2017 Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes

My first port of call during my second fortnight in Burgundy was at Cécile Tremblay, always one of my most entertaining visits, and much of our conversation not for publication. Tremblay’s 2017s continue a succession of excellent vintages.

“It was easy after 2016,” she told me as we sat around the table in the upper floor tasting room, her faithful hound slumped and bored in the corner, as if to say, not another journalist. “It was easy in the vineyard. There was no oïdium, hail or frost. It was very simple. It was a dream! We did some green harvesting in vigorous parcels like Les Feusselottes, otherwise you risked double the usual crop. There was just 20mm of rain at the end of August [much needed after the dry summer.] I started the harvest on September 5 in Chambolle-Musigny Les Plantes and finished on September 10. The maturity was good and we ended up picking at 13° to 13.15° potential alcohol. The vinification was straightforward. The vats were full and so I used less whole bunch because there was no room. I will rack next week and bottle the first wines in December.”

This was an impressive set of 2017s from Tremblay, attesting to clever use of whole bunch, where she laboriously cuts out the main stem à la Lalou Bize-Leroy and Arnaud Mortet, and moderating levels of new oak to the benefit of each cru. For me, the standout this year is not the Chapelle-Chambertin but the Echézeaux du Dessus: rich and sensual, with a gorgeous spicy finish. I would also check out the Nuits Saint-Georges Les Murgers, one of that appellation’s finest Premier Crus and already showing impressive persistence.