We have a small parcel of a powerful, mineral red Burgundy to share with you from the 2007 vintage—a year you’ll hear a lot of conflicting opinions about. On the one hand, some say it was an ‘early-drinking’ year for reds, while others make comparisons to the powerhouse 2005 vintage. After tasting this 2007 Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru “Les Suchots” from Confuron-Cotetidot, I’m inclined to side with the “power” camp:
This is a deep, brooding, still-youthful expression of Burgundy Pinot Noir that still has a long life ahead of it. Part of this may owe to the vintage, but it’s also reflective of Confuron-Cotetidot’s house style, which is “old school” in the truest sense. The depth and intensity imparted by old vines in the beautifully positioned “Suchots” vineyard is augmented by a winemaking approach designed to boost longevity—100% whole-cluster fermentation, an extra-long maceration on the grape skins during fermentation, and extended barrel aging all contributed to this wine’s deliciously brooding profile. What a treat it is to encounter such a technically sound and evocative back-vintage wine—thanks to the importer, this perfectly stored wine came straight to us from the domaine, and we grabbed all we could.
“Les Suchots” is classified as Premier Cru, which, if you look at a vineyard map of Vosne-Romanée, is a head-scratcher, to say the least. How the heck is this not a Grand Cru? It is literally surrounded on all sides by Grand Cru sites (“Richebourg,” “Romanée-St-Vivant,” “Echézeaux”), and in the hands of brothers Yves and Jean-Pierre Confuron, it certainly behaves like one. The Confurons, a farming family in Vosne since the 17th century, have never introduced a single chemical pesticide or herbicide to their 11 hectares of vineyards, and their portion of Les Suchots boasts vines between 60 and 80 years of age.
These old vines keep yields naturally low, which delivers the great concentration you’ll find in this 2007. The Confurons use 100% whole grape clusters in their fermentations, and typically macerate the grapes on their skins for 2-3 weeks, both practices lending their wines a characteristic tannic grip that takes time in the cellar to resolve. Les Suchots was aged for two years in a mix of new and used French oak barriques, and at this point in the wine’s evolution that oak component has become an accent note in a wine driven first and foremost by its crushed-stone minerality.
In the glass, Conferon-Cotetidot’s 2007 Vosne-Romanée “Les Suchots” is still a deep ruby with only the slightest hint of bricking at the rim. The aromatics—which come alive after some time in a decanter/glass—are dark-fruited and savory: black cherry, black raspberry, a hint of black licorice and pepper, dried rose petal, and turned earth. Medium-plus in body, the wine still has a youthful, powerful structure, with enough tannin and acid to suggest a good decade of life ahead if kept well. It’s almost a ‘Burgundy-meets-Barolo’ style, hearty and smoky, one of those bottles where your last sip is the best. If you are enjoying a bottle now (highly recommended), decant it an hour before serving in Burgundy stems at around 65 degrees. This is an ideal Beef Bourguignon wine, so we’re going back to the well for a
recipe we’ve shared before—it’s a combo that’ll warm both body and soul.
