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Confuron-Cotetidot, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru, “Les Suchots”

Burgundy, France 2007 (750mL)
$175.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Confuron-Cotetidot, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru, “Les Suchots”

Today we have a rare red Burgundy cellar release to share with you from 2007—a vintage which is firing on all cylinders right now. In my opinion, ’07 was a “classic” vintage, one which made well-structured red Burgundies which have matured into near-perfect expressions of place. After tasting today’s Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru “Les Suchots” from Confuron-Cotetidot, my love for 2007s is at an all-time high.
This is a deep, savory, brooding expression of Burgundy Pinot Noir that still has a long life ahead of it. It’s a reflection 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 Premier Cru “Suchots” (which, as you will read below, touches both Richebourg and  Romanée-St-Vivant!!) 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. What a treat it is to encounter such a technically sound and evocative back-vintage bottle—thanks to the importer, this perfectly stored wine came straight to us from the domaine, and we grabbed all we could. Due to its limited quantity, we must limit purchases to three bottles per customer until it sells out.
By now, given how many of their wines we’ve offered over the years, the Confuron-Cotetidot story might be a familiar one to you: This is a family operation, specializing in vineyard planting via séléction massale—the process of propagating new plants by using cuttings from the best-performing vines in the vineyard. Parents Jean-Jacques “Jacky” (Confuron) and Bernadette (Cotetidot), who created the domaine in 1964, still work the vines; their sons Yves and Jack Confuron now handle day-to-day operations and winemaking, while simultaneously holding positions at other properties. The celebrated “Les Suchots” vineyard is classified as Premier Cru, which, if you look at a vineyard map of Vosne-Romanée, is a head-scratcher: How the heck is this not a Grand Cru? It is almost surrounded on all sides by Grand Cru sites (“Richebourg,” “Romanée-St-Vivant,” “Echézeaux”), and 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, Confuron-Cotetidot’s 2007 Vosne-Romanée “Les Suchots” is still a deep, slightly brackish 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 blossoms, wild raspberry, a hint of black licorice and exotic spices, damp flowers, wild mushroom, and a hint of dried meat 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 more of life ahead if kept well. It’s almost a ‘Burgundy-meets-Barolo’ style, hearty and savory, one of those bottles where your last sip is the best. If you are enjoying a bottle now (highly recommended), simply pull the cork an hour or two before serving in Burgundy stems at 60-65 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.
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceVosne-Romanée 1er Cru “Les Suchots”
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
~40% New French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Beef Bourguignon

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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