2016 Vosne-Romanée Village

Jean-Nicolas Méo cut back on his production of négociant wine in 2016 because there was less fruit available “and the quality was debatable.” Still, he believes that the difference between frosted and non-frosted vines are not that obvious in 2016, as he had grape sugars of 13.5% or higher virtually across his many holdings and did not chaptalize. (He started harvesting on September 26, although he admitted to bringing in some of his most precocious vines, such as the Corton Rognets, two days earlier.) “We had a lot of sugar from the start, and we also had some sugar after the press,” he told me. “The wines were difficult to ferment, mostly due to their high alcohol, but the fermentation were not really stuck. When we de-vatted and pressed, we saw that the alcohol levels were slightly higher than at the outset.”

Méo did a relatively soft vinification in 2016, with some vats done without sulfur additions. Although he destemmed all of his fruit, for a number of wines he added back a portion of the stems. Méo, who is backing away slightly from his use of new oak for some of his top wines, told me he was surprised to find that the ‘16s have slightly higher pHs than his ‘15s (typically 3.5 to 3.6 in ’16 but mostly 3.4 to 3.5 the previous year). The malos here occurred at their normal time—between March and June—and the wines, with one exception, were still in barrel, unracked, at the time of my November visit. Méo noted that the ‘16s had become a bit more serious—more dense and structured—since the summer without losing their charm. As my father used to say, I was "visibly impressed" by this set of wines, and Méo's top cuvées should be among the elite bottles of the vintage.

The handful of 2015s I tasted here were also stunning. Méo told me that it’s his favorite vintage since 1999: “complete wines with great balance.” But this superb producer, normally very generous about opening bottles, declined to participate in my 1999 survey, as he was nervous about showing it in his cellar.