2023 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru "Aux Malconsorts"

The 2023 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts was another wine that underwent a rather late malolactic fermentation, but it was nonetheless showing extremely well, wafting from the glass with notes of cherries and cassis mingled with notions of exotic spices and burning embers. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, it's rich and fleshy, with sweet tannins and a long, expansive finish. Domaine Dujac's 2023 harvest began with Les Folatières on September 1, followed by a five-day pause before resuming on September 6. As elsewhere, yields were generous, and alcohol levels range between 13.3% and 14%. The domaine's more spacious and better temperature-controlled new winery was surely an asset, and the 2023s are shaping up nicely, offering up expressive fruit as well as plenty of underlying structure. Readers, of course, will be familiar with the outlines of the Dujac approach to producing red Burgundy: organic farming, fermentation with a predominance of whole clusters (with some 20% to 30% destemmed this year) and élevage in barrels largely sourced from Tonnellerie Rémond.(WK)