Thursday, March 1, 2018

Domaine FOLLIN-ARBELET (Aloxe-Corton) -- 2016s Tasted from Barrel and a Pair of 2015s from Bottle

Franck Follin-Arbelet said that losses from the frost meant that he did only about 30-35% of a full harvest. The harvesting began on 22 September. There was no red Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru in 2016, and the Aloxe-Corton and  Aloxe-Vercots also suffered badly. However,  following on the frost, there were no problems with mildew, and as a result, there was no need to do a triage. Whole clusters were used in about 10-20%, he said, but more for volume than anything else. 

Malolactic fermentations were late, many finishing in spring, but others dragged on until September.

As usual, there is very good quality here, and the best values probably come from the premier cru wines. The wines show the freshness of the vintage, a contrast to the 2015s where it is the power and ripeness that dominate. (Continue reading here.)