Domaine J. J. CONFURON -- 2023 Tasted from Bottle and from Barrel Samples
Louis Meunier described the vintage as relatively easy to do, although not as easy as 2022. He did a very strict pruning and then over the summer a green harvest and a triage of the grapes. Harvesting was earlier than originally envisioned, though: maturities arrived quickly, and correspondingly, acidities fell rapidly. Picking began on 5 Sept with the whites, and then on 7 Sept with the reds; there was a triage (sorting of grapes) at harvest for some plots, and in fact it was was the most sorting that the estate had done in some time.
Vinifications went well. and malolactic fermentations went very quickly because there was little malic acidity; all malos had finished by Christmas.
Some wines are in bottle when I taste, others will be by end of year or early 2025.
Yields overall averaged 42 hl/ha. Because of the high pHs and limitations on space in the vats, no whole clusters were used in 2023. Alcohols range from 13º to 13,8º; he began to chaptalize the first lots to come in, but then stopped.
New oak was a little less than in the past; also, oak had been sourced largely from central France in the past, now more oak is coming from the northeast Vosges mountains. Louis is also using light and very light toasting, giving a more subtle oak imprint.
The results, as you will see below, are very successful wines that you should want, should you be lucky enough to come across them.
We start with the red wines:
2023 Bourgogne cuvée Jeunesse
Pretty, pure red fruits, light, fresh, immediately accessible. Bottled 2 September. 88(+)/A
2023 Côte de Nuits-Villages Les Vignottes
Also from bottle. Darker fruit in nose, some chalk. In the mouth, dark and red fruits, good concentration, medium weight, easy to drink now. Good freshness. 91/A
2023 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Fleurières
From bottle. Crisp, stony nose. Medium-weight, red fruits, fresh, good structure, tannins, but good roundness. Drinks well now. 91(+)/A
2023 Chambolle-Musigny
From bottle. Floral nose. Medium weight, good finesse, smooth, red fruits. length; easy to drink, but with complexity. 91(+)/A
2023 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaboeufs
From bottle. Red fruits, structure, but tannins are round, can drink already. Smooth texture. Some young vines here since 2015 that help to round the wine out.n Chaboeufs is a cold climat that is benefitting from global warming. 92/A
2023 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots
Will be bottled the day after I taste it. Boudots smoothness of texture, velvet. Red fruits. Good length, freshness. 92/A
2023 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Very pretty, falls across tongue, delicate but with good intensity. From the Châtelots and Feusselottes vineyards. Great precision. (93-95)
2023 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts
Pure, with silvery dark Beaux Monts fruit, good concentration. (93-96)
2023 Clos-Vougeot
Clos-Vougeot black raspberry fruit; medium-weight, approachable, red fruits in the mouth typical of Clos-Vougeot, good length. (93-96)
2023 Romanée-Saint-Vivant
Racked and put back in barrel. Elegant, sensual, red fruits, with some spiciness, purity, length. Silk texture. (95-98)
White wines:
2023 Bourgogne-Aligoté
From bottle. Raised in cement tanks on the lies. Aligoté mineral nose. Nice presence in mouth, good Aligoté sour with moderate acidity. Good length, precision. 88/A
2023 Côte de Nuits-Village La Montagne
From bottle, raised in cask on the lies. This is the last vintage for this wine. Very dense and full, but also with finesse, good complexity, clarity. 89/A-