THE WINE ADVOCATE 2017

THE WINE ADVOCATE 2017

William Kelley

Millésime 2017

My tasting with Jean-Pierre Guyon was one of the highlights of over two months tasting in Burgundy, as I hadn’t appreciated just how exciting the wines emerging from this six-hectare Vosne-Romanée domaine are. Guyon, whose first vintage was 1987, recounted how in the late 1980s and early 1990s he—along with many of his contemporaries—made heavily extracted, oaky wines, attempting to prove that Pinot Noir need not lack color or structure. Today, by contrast, his ambition is to revert to what he considers the old-fashioned way of doing things: that’s to say, vinification with most whole clusters; no sulfur additions, if possible, until the Spring following the harvest; a cuvaison of some twenty days; and gentle basket pressing. The consumption of this new approach, along with organic certification, dates to 2012. Thanks to an enviable patrimony of old vines (« I don’t have any young vines », boasts Guyon), yields are low, stems ripe, and the new approach works remarkably successfully. While the wines are certainly marked by their whole cluster fermentation, which lends them lovely aromatic range, they have such natural concentration that they avoid being overtly stylized, and site distinctions are articulately expressed. Guyon’s 2017s, it would be fair to say, transcend the vintage norms in terms of depth and dimension, and I warmly encourage readers to acquaint themselves with this exciting domaine.

Chorey Les Bons Ores 2017
The 2017 Chorey-lès-Beaune Les Bons Ores makes for an impressive beginning to the tasting, bursting from the glass with a beautiful bouquet of rose petals, cherries, beetroot, and loamy soil. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, its rich structuring tannins cloaked in succulent fruit. Consumers that don’t disdain the humble appellation will be amply rewarded. WK (89-91)/100

Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Peuillets 2017
The 2017 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Peuillets wafts from the glass with notes of black cherries, raspberries, dark berries, smoke and spices, its 30% new oak already entirely integrated. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, with a chunky, foursquare profile that will reward bottle age. WK (90-92)/100

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées 2017
There are three barrels of the 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées, a dramatic wine that bursts from the glass with aromas of peonies, burning embers, orange rind, sweet red plums Asian spices and wild blueberries. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and satiny, with an enveloping, almost unctuous profile that’s typical Brûlées, concluding with a long, succulent finish. WK (92-94)/100

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru En Orveaux 2017
The 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru En Orveaux soars from the glass with a heady bouquet of orange rind, rose petals, warm spices, dark chocolate, grilled squab and ripe berries. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with excellent depth and concentration, supple structuring tannin and a long, fragrant finish. WK (92-94)/100

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2017
From an old vine parcel just below the Château, next to Jean-Nicolas Méo’s holdings, the 2017 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a classy bouquet of warm spices, rose petals, incense, raspberries, cassis and orange rind. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, dense and concentrated, with a deep core, rich structuring tannins and a long, lingering finish. This is a powerful Clos Vougeot that transcends the vintage. WK (93-95)/100

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2017
The 2017 Echézeaux Grand Cru is striking, offering up a lovely bouquet of sweet potpourri, rose petal, juicy cherries, cassis, wood smoke and dark chocolate. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, ample and multidimensional, framed by a broad-shouldered chassis of rich but ripe structuring tannin that’s cloaked in a generous core of fleshy fruit, concluding with a long finish. More expansive than the blockier Clos de Vougeot, this gets my nod as Guyon’s finest 2017, though only tasting from bottle will confirm that intuition. WK (93-95)/100