Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru ‘Les Grands Suchots’

Les Suchots is bordered on three sides by some of the most legendary vineyards on earth: Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and Échézeaux.

Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux is uniquely entitled to bottle their holding as Les Grands Suchots, a distinction earned by position rather than prestige. Their parcel sits at the very top of the vineyard, and the vines here are over 100 years old.

A full century. It’s a humbling thing to stand among them.

The nose opens with freshly cut roses, vivid and alive, backed by a deeper violet undertone. It feels like spring captured in a glass.

The fruit follows in waves: cherry and strawberry, taken to their most concentrated, pure expression, as if gently reduced to a glossy intensity while retaining complete freshness.

There’s a luxurious sweetness here, more about depth and richness than sugar, echoing the generosity you find in the finest fortified wines, without any sense of weight.

On the palate, fruit and minerality find a balance that’s almost impossible to articulate. The whole-bunch stems are present, not as a feature, but as a quiet force, lending energy, lift, and a perfectly judged line of acidity.

Everything feels held, composed, inevitable.

And in 2022, all of that is presented with extraordinary clarity. This was the first vintage in which the entire Arnoux-Lachaux range was raised exclusively in ceramic, leaving the perfume, fruit and structure of these ancient vines completely exposed.

One of the best wines I have ever tasted.