Burgundy and tradition are strongly linked, but as in all other aspects of life, change eventually takes the stage.
At Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, “new” winemaker Jean Lupatelli has come through his third vintage, 2023, a large and lovely vintage at de Vogüé.

New winemaker = new ideas and outlook
Jean Lupatelli came from Domaine Decelle-Villa in Nuits-St-Georges. With him, he brought plenty of experience and a strong background. Vogüé is one of the oldest, legendary growers, alongside DRC and Rousseau – estates with long, prominent histories. He has now moved up to the major leagues.
He changed the cases used for harvest – smaller, 20-kilogram boxes – to ensure fewer damaged grapes reaching the winery. This is important if whole-cluster vinification is going to be partly, or even fully, employed. Furthermore, the old mechanical pump used to fill the fermenting tanks with grapes has been replaced with a gentler elevator system. This gives purer, better-defined fruit, as the grapes arrive in the tank in better shape.
Jean Lupatelli is a reflective guy, and he’s graciously agreed (together with Jean-Luc Pépin) to maintain the twice-yearly tasting scheme I’ve had the good fortune to have at de Vogüé for quite a while. This gives me unique insights into the wines and is gratifying as a taster – or reviewer, or critic if you prefer. It’s also unusual in these modern, busy days.
In general, the 2023s are open, vivid and quite generous. They have a charming, and lively fruit. The acidity is good and the wines are very well-balanced.
You need to login as a Premium subscriber to read the rest of this article. If you are not a Premium Subscriber, use the subscribe function and sign-up.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.