Saturday, December 19, 2015

Domaine Bruno Clavelier (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2014s Tasted from Cask Samples


Bruno Clavelier said that he began harvesting on 12 September and finished on 18 September. Over the summer, the June 28 hail affected Corton by 25%. Then a later hail his the Nuits-Cras, the premiers crus in Vosne and Chambolle, and the Hautes-Maizières in Vosne-Romanée. He said there were a few symptoms of Asian fruit fly that had to be sorted. Overall, his production is 25% below the average for the previous fifteen years.


Malolactic fermentations began early (for him) in January; the first of them finished in late June, the last in August. Village wines are about 12-12.5º natural alcohol, 1er Crus are about 12.5-12.7º; there was just a small amount of chaptalization to extend the alcoholic fermentations. Bruno works in an unusual way with the stems – he calls it a sandwich: stems are on the bottom and top of the fermenting tank with the destemmed fruit in the middle.
All the wines had not been racked when I tasted them; he was planning to rack them in December or January and then begin bottling in February or March.
The estate works biodynamically and organically.
From one of my favorite sources in Burgundy, this is a most exciting vintage.
All wines are tasted from samples drawn off from cask, which permits the blending of the casks for a particular wine. We start with the white: (Continue reading here.)