2022 Vosne-Romanée Village

Unfortunately, Jean-Nicolas Méo was ill when I visited the Domaine in Vosne-Romanée. Still, I was welcomed by his Chile-born oenologist with a beaming smile that could brighten the cloudiest day. “Just call me ‘Nacha,’” she says as we set ourselves up in her tiny office. “That’s what everyone calls me.”

“It was a much easier season than 2021 and 2023. Though it was dry and warm, we had a lot of rain during May and June before the harvest, whereas in 2023, it was close to the harvest. We lost 20% to 30% in Fixin and Marsannay due to the heaviest rain when there was some hail. We started the harvest on Monday, 29 August, with the Corton Clos Rognets and the Clos Vougeot. We finished nine days later, on September 6, with the Clos St. Philibert. The vinification was normal: a cold soak with one pump-over, two pump-overs during fermentation, and keeping the tank warm when we do the pigeage and remontage, if necessary, at around 1,000 density. We keep it around 30° to 32° Celsius for four or five days. We have some wines less than 13%, but most of them are 13% and 13.5%. The malos were quite fast for the reds, but slower for the Chardonnay that didn’t finish until July. We thought this might affect the wines, though, in the end, it didn’t. We taste every barrel of every appellation to choose the best cooperage and the level of toasting. Now, 100% of the staves are dried for three years with a medium toast. The first wines will be bottled in mid-December. The Bourgogne, Marsannay and Fixin are racked into tank for bottling.”