2015 Vosne-Romanée Village

According to Frédéric Drouhin, the rains of early August unblocked the vines after the very dry July, speeding up the ripening process while giving the grapes a juicier character. In the end, the fruit was thick-skinned and extremely healthy, requiring virtually no sorting. (Drouhin started picking Pinot Noir on September 3 and finished with Mazi-Chambertin on September 18.) All of the Drouhin village wines were destemmed but the premier crus were made with between 10% and 40% whole clusters. Total maceration times were longer than usual but punchdowns were “very limited, to avoid extracting more tannins," according to Frédéric. "We had to vinify the 2015s with white gloves because everything was there and we didn’t need to extract a lot,” he explained. He added that the week after the fermentations ended was “the most important period for getting a harmony of components. The post-fermentation maceration brought more depth and velvetiness. The wines were also getting drier so at some point it was time to finish.” Drouhin added that the family’s new vertical press gives them better control over the last liters of juice in the tank (the fin de presse), which they now generally declassify in order to make more precise wines. Incidentally, some of Drouhin's 2015s were in tank at the time of my December tasting but most were still in barrels.