2019 Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine Sylvain Cathiard

Bourgogne Rouge and Bourgogne Blanc are terms used to apply to red and white wines from Burgundy that fall under the generic Bourgogne AOC. These wines can be produced by over 350 individual villages across the region. These are very general appellations and thus it is hard to pinpoint specific characteristics of the wines as a whole, due to the huge variety produced.

Around 4,600 acres of land across Burgundy are used to produce Bourgogne Rouge; this is around twice as much as is dedicated towards the production of generic whites.

Pinot Noir is the primary grape used in Bourgogne Rouge production. For Bourgogne Blanc, Chardonnay is the dominant grape variety. Aligoté and other white Burgundian varieties may also be used in small proportions.

Bourgogne Rouge wines tend to be focused and acidic. The fruit is less cloying than in some New World wines also made from Pinot Noir. They develop more floral notes as they age. Bourgogne Blanc wines typically display crisp acidity and mineral characteristics. They often show citrus and green apple flavours when young, developing more complex notes with age.

Although entry-level wines, some Bourgogne Rouges and Blancs can be exquisite depending on the area and producer. They remain at very affordable prices compared to more prestigious Burgundy appellations.

Sylvain Cathiard’s grandfather, a foundling from Savoie, came to Burgundy and found work with Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC) and Lamarche, 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 been joined by his son Sébastien, and a spacious new cellar is currently under construction. The Cathiards have 5.5 hectares of vineyards in Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-St-Georges and Chambolle-Musigny, including tiny holdings in Clos de Vougeot and Romanée-St-Vivant. A recent addition (from 2006) to the range is the Nuits-St-Georges Aux Thorey. This is not a complicated domaine: the vines are looked after meticulously with the fruit being sorted on a table de tri and destalked. After fermentation the wines go into barrel, with 50 per cent new oak for the village wines and 100 per cent for premier cru and above. Most of the barrels come from one cooper, Rémond, albeit with the wood sourced from different forests. The wines in their youth have an exceptional energy and purity of fruit. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.