3559, Arlington, VA; Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, UK; L’Imperatrice Fine Wines, www.imperatrice.com.hk, Hong Kong/China/Macau).
Tasting note: Reduction interferes with an evaluation of the nose but not the palate as there is good freshness, verve and power to the big-bodied, mineral-driven and concentrated flavors that deliver superb depth and length on the almost painfully intense finale. However despite all of the concentration and overt muscularity this very, very firmly structured effort remains faultlessly well-balanced though note well that this is going to require an extended snooze in a cool cellar. This is reference standard Malconsorts.
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru, Aux Malconsorts
US$8,500 / 每箱價格
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard
2015Vosne-Romanée “Aux Malconsorts” ♥1er Cru Red barrel
Score: 93-96
Tasted: Jan 15, 2017
Drink: 2033+
Issue: 65
Don’t miss! Outstanding
Note: from a .74 ha parcel of 35+ year old vines
Producer note: Sébastian Cathiard described his 2015 campaign as “about as easy as one could hope for. The growing season was reasonably straightforward to manage, yields were good despite a relatively high incidence of shot berries, the harvest went well, the fruit was super clean, the vinifications were easy and the wines are excellent. What more could one hope for? More specifically, we began picking on the 12th of September and while there was rain that day, the skins were already so thick and the fruit so clean that it was a non-factor, in fact it might actually have helped rebalance the sugars and solids somewhat. Yields were in the 42 hl/ha with potential alcohols that ranged from 12.5 to 13.5%. I did my normal vinification except for a bit more punch down than I did in say 2014 with no whole cluster inclusion. I also used a bit less new wood in a few cuvées but nothing significant. Overall, I like the style of the 2015s because they’re ripe but with no loss of typicity.” As long-time readers know, I rarely give blanket endorsements but the Cathiard 2015s are, quite simply, among the very best wines of the entire vintage. Moreover, while you may find a wine here or there that will rival Cathiard’s RSV, if the standard is to compare the quality of an entire range against another, I don’t believe that you will find better. I appreciate that is a bold statement but I was absolutely knocked out by how good the wines are, indeed the word “brilliant” comes to mind. Moreover, don’t pass on his ’14s either as they are terrific as well. Speaking of which, the 2014s, revisited below, were bottled in April 2016. (Becky Wasserman & Co., www.leserbet.com, Beaune, France; The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com, Robert Rolls & Co., www.robertrolls.com, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, Fields, Morris & Verdin, www.fmvwines.com, Flint Wines, www.flintwines.com, La Réserve, and O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, all UK; Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com, CA/NV/CO/AZ/NM, Fine Vines, www.finevines.com, Chicago, IL, Wines Unlimited, www.winesunlimited.com, New Orleans, LA, Frederick Wildman, www.frederickwildman.com, NY/NJ/CT, Classified Wine & Spirits, LLC, www.classifiedwine.net, Austin, TX, Small Potatoes Wine, www.smallpotatoeswine.com, Boise ID, C’est Vin, LLC, 703.243.3559, Arlington, VA; Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, UK; L’Imperatrice Fine Wines, www.imperatrice.com.hk, Hong Kong/China/Macau).
Tasting note: Reduction interferes with an evaluation of the nose but not the palate as there is good freshness, verve and power to the big-bodied, mineral-driven and concentrated flavors that deliver superb depth and length on the almost painfully intense finale. However despite all of the concentration and overt muscularity this very, very firmly structured effort remains faultlessly well-balanced though note well that this is going to require an extended snooze in a cool cellar. This is reference standard Malconsorts.
