"88-91 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound.com
A Blend of 40% from Les Jachées, 40% from Les Chalandins on the Vosne side and the remainder is from the 1er Les Chaumes.
This could be from nowhere else but Vosne with its exuberantly spicy nose of exotic tea, sandalwood, black cherry and kirsch. The seductive and succulent medium weight flavors are not particularly dense but do offer a beguiling mouthfeel before terminating in a dusty and lingering finale that could use better depth. I would note that this is sufficiently forward that it should be reasonably approachable young if desired.
89-91 Points, Neal Martin, Vinoous.com
The 2023 Vosne-Romanée Village comprises 20% Chaumes, 40% Jachée and 40% Charondin. This has a very flattering bouquet with Morello cherries, crushed strawberry and blood orange scents. The palate is very smooth with finely knit tannins, modest depth and just the right amount of bitterness on the finish to tempt you back for more. This is a well-crafted Vosne Village. Drinking Window 2026 - 2036"
“I have enthusiastically reported on the rapid rise of Domaine Felettig to increasing prominence as the quality has done nothing but improve. 2016 represents a cherry on top of the cake as I have never seen better wines across the board from the domaine. If you’re not familiar with the wines, you owe it to yourself to make their acquaintance.” – Allen Meadows, Burghound
If any domaine has made more dramatic progress over the last handful of vintages, we would be very surprised. Why? Quite simply, Gilbert Felettig was dissatisfied with his 2009s, which he found over ripe and excessively oaky. He therefore set about changing everything.
Henri Felettig, a former vineyard worker, founded this domaine in 1974. His children Gilbert (viticulture and vinification) and Christine (commercial) joined him in 1993 and now run this 12.5 hectare domaine, which comprises some 100 individual parcels! Viticulture is now organic, with no use of herbicides or insecticides, their vines are mostly old (40-50 years) and everything is harvested by hand. Following a rigorous selection, during which the grapes are sorted in both the vineyard and cuverie, they then undergo a 5-7 day cold maceration at 10°C prior to fermentation and a three week cuvaison.
Gilbert is now far gentler in terms of frequency and intensity of pigeage, which is borne out by the precision and purity of their wines. They then see between 30% new oak in the case of the village wines and 50% for the premier crus, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The Chambolle village, from 25-30 different parcels throughout the village (some of them are adjoining, so it’s not as bad as it seems!), is ripe, plump and structured, with lovely tension. Clos le Village, a low yielding single 0.5 hectare plot on hard limestone, is cool, pure, minerally and understated. They also have some wonderful holdings in Chambolle 1er Crus Feusselottes, Fuées, Gruenchers, Carrières, Charmes, Vosne 1er Cru Les Reignots and Echezeaux. A brand new cuverie has recently been completed. A genuine star domaine, which will only become even better.
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com
Gilbert Felettig commented that the 2023 growing season "was relatively easy to manage as there wasn't much disease pressure and no real climatic incidents of import. It was clear almost from the beginning that yields were going to be abundant so we did an aggressive green harvest. Even so, the impression of an abundant crop became the reality. We picked from the 7th of September and brought in clean and ripe fruit that ranged in volumes from 42 to 47 hl/ha with an average right at 45 hl/ha. Potential alcohols were also strong at around 13% and as such the vinifications presented no problems. I did use around 20% whole clusters though some saw a bit more and some none at all. As to the wines, I really like the style as it's less marked by the heat than the 2022s and the terroir transparency is more apparent as well. The wines are charming and tender with pliant tannins and as such, I would guess that this style will appeal to pretty much everyone." As the comments and ratings make clear, this is a strong set of wines and in particular, the heart of it is the excellent core of Chambolle-based offerings.
