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Domaine d’Eugénie

Michel Mallard has overseen the wines at Domaine d’Eugénie since 2006, after François Pinault bought Domaine René Engel following the untimely passing of Philippe Engel. After a tricky start, when the wines were over-oaked and lacked the essence of pinoté, there is now a more hands-off approach in the winery. “We took off some bunches in July as the vines were compensating for being frosted in 2016,” Mallard explained. “We did two green harvests, one in July and one in late August after coming back from holiday. It meant you could take out any damaged and grilled berries the second time. We started the harvest on September 2 and vinified without sulphur, which was only added after the malolactic [as Mallard did last year.] One difference this year is that I filled the barrels from the bottom instead of the top because I felt the wines were delicate and I wanted to reduce their exposure to air. I will rack the wines in January or February.”

Hence, for the first time, instead of tasting directly from barrel, I tasted the 2017s from prepared samples. I usually propose the Grands-Echézeaux as the pick of the bunch, but this year I am smitten by the excellent Clos de Vougeot, whilst the Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées matches the Echézeaux pound for pound. There is a rather modern sheen to these wines, which I know puts off the devotees of Philippe Engel’s more rustic but often profound style of wine. These tend to be a little darker in fruit and a touch more confit. Yet I do feel that they are much better than even five or six years ago when, for want of a better expression, they just seemed to lack soul.

From 2017 Burgundy: A Modern Classic (Jan 2019) by Neal Martin

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2017 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

Color: Red

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