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The August 2019 Auction: Part 2

Auction # 565 | View Auction Schedule and Details
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Auction Ends: 8/8/2019 6:00:00 PM PDT

Lot #19. Domaine de L'Arlot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 2016

Description: Consists of 3 Bottles, 0.75L
Score: 93-95 NM.
"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. I was early pulling into the cobbled courtyard at Domaine de l’Arlot, although that suited winemaker Geraldine Godot who escorted me through the wines while builders were hammering away behind us (something to do with new security being installed in the cellars). “We lost 70% of the production, so to have more volume in the tank during vinification, I did a lot of whole cluster,” she explained over the din. “Most of the loss was in Prémeaux and also vines located in Comblanchien. But it was a normal crop for both the Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots and the Romanée-Saint-Vivant. The day before the frost, we knew that the temperature would be low. But we could not foresee the consequence of three factors: humidity, the frost itself and, the worst for us, the sun. Without one of those factors, the damage would have been less. The following day it was difficult to actually see the damage. We saw it more during the season. Then again, sometimes we had a nice surprise where we thought we had lost 100% of the appellation. There was a lot of rain that created mildew pressure, but we are lucky because the frost precipitated a late development of the growing cycle and so there was less pressure on a vine with more advance growth. Some growers stopped the organic system, but despite the mildew pressure, we did not use chemicals. We started the picking on 27 September and finished five days later on 1 October. The vinification was normal. The color was dark from the beginning, and we did not have to extract a lot to have color or tannin. It was actually quite easy. We kept the same percentage of new oak, and I play with the quantity from year to year to keep it fairly constant.” Geraldine compared the 2016 with 2015 in terms of quality, and she has good grounds for that viewpoint. This was an impressive set of wines, less flamboyant and fruit driven than the previous vintage, more linear and structured with graphite notes often cropping up on the finish. The Clos des Fôrets is among the best within the appellation, alongside Domaine Robert Chevillon’s, albeit in a different style. Also keep an eye on the excellent whites, especially for the La Gerbotte Blanc that should represent great value. It's nice to see how Geraldine has settled in at the domaine following the departure of Jacques Devauges to Clos de Tart and is now possibly making their best wines ever." Wine Advocate #234, Dec 2017
Lot Location: Orange County
Estimate: $500

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