2013 Vosne-Romanée Village

Jean-Nicolas Méo started harvesting his estate vines on October 2 and was surprised to find excellent phenolic ripeness even though grape sugars were in the 11.5% to 12% range. It was necessary to eliminate a significant quantity of rotten berries but there were relatively few pink or green ones, he told me. None of the 2013s here will be bottled with as much as 13% alcohol, with the possible exception of the always-ripe Corton Clos Rognet. Extraction was easy with the 2013s, noted Méo, "as the green elements stayed behind." Some barrels were still finishing their malolactic fermentations at the beginning of November but most malos ended between mid-summer and October.