A 3-litre double magnum of Prieuré Roch's Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots 1998. Now more than 25 years old, it comes from a difficult but successful Côte de Nuits vintage, and the large bottle has kept it moving slowly.
About This Wine
Les Suchots covers 13.08 hectares of Vosne's premier cru land, on the gentle part of the slope below Les Beaumonts and Aux Brûlées, next to Echezeaux. Its name comes from the tree stumps (souches) left when woodland was cleared for vines. In 1998 an Easter frost cut the crop, August brought heat above 40°C, and early September was wet. A dry spell from about the 16th to the 26th saved the reds, and growers who picked hard before the rain returned brought in thick-skinned, well-coloured fruit.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dried cherry, rose petal and orange peel, with sous-bois, leather and tea.
- Palate: Silky and savoury, with mature red fruit and tannins that have softened into the wine.
- Finish: Long and gently earthy, with spice and a sweet, faded fruit note.
Serving & Food
Stand the bottle upright for two or three days, then decant slowly off the sediment just before serving at 16°C. Drink it over the evening rather than letting it sit. Good with roast woodcock or pheasant, truffled chicken, or aged Comté.
How to Enjoy
A large gathering where one mature bottle is the focus of the meal.
Product Details
Producer: Domaine Prieuré Roch
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Appellation: Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots
Vintage: 1998
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
Estate Holding: 1.02 ha
Format: 3L double magnum
About the Domaine
The 1998 was made during Philippe Pacalet's time at Prieuré Roch. Pacalet, a nephew of the Beaujolais natural-wine pioneer Marcel Lapierre, ran the domaine's vineyards and cellar from 1991 to 2000, working alongside Henry-Frédéric Roch before leaving to set up his own wine business in Beaune.
Those years set the domaine's method: organic farming, whole bunches and fermentation on native yeast. In 1994 the domaine also began renting its parcel of Chambertin-Clos de Bèze from Domaine Marion of Fixin.