2003 Vieilles Vignes Grand Crus Clos De Vougeot - Domaine Gérard Raphet

Pure beaming cherry, dried pine needle, reduced cranberry. Underripe raspberry, bougainvillea, crunchy rhubarb. Dried moss and smushed mushroom, anise and aged cedar. Bright yet slightly dried red fruit featuring wild berry, plum, and whole pomegranate trudges through thick evergreen and compost pile, finding relief in fields of rosemary, thyme, and sage. Integrated oak frames soil tones of iron and limestone as they fade into a profound and captivating finish. Broad shouldered and surprisingly weighty, sporting high tannin that nearly overcomes the medium acidity. This 2003 Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru Clos De Vougeot by Domaine Gérard Raphet is powerfully masculine Red Burgundy from one of the region's hottest vintages.

2003 was a year of record breaking heat throughout Europe. In Burgundy, usually a very cool growing region, the effects were extreme and the month of August saw numerous days with temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Many producers had trouble properly managing ripeness in this vintage, and grapes were often either picked too early or too late. This bottling, crafted using 100% old vine Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru Clos De Vougeot by Gérard Raphet, managed to succeed despite the heat. This wine still clearly exhibits warm vintage characteristics, as its body and tannin are quite pronounced and the acidity is more mellow than expected, yet it holds itself together valiantly. This feels denser and more concentrated than one might expect given its origin, but not unpleasantly so. Thankfully Raphet's nearly 100 year old vines dig deep and were able to access water when many younger vines shriveled. All of the Grand Cru majesty and complexity is present here except slightly more amplified and forward. This is a gorgeous wine, and would be fun to contrast with either of the surrounding vintages.