Daniel Rion, Pinot Noir, Echezeaux Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France 2017

Created in 1955 by Daniel Rion, this family-owned estate began with only two hectares of vines located in the commune of Vosne Romanée, left to Daniel by his paternal grandfather. Until 1978, Daniel sold his wine to Burgundian negociants. In the late seventies, his sons joined the business, bringing new parcels of vines with them. A new winery was built with a larger cellar and a tasting room. Today, the domaine consists of eighteen hectares of vineyards with eighteen appellations in six villages of the Côte des Nuits and the Hautes-Côtes: Prémeaux, Nuits Saint Georges, Vosne Romanée, Chambolle Musigny, Vougeot and Marey-les-Fussey. The estate’s old vines, from 25 to 65 years old, were selected for the quality of their fruits: small berries with thick skins that guarantee deeply colored, complex wines with refined tannins. The small output of the estate allows the winemaker to select grapes of great quality, naturally concentrated and balanced. New plantings are carried out with seedlings selected for the small size of the berries they will produce. Harvest is carried out exclusively by hand. They collect whole bunches, preserving the integrity of grapes and their potential aromatic qualities until their arrival in fermenting room. This manual method also allows for sorting in the vineyard, and to the integration of only healthy and ripe fruit.

Greater altitude than Clos Vougeot, the soil is completely different : the ground is rather deep, not very stony, although there is bajocian marl in some places. The vines, planted on a surface of 34 ares, are about 60 years old.