Visit to Domaine Rougeot – Tasting the Red 2022s

Pierre-Henri Rougeot is one of the more prominent members of the new generation of Burgundy vignerons. He has gradually improved the quality of his wines, and -especially – his no- and low-sulphur wines are very good indeed. He really deserves all the applause he gets; it is quite a balancing act producing no-sulphur wines.

In reality, Pierre-Henri makes both sulphured and unsulphured wines, and this can cause some confusion due to the limited capacity of the Winehog’s mind.

The sulphured wines are vinified without sulphur, but the element is added for stability before bottling. The unsulphured wines do not add any, up to and including bottling.

All the Rougeot wines begin with the possibility of being either type. But (for example) if a wine has an issue during vinification, then sulphur can be added as a corrective measure. Then of course, only the sulphured version can be made.

The second choice is much more unconventional, being made and bottled completely without sulphur.

I have enjoyed many of the wines from this estate, and so far they are reasonably priced – which contributes to the enjoyment, to say the least!

The 2022s: a tricky year

As you have seen in these pages, 2022 was a year with some acidity challenges. The pH values are on the high side (3.6 all the way through the roof at 4 or higher). The legal limit is around 3.9, but I have tasted wines whose smell of nail polish indicated that limit was left behind. The volatile acidity was noticeably high.

This means that many wines will need a helping hand; i.e. sulphur dioxide (SO2) at an earlier stage than bottling. This would preclude Rougeot’s normal practice of bottling some wines without sulphur, as they would have been dosed earlier to stabilize the vinification.

This is not ideal, but neither is it the end of the world. The difference between an unsulphured Rougeot wine and a lightly sulphured one is quite small, although I normally prefer the unsulphured one. Regardless of this personal preference, I love both versions.

The reds

Domaine Rougeot Bourgogne Les Veaux 2022

This is one of my favourite red Bourgognes from the Meursault area. Rougeot destemmed only 40% of the grapes, and so far, no sulphur has been added. This comes from one of my wine kinks: pinot droit, which is known from several great wines including Comte Liger-Belair’s Clos du Chateau and Rougeot’s Volnay Santenots (see below). Open and vivid, this is expressive and broadly knit. It is certainly one of my happy wines from 2022; hedonistic, in a slightly kinky way.

(Drink From 2024) – Good++ – (87p) –  

Domaine Rougeot Bourgogne Les Lameroses Pinot Fin 2022

Pinot fin is the finer, more delicate and focused pinot variant, and it is very elegant indeed. Here, 100% whole clusters make a flashy, outgoing wine that’s both hedonistic and energetic. Which Bourgogne do I prefer? Honestly, I can’t choose.

(Drink From 2024) – Good++ – (87p) –  

—-

Tasting Notes for this producer

Related articles

• Les Aligoteurs – March 2023
  Les Aligoteurs is a (sort of) annual event held by the rapidly growing organization with the purpose of promoting aligoté and expanding its acceptance, understanding, and consumption. This is a vivid and lively organization with plenty of members showing the will to work hard and improve. The event was great, and the Aligoteur tasting this year ...
• Visit Domaine Rougeot, tasting of the 2015 & 2016 whites
  One of the “new” interesting estates in Burgundy is Domaine Rougeot in Meursault – where the two brothers Pierre Henri Rougeot and Alexandre Rougeot together with their father Marc Rougeot are making some lovely wines – both red and whites. 2016 is a serious vintage – November 2017 I first visited the estate last summer – and ...
• More tastings of the 2016s – exiting and delightful
  A very busy week with plenty of tastings – covering a large part of Burgundy. From Morey to Santenay in just the last days – meeting a lot of nice people making wines with love and talent. I’m always surprised how many new and fine estates one can find just scratching the surface. Domaine du Comte ...
• WineHog rating system – more than points
  My aim with the Winehog is unchanged, but I have for some time wanted a stronger focus on the hedonistic pleasure and simple enjoyment of drinking Burgundies. I have therefore adjusted my mission statement: “My mission is to help readers find more joy and hedonistic pleasure in Burgundy wines; to help them understand the terroirs and ...