Vosne Romanee Les Suchottes 1995 C. Giroud – Vineut

Reseña profesional

Les Suchotsis the largest Premier Cru climat in the Vosne-Romanée appellation of Burgundy. This vineyard separates the Echezeaux and Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru sites and, like its prestigious neighbors, is planted entirely to Pinot Noir. Les Suchots regularly produces exceptional Premier Cru wines with a raft of top producers owning plots on the site.

The 13 hectare (32 acre) vineyard sits along the northern border of the Vosne-Romanée commune, although this is something of an academic distinction given that vineyards on the other side of this administrative line in Flagey-Echezeaux adopt the Vosne-Romanée name by convention.

Nonetheless, the Echezeaux vineyard, nominally in Flagey, borders Suchots to the north while the Vosne Grands Crus of Romenee-Saint Vivant and Richebourg lie to the south. Up the slope, to the east, are the Premier Cru vineyards of Aux Brulées and Les Beau Monts while below, in basic Vosne-Romanée “village” level territory is the lieu-dit of Hautes Maizières.

Les Suchots’ position among Grand Cru vineyards has led many to question why it was passed over during the Grand Cru classifications of 1936. Les Suchots is viewed by many as the most obvious candidate for promotion to full Grand Cru status.

However, while Les Suchots’ terroir is similar to that of Echezeaux, with a gentle easterly aspect, excellent drainage and marly clay soils, it does find itself in a slight depression between its prestigious neighbours – most evident at its southern end where it borders Richebourg and Romanée-Saint Vivant. Whether this is enough to hold it back is still very much open to question.

Nonetheless, what is generally accepted is the quality of wines produced in this vineyard. If debateably not quite Grand Cru, many examples are regarded as superior Premier Cru wines – often in the hands of some of the area’s top winemaking names.

Les Suchots is one of only two interruptions in the otherwise-contiguous line of Grand Cru vineyards along the Cote de Nuits between Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges. The other is in Chambolle-Musigny, between the Bonnes-Mares and Le Musigny Grand Cru sites.