Sylvain Cathiard Bourgogne Rouge AC – 2020

“The 2020 Bourgogne Rouge is now a blend of two parcels, one in Gilly-lès-Cîteaux and the other in Croix Blanche in the commune of Vosne-Romanée. Delivering aromas of cherries, sweet berries and peonies, it’s a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming effort that’s matured in used barrels.” 87-89pts The Wine Advocate

“Sébastien Cathiard is always a late harvester, and in 2020 he began picking on September 8, the same date he began his 2018 harvest. Alcohol levels range between 13.9% and 15% for his Côte d’Or holdings (quite a bit higher than in 2018), and these are rich, powerful wines that maintain freshness but which are certainly among the headier 2020s that I tasted. As readers will remember, the rudiments of the contemporary Cathiard approach are simple: meticulous viticulture—though not, I should add, especially low yields—and careful sorting, followed by complete destemming, macerations of 20-30 days and maturation in barrels, principally from Tonnellerie Rémond (drawing on the Tronçais, Allier and Jupilles forests in equal proportions), from some 15-18 months. The big development at this address is that in 2019 Sébastien Cathiard expanded the domaine from 4.6 hectares to fully 8.35 hectares. That new hectarage includes some Gevrey-Chambertin but is predominantly in the Hautes-Côtes. So, a thirsty world will be delighted to know that there will be some more-affordable wines from this sought-after address. In 2020, those Hautes-Côtes bottlings are also among the more classically proportioned wines in the cellar.”