Wine Advisor
Domaine Dujac, Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
From the former Thomas-Moillard holdings, the Dujac 2005 Romanee St.-Vivant offers a superb nose of purple plum, black raspberry, flowers, tar, game, clove and star anise. Soothing and sweetly-fruity like the Chambertin and with similarly integrated tannins – here in a positively creamy, palpably thick matrix – it truly stains the palate with the intricacy, clarity and indelibleness of a master tattoo artist. This Pinot possesses a remarkably energetic sense of flavor interplay, elegance, and lift for one so viscous and densely-, almost digitally-packed with flavor information. The already rich array of crus at Domaine Dujac has recently been augmented on two fronts. The purchase (along with de Montille) of the Societe Civile du Clos de Thorey (Thomas-Moillard) has brought them a raft of choice parcels including three new grand cru holdings (for a staggering total of eight). Meanwhile, they have expanded their negociant arm (with control over harvest and green harvest a prerequisite) to supplement in particular their volumes of village-level wine. (Those wines – labeled “Dujac Fils & Pere” – are signified in the above listing with “FP”. In fact, due to a legal technicality, the 2005 vintage wines from the properties newly acquired by the domaine – but not subsequent vintages – will also read “Fils & Pere” rather than “Domaine”.) Even with California-trained oenologist Diana Seysses (nee Snowden) joining her husband Jeremy and in-laws Jacques and Alec, and with a new winery (though at the old address) I wonder at how they are able to keep up with the magnitude of their responsibilities. Yet despite so many parcels and vines new to them this year, the results are consistently outstanding and at times astounding. Much of the vinification – increasingly as one goes up the hierarchy of crus – was of whole clusters. Malos finished (finally) by November and the wines were bottle in December and January. Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel.(415) 491 4724
About the Producer
Domaine Dujac is managed by the Seysses family. It was founded in 1967 by Jacque Seyesses. At the beginning, Château Dujac had only 4.5 hectares of vineyards in Morey-Saint-Denis. The vineyards were expanded with the purchase of Echezeaux, Bonnes MaresChambertin, Romanee St Vivant and Vosene-Romanee. The estate also owns 1.95 hectares of vineyards in the Clos de la Roche, where the vines are on average 45 to 50 years old. The estate also has 1.45 hectares of vineyards in Clos Saint-Denis, with vines of an average age of 45 to 50 years. In 2005, Château Dujac, together with Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet, acquired Domaine Charles Thomas, acquiring Charles Thomas' shares in the vineyards of Chambertin, Vosne- Romanee and other vineyards. However, the estate sold some of its vineyards after the purchase in order to finance the purchase. However, this acquisition allowed the estate to expand to around 15.5 hectares. Under Jacques' leadership, Château Dujac has developed very well. The grapes were pressed whole and the must was fermented in new oak barrels, and in 1999, when Jacques handed over the running of the estate to his son, the way the estate was made changed dramatically: the grapes were sometimes destemmed and the barrels used for fermentation were probably only 25% new oak. However, the estate's Grand Cru wines are still matured in new oak barrels, while the Grand Cru wines are matured in 60% to 80% new oak barrels. Bottling usually takes place in February or March of the following year. The estate produces around 4,650 bottles/hectare of wine.
