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Nicolas Rossignol

It has been two or three years since I visited Nicolas Rossignol’s newly built winery on the fringe of Beaune. An industrial estate with lorries passing outside might not appeal to our romantic vision of bucolic Burgundy, but it affords him plenty of space to work in and a clean environment. “The vintage was easy in the sense that we had no frost or hail, no disease. But after that we started to see the dryness having an impact along with arid conditions the previous year. This means that we cut the canopy very high in some areas. It is the vintage where we really use the canopy to protect the grapes against the sun. I sprayed eight times just with sulphur or copper as I am biodynamic. There is more acidity in 2019 than in 2018, which is due to the cold nights. We picked from 16 September that is quite normal now. The vinification was regular though six vats had a stuck ferment. I didn’t know why as I don’t do too much analysis - possibly because of a lack of nitrogen in the juice. So, I racked the sixth vat and the natural yeasts restarted in three vats. The other three it didn’t start, so I had to inoculate with some yeasts to finish the sugar. I am planning to inoculate using my own yeasts next year, using a laboratory that can select the most efficient strains. Alcohol levels are high with some over 15 degrees. I am planning to bottle some in January but most in March or April.” This was generally a decent set of 2019s, the later picking engendering more opulent wines than others, occasionally tipping over into richness levels that mask terroir expression and feel a little laboured. Should he have unsheathed the secateurs earlier? Maybe. Nevertheless, there is a clutch of very fine Volnays, particularly Les Roncerets, though I would seek out Rossignol’s lesser-known Savignys for the best quality-to-price ratio.

From La Lumière Noire: 2019 Burgundy - Côte de Beaune (Dec 2020) by Neal Martin

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2019 Bourgogne Rouge

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Nicolas Rossignol

2019 Bourgogne Rouge

2019 Bourgogne Héritier

2019 Pommard Les Noizons

2019 Pommard Les Vignots

2019 Volnay Village

2019 Beaune Les Reversées 1er Cru

2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Lavières 1er Cru

2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Fourneaux 1er Cru

2019 Pernand-Vergelesses Les Fichots 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Les Mitans 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Le Ronceret 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Chevret 1er Cru

2019 Volnay Les Santenots 1er Cru

2019 Pommard Les Argillières 1er Cru

2019 Pommard Charmots 1er Cru

2019 Pommard Epenots 1er Cru

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