2016 Domaine Dujac, Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru, Aux Malconsorts

The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts actually has a similar bouquet to the Les Beaux Monts but with heightened mineralité which is prioritized over the fruit. I was momentarily whisked back to my youth, pot-holing in the Lake District, that tang of limestone and moorland in the air. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin. As Alec Seysses remarked, there is more “wine” in the Malconsorts compared to the Beaux Monts. It has brilliant delineation and a very complex finish that fans out with real confidence. This is one of the top wines from Dujac. Chapeau.

Medium red. Tangy, highly perfumed aromas of raspberry, cranberry, damson plum and cardamom. At once dense and penetrating, displaying excellent acidity and inner-mouth tension but a bit youthfully disjointed at present. This wine does not offer the early deliciousness of the Beaux Monts but it has even more nervosité and more tannic support. Finishes with bracing notes of sappy red cherry and flowers. Not at all a bruiser, this beauty will need a minimum of five or six years of cellaring upon its release.

Mid cherry red. Plenty of spice on the nose at first, then it settles down to reveal peppery red fruit, not sweet but definitely red-fruited. Deep, deep fruit on the palate, the oak spice very present but well integrated. Firm but so smooth. Rich and long. Tannins build to a more chewy and fresh finish. Excellent harmony and balance for a long future. (JH)

Winemaker Diana Snowden feels that since 2015 this wine is really showing the effects of biodynamic farming. (They took it on in 2005.) Barrel sample. Transparent garnet. Light and fresh. Lively and racy. Ethereal. Very juicy. Very appetising and with real lift. Sweet ink. Such a pure finish. So long. (JR)