Terroir Insight: Cécile Tremblay Vosne-Romanée Les Rouges du Dessus

Vosne-Romanee Les Rouges du Dessus is one of the appellation’s somewhat overlooked 1ers crus – or should I say rather Flagey-Echezéaux, as this Vosne 1er cru is in the neighbouring village.

Burgundy can be quite complex, and while there are occasionally some logic and clever rules in certain appellations, in others there are exceptions and special statutes.

This is the case with Flagey-Echezéaux; this village only can have grands crus, i.e. Echezéaux and Grands Echezéaux.

All Flagey-Echezéaux villages and 1er-cru wines are therefore under the Vosne-Romanée appellation – including Les Rouges du Dessus.

This is how the cookie crumbles in Vosne!

One of the most prominent owners of Les Rouges du Dessus is Domaine Cécile Tremblay, which produces a sensual, delicate wine from this special terroir above Echézeaux.

Let’s take a closer look at the hill overlooking Echezéaux, Grands Echézeaux, and the Clos de Vougeot.

Cécile Tremblay’s vineyards

Cécile Tremblay began her endeavour in 2002-03, when she took over some of her family’s vineyards and started producing wine.

The vineyards originally come from the Edouard Jayer estate. Edouard, Henri Jayer’s uncle, was a cooper in Nuits-Saint-Georges before World War I, and Cécile’s great-grandfather. In 1921, he married Esther Fournier, who came from a vigneron family, and they established their estate based on vineyards from her inheritance, gradually expanding the portfolio over the years.

In 1950, the vineyards were shared amongst their five children. Renée – the youngest daughter – kept her vineyards and rented them out in metayage (share-cropping). Her only daughter, Marie Annick, and her husband continued to expand the estate while keeping it under metayage until 2002.

After her studies, their daughter Cécile decided to take over her parents’ vineyards, and this was the birth of the delightful Domaine Cécile Tremblay at the beginning of 2003.

As mentioned, the vineyards prior to 2003 were rented out to other growers. Cécile was able to take back 3 ha at the beginning, and will eventually take back more as the leases expire.

One of her vineyards is Vosne-Romanee Les Rouges du Dessus, a delightful terroir, at least part of which is above the village on the border with Flagey-Echezéaux. Cécile’s first vintage of Les Rouges du Dessus was 2008.

Vosne-Romanée Les Rouges des Dessus

The Cécile Tremblay plots

Tracking plot history in Burgundy is difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible. Only the best-known vineyards are referenced in the three main sources: Lavalle (1855), Danguy & Aubertin (1892), and Rodier (1920).

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. 

---