Michel Mallard is an extremely talented vigneron and the head winemaker at Domaine d’Eugenie in Vosne-Romanée. His Grechons 1er Ladoix vineyard is a stone's throw from the Grand Crus on Corton, in particular the white, Corton-Charlemagne. Mallard is one of the fastest rising starts in Burgundy and we are very lucky to have a crack at one of his back vintage wines.  We are looking to get the reds down here later this year!

90-92WA (Kelley)
The 2016 Ladoix 1er Cru Les Gréchons Blanc has another crisp, oyster shell-scented bouquet with really quite outstanding mineralité, almost Chablis-like. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine seam of acidity, very focused, almost Zen-like in style with a brisk marine-tinged finish. This is equal to the 2015 last year and might surpass it.

Our Tasting Note: This beautifully maturing White Burgundy will show you how an aged white burgundy tastes. A light a gold color, the hue has vitality. It has both primary and tertiary notes with apple, early peach, toasted nuts (hazelnut), saline, white florals, and some waxy notes. So cool! The palate is med/med+ in body and acidity, with an elegant but persistently pronounced intensity, long and classic in the finish.

Vineyard: .75ha, ‘Les Gréchons’ premier cru vineyard lies on the east side of the hill of Corton with south-facing exposure. The term Gréchons comes from the word Grèves, a reference to sand or gravel.
Age of vines: Between 50 and 60 years
Soil: Shallow soil composed of friable rock, fine scree, sand and gravel, with a silty to silty-clayey texture, deeper still is limestone bedrock
Winemaking: The grapes are treaded and pneumatically pressed at low pressure. The juice is partially vinified in steel vats, and partially in French oak barrels.
Aging: The wine is then aged 15 months in 30% new 350L barrels (larger than the standard 228L), the oak of which is sourced from Allier and Vosges. After aging in wood, the wine is transferred to concrete tank where it ages for an additional 6 months before being bottled.

Michel Mallard is the head winemaker at Domaine d’Eugenie in Vosne-Romanée, but his family’s domaine in Ladoix has been in the ascent in recent years. Looking for a great Ladoix? This is where I would come. “The 2016 is one of the best vintages ever for me,” Michel enthused down in the cellar, where we were joined by his father. “It is not concentrated like 2015. It has more finesse and more sappiness. We were attacked by frost on the generic vineyards and the Aligoté, but the premier crus and grand crus were OK, around 20% to 30% down. We started the harvest on 22 September and finished eight to ten days afterward. I am picking the whites earlier to obtain more precision. We are experimenting with no SO2 [like at Domaine d’Eugenie]. All the reds that you taste have no SO2, and we added just a little after malolactic. I feel that this helps precision and aromatics. We are also introducing bigger barrels for the reds for around 20% to 30% of the production. Then we are using whole cluster fruit: 30% to 40% at village level, 50% for the premier crus and over 60% for the grand crus. The whites will be bottled in early January.” I think the domaine's wines really stepped up a level in 2016 to make then without doubt the leading grower in this often unfairly over-looked appellation. It is such a pleasure when a winemaker shows what can be done, the levels that can be achieved in one of the more "unfashionable" villages and encourages others to follow. These wines come highly recommended.