It’s no accident that Vosne-Romanée sits right where the heart would be on the Côte d’Or’s limestone spine. This is where Burgundy’s charms coalesce to shape the world’s most revered Pinot Noir—153 hectares of pure poetry.
It’s also where Burgundy’s “game of inches” intensifies, with mere meters differentiating the world’s most expensive vineyards from their much-more-accessible neighbors. The “Les Chalandins” vineyard is a perfect example. It’s a lieu-dit nestled at the base of the Vosne-Romanée slope, just north of the road, nearly on the border with neighboring Flagey-Echézeaux. But hit a golf ball and you could reach the legendary Grand Cru “Grands Echézeaux” upslope to the west or “Clos de Vougeot” if you aimed north. Then there’s “La Colombière,” another prime site in striking distance of a Grand Cru, in this case Romanée-Conti. Both of these vineyards are farmed and vinified with the same vigilance as any Grand Cru—and today’s 2014 two-pack from Domaine Fabrice Vigot is proof that you can still find affordable Burgundy without sacrificing pedigree or finesse. Both of these supremely elegant, aromatic wines turn Burgundy’s hierarchical vineyard ranking on its ear—I was genuinely moved by them, and I’m certain you will be too, so if you’ve got room in your cellar this would be a wise addition!
Fabrice Vigot’s barrel room is so small that the two of us kept bumping elbows during our last barrel tasting. The tiny domaine has called Vosne-Romanée home since the early 1990s, combining Vigot’s own inherited holdings with his wife’s to cover seven hectares across six appellations and 15 different vineyards. From what we recently learned, their parcel of Les Chalandins vineyard was the result of a sharecropping agreement between Fabrice and cult Burgundy producer Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg. Vigot farmed the vines to meticulous organic standards and received a portion of the fruit as payment. The remainder went to the Mugneret-Gibourg sisters who, in turn, used “Les Chalandins” in their Vosne-Romanée Villages for 2014—a wine that retails on average for double the price of Vigot’s single-vineyard expression (as of 2017, Mugneret-Gibourg took back their parcels in their entirety, which gives you an idea of how good/valuable they are). This microclimate is ever-so-slightly warmer than the southern half of the village, with deeper soil contributing to a denser, more velvety style. Vigot’s wild yeast fermentations and delicate use of new French oak mean perfect transparency between vineyard and glass.
The La Colombière site is a few clicks south of Chalandins, directly downslope from the La Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. Soils here are a little rockier than Chalandins and Colombière is perched a little higher on the slope, and the difference can be felt in the wines. Comte Liger-Belair bottles a (much more expensive) wine from Colombière, which, in comparing it side-by-side with the Chalandins, shows a little more linearity and firm structure at this point in its life. If I were going to drink one of these bottles now it’d be the Chalandins, although both have long lives ahead of them—these are impeccable ’14s with all the elements I look for in elite red Burgundy—if I were tasting either wine blind, I’d be thinking Premier Cru level at a minimum. This is classic Vosne-Romanée—as silky and seductive as Burgundy Pinot Noir gets!
At five years old, Vigot’s 2014 Chalandins is having a moment. Those few years have added a little pink on the rim of an otherwise dense ruby-red glass. It’s soft and perfumed on the nose with aromas of bramble blossoms and forest strawberries. The palate is deep and soft: damp roses, fresh pomegranate juice, and a little white tea for a touch of freshness. Tannins are firm but silky and need a good 30 minutes to unravel in the glass. Decant it at least that long before serving at 60-65 degrees and prepare yourself for a good old-fashioned Burgundy reverie: The perfume, the texture, and the long finish are all perfectly on-point right now, and there’s still so much more this wine will have to say over the next 10+ years. La Colombière is no slouch now, either, but I’m inclined to give it 3-5 more years in the cellar before enjoying the symphonic Pinot Noir experience it promises. It’s exceptionally elegant, a little more soil/mineral-driven, and destined to headline a memorable meal in the future. When the time comes, pair these Vosnes with roasted squab or really any game bird in your repertoire. You are in for a treat, believe me!
