Domaine Sylvain Cathiard most certainly deserves its high reputation for the astonishing quality and terroir expression realised by the eponymous Sylvain Cathiard in his range of Premiers Crus in Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St Georges (amongst other wines). There is similarly little doubt that his son, Sebastien, has further fine-tuned these already beautiful wines. Sebastien has pushed some boundaries and has learnt quickly in the recent hot and dry vintages. The learning outcomes are clearly evident in these 2023s and I would have to agree with Steen Ohman, quoted above.
What is perhaps most interesting is that Sebastien has expanded the domaine with now not insignificant holdings in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. The hills above Nuits-St Georges have become an area of keen interest to many forward-thinking producers. Here they can craft wines that retain a cooler fruit profile in the warmer conditions. Since the 2019 vintage Sebastien has been applying his skill and expertise in these increasingly valued terroirs. In much the same way that the domaine has highlighted for many years the different typicities of adjoining Vosne Crus, so Sebastian is now starting to showcase the variety and typicity of a number of Hautes Côtes crus.
Chaumes and Les Dames Huguette show, with increasing clarity, the distinct and distinctive terroirs of these two adjoining but different vineyards. More recently there is a straight Hautes Côtes de Nuits, which is almost entirely from the cru Pièce Dame Marie, a single vineyard in the centre of Villars-La-Faye, where Sebastien lives; it cannot be labelled as such since it also contains a tiny amount of wine from two other vineyards.
Pièce Dame Marie, just like the other two other parcels in Villars-La-Faye, has deep soils with a reasonably high proportion of clay which lends itself to a 'gourmand' style of wine - flowing, harmonious, pure fruited. Chaumes has a small amount of clay but predominantly limestone soils and is situated on a plateau above the stretch of some of the greatest Nuits-St Georges Premiers Crus from Les Pruliers to Les Saint Georges itself. Les Dames Huguette is an extension of Chaumes as it begins to drop down the slope to these same vineyards. The soils of Les Dames Huguette are poorer and thinner still than those of Chaumes and thus yield wines of pronounced mineral tension, while the character of Chaumes sits somewhere between the other two Hautes Côtes cuvees.
In short, these three wines are a testament to the long-standing Cathiard commitment to exposing the character of a given vineyard and expressing it in wines of immense pleasure and drinkability with all the hallmark pristine fruit and silky texture we have come to expect. Chapeau! as they say.
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Coteaux Bourguignon, Les Croix Blanches 2023
£180 per 6 bottle case in bond
Gently creamy berry fruit on nose and into palate. Supple, clean, fresh, with a lovely chalky touch to the finish. (ROM) Drink 2026-2029
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Bourgogne Rouge 2023
£240 per 6 bottle case in bond
Vibrant, crunchy red fruit. Chalky mineral white stone touch at end. Gently juicy and showing lovely balance and harmony. (ROM) Drink 2026-2029
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2023
£255 per 6 bottle case in bond
Beautifully clean, fresh red fruit with appealing notes of spice too. The fruit vibrancy carries through to the palate, where it is underpinned by a gently balancing mineral touch. There is an overriding sense of harmony in this cuvee that shows the benefits of its Hautes Côtes location in these warmer vintages in achieving a cool ripeness and a seamless drinkability. A fine illustration of the Cathiard style. (ROM) Drink 2026-2032
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Aux Chaumes 2023
£270 per 6 bottle case in bond
Fresh red fruit on the nose and a more mouth-filling, palate-coating texture with a juicy red fruit length. Lovely ripe, grippy tannins support the good core of elegant fruit behind. This and the Dames Huguette are really now finding their feet in their fifth vintage under Sebastien. (ROM) Drink 2027-2033
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Les Dames Huguette 2023
£280 per 6 bottle case in bond
More floral and with a sense of white stones. The palate continues in this vein, showing in a more tensile way than the other two Hautes Côtes wines. Here instead there is a gravelly grip and a saline length to the red fruit. A distinctly more mineral and linear style than the broader, more supple Chaumes, though both now showing the impact of Sebastien’s attention to detail. (ROM) Drink 2027-2033
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Gevrey-Chambertin 2023
£450 per 6 bottle case in bond
One third of a hectare. First vintage 2019. Pure fruit profile with dark, forest fruit to the fore. Purity on the palate with grippy, pippy dark berry fruit as well as a lighter flowing touch of redder fruits. Fine balance and fluidity with a perfect cut of gravelly stony tannins at the end. Such poise. (ROM) Drink 2027-2035
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 2023
£510 per 6 bottle case in bond
There is an immediate sense of poise and elegance in this village Vosne. Red and black fruit with a silky flow to the palate. Such wonderful balance and drinkability. There is an even greater sense of fruit purity than usual for this cuvee and a fine mineral persistence, which nevertheless allows the fruit to shine. (ROM) Drink 2027-2035
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Chambolle-Musigny, Les Clos de l’Orme 2023
£540 per 6 bottle case in bond
Beautifully fragrant red fruit with floral cherry notes. The palate shows such purity and elegance – flowing, balanced, fresh, long. Ripe red fruit returns on the finish. Crystalline. (ROM) Drink 2027-2035
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru, Aux Thorey 2023
£970 per 6 bottle case in bond
Classic Thorey in an elegant vein. Pure, well-defined and -expressed red fruit. Seamless flow through the palate with the lean, taut, mineral drive at the end. A gentle, juicy dimension comes back at the end with a mouthwatering red fruit and saline quality. A really fine Thorey. (ROM) Drink 2028-2040
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru, Aux Murgers 2023
£1,050 per 6 bottle case in bond
While the fruit here is currently restrained and contained, it is pure, ripe and healthy. The mid-palate is flowing and elegantly expressed. The finish nevertheless has all the power of the site and incredible persistence. This is a very fine Murgers, balancing power and poise in an exemplary Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru. (ROM) Drink 2028-2040
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Aux Reignots 2023
£1,950 per 6 bottle case in bond
There is a cool sense of ripeness to the Reignots with fine, focused red fruit. The palate shows a concentration of juicy fruit and there is an incredible mineral precision. This is taut but not lean. Mouthwatering and moreish, displaying fine fruit concentration and persistence. (ROM) Drink 2028-2043
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, En Orveaux 2023
£1,950 per 6 bottle case in bond
The nose shows the ripeness and concentration of the old vines of this parcel. There is a spicy touch too. So mineral and deeply yet restrainedly powerful. Such controlled power and persistent mineral presence. (ROM) Drink 2028-2045
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Les Suchots 2023
£2,250 per 6 bottle case in bond
The nose intimates a richness and voluptuousness of style. The palate delivers. There is a wealth and breadth of velvet-textured red and darker berry fruit. This is all about the texture and is supported by long, fine, ripe tannins. (ROM) Drink 2028-2045
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Aux Malconsorts 2023
£2,850 per 6 bottle case in bond
The nose shows a restraint of red fruit – concentrated, pure, mineral. A subtly juicy and mouthwatering palate of ripe fruit is carried by a saline, gently mineral persistence. It is the length that sets this apart and confirm its status of first among equals. Beautifully ripe, integrated tannins. Not a hard edge in sight despite an underlying power. (ROM) Drink 2028-2045
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Romanée-St Vivant Grand Cru 2023
£3,600 per 3 bottle case in bond
On the nose, there is an immediate sense of a profoundly deep fruit core. This follows through to the palate, where there is a density and intensity to the fruit that is clearly Grand Cru. The tannins are powerful yet ripe and integrated giving a balanced mineral grip. Tensile yet generous. Mineral yet fruit laden. (ROM) Drink 2028-2048
Please also be aware that these wines are only available in very, very limited quantities and that demand outstrips supply by a significant percentage each year, with long-standing followers prioritised. Nevertheless, please do let us know of your interest and we will do our best to help you acquire some wines of this highly-respected domaine.
Richard O'Mahony, January 2025