Wine Advisor
Domaine de L'Arlot, Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is beautiful on the nose with harmonious, very pure dark cherries, violet and peony, blackcurrants and touches of rosemary. You could just inhale this all day. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, fine acidity, taut and fresh with just the right amount of spice towards the finish. So much energy here, this will be difficult to resist in its youth.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Offering up aromas of cherries, cassis, sweet spices, rose petals and loamy soil, the 2020 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with an ample, layered mid-palate that only partially conceals an imposing chassis of rich, chewy tannins.
About the Producer
Domaine d'Arlot is a new winery founded in 1987, but it has a long history of vineyards and owns three exclusive plots (a monopole, which means that a vineyard is the exclusive property of a single winery or winemaker): Clos du Chapeau, Clos de l'Arlot, Clos des Forets St Georges. 'Arlot, and Clos des Forets St Georges. In 1991, a small plot of Romanee St. Vivant was bought, and the following year a plot of Vosne Romanee Les Suchots was bought, bringing the vineyard to 14 hectares. The Domaine d'Arlot is one of the few exceptions to the rule of grandeur in Bourgogne. Around the end of the eighteenth century, Jean Charles Vienot, the owner of the place, built a stone wall around the vineyard, and the vineyard was named Domaine de l'Arlot. The Domaine de l'Arlot began to use organic farming methods in 2000 and was certified in 2014. The vineyards have been rebalanced and rejuvenated to produce healthier and riper grapes. The philosophy of the winery is: the less intervention the better. The grapes are hand-harvested, selected twice, only the best grapes are used, natural yeasts are used for fermentation, and the lees are pressed by hand, without using pumps as much as possible, to reflect the "terroir" of each field and lot, and to give the wine its personality.
