Aux Murgers

Another fabulous, imperial purple colour, this starts quietly. Then, there’s a fabulous swathe of rich black and blueberry fruits emerges. The wine has a superb finish, with rounded tannins, while the freshness of the vintage sings out and the persistence is sublime. Drink 2023-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Sébastien Cathiard completed his harvest in just three days, beginning on 12th September. He already had good sugar and low-ish acids a week earlier, but not the desired phenolic maturity. He took the decision to run with the vintage and so extracted as much as in other years, in fact punching down more in 2015 than 2014. He also made sure that the malolactic fermentation happened relatively late, so these are backward wines which will require quite a lot more élevage. But they are unquestionably brilliant wines. Sébastien has used less new oak than in the past and with a lighter toast to the barrels.

This wine boasts expansive fruit and great concentration. Dense vivid purple in the glass, it has extra layers in the mouth and will go the distance. There is exceptional weight and some complexity, but above all glowing, exuberant fruit. This makes a very complete mouthful with fabulous density, from 70-year-old vines.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Sébastien Cathiard began his second vintage in charge on 22nd September. He has made approximately the same volume of wine in 2012 as 2011, except in the Nuits-St Georges vineyards, but, alas, 2013 will be even less. There are no significant changes to his father’s style, except some progress towards organic viticulture. Sébastien currently uses 2/3 new wood for village wines and 100% for most Premiers Crus. The grapes are entirely de-stemmed before vinification. Note how many cuvées have the benefit of old vines. but fabulous quality.

This cuve has been outstanding for the last few vintages. With a bolder nose than the Aux Thorey and some darker red fruits, it is full-bodied, complex and thoroughly rewarding.

The palate of this Aux Murgers is exceptionally dense, hiding a wealth of fruit in the background, including raspberries and redcurrants. The finish displays fine tannins along with good acidity.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director 2011 is the first vintage made by Sébastien Cathiard, son of Sylvain. There are no plans to change the successful style of Cathiard père, but there are bound to be differences in nuance with a different hand on the tiller. The wines once again have the magical perfumed Cathiard imprimatur but is there possibly a greater sense of precision in the definition of each vineyard site. Sadly the 2011 crop is a touch smaller even than 2010.

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Very intense purple without the black. There’s a haunting, heady, Vosne note over and above the dark fruit of Nuits-St Georges here. A glorious mouthful of fruit, really intense with brilliant minerals in the background. Very long indeed. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Sylvain considers 2013 to be a very classic Burgundy vintage, with good acidity similar to 2010. This delivers very good terroir definition and the classification levels are well marked out. Pure and precise wines, but unfortunately volumes are a further 20% below 2012 because of bad flowering and the need to sort the grapes. Contrary to many Sébastien favoured a bit more extraction, with longer maceration both before and after fermentation, and a bit more punching down during. Very interesting results as you will see. He has also cut back on the new oak.

The vines over 65 years in age here produce very small berries. More generous in 2016 than Aux Thorey, this is dense, with a sweet-prune aroma; but not cooked. Sébastien waits as long as he can to harvest here. It’s lovely: a summer compôte. Drink 2022-2030.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

Sylvain Cathiard’s grandfather, a foundling from Savoie, came to work in Vosne-Romanée, subsequently buying a few parcels of vineyards for himself. His son André Cathiard began to bottle some of the crop. In due course Sylvain began work with his father but then separated to start his own small domaine, until, on his father’s retirement in 1995, Sylvain could take back the family vineyards on a renting agreement. He has now passed the domaine on to his son Sébastien and a spacious new cellar has been constructed. There is a sense of frustration about Sébastien Cathiard this year. Of course, the loss of so much fruit sets the tone, but he also had to take emergency action to control the aggressive mildew, losing his organic status in the process. Who can blame him? Thus he states a preference for 2015, a significantly easier vintage and one for the long-term, but there are still some very notable wines here. The vintage began on 28th September and was over in three days, as the small berries on the frosted vines had caught up after the welcome September rains. He describes the year as gourmand, balanced and pure.