2016 Domaine de l’Arlot Vosne Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots, Burgundy

Domaine de l’Arlot also produces a tiny amount of Vosne. This wine, first made in 1998, is crafted from less than a hectare of vines planted in 1950. These are situated in the part of Les Suchots just below the northern slice of Richebourg. It’s a parcel heavily affected by millerandage, a condition that brings tiny bunches and berries—welcomed by quality-minded producers for the intensity such fruit gifts. There was next to no frost in Suchots and the 2016 was entirely vinified with whole-bunches and raised in 50% new barrels. Always a wine that is more about finesse than power, the ’16’s vivid, pretty personality sits in stark contrast to the swashbuckling Nuits cuvées. It’s a stunning, wonderfully formed wine that’s asking for at least five years in the cellar. Lots of energy: red-fruited, floral and with a long, mineral close. The note below captures it well.

“The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots includes 100% whole cluster with 50% new oak. It has a refined, elegant, mild-mannered bouquet with pure raspberry preserve, cranberry and subtle tobacco scents that unroll with aeration, though never quite delivering the opulence synonymous with the premier cru. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle but insistent grip on the entry. In some ways, the whole bunch addition lends this structure and shifts it toward, say, a Malconsorts in style (not to suggest that is necessarily a bad thing!). Linear and precise, it will require 7 to 10 years in bottle to really show its best. The bottom line is that this is one of the finest Les Suchots that I tasted in 2016.”