Domaine Sylvain Cathiard – Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru En Orveaux 2014 – Burgundy France

En Orveaux lies on the limestone mid-slope of Flagey-Échézeaux, and like every Flagey premier cru it is sold under the Vosne-Romanée name. It is the quieter, more mineral wine in the Cathiard range — and the one that tends to be overlooked next to Malconsorts.

🍷 At a Glance

• Grape: 100% Pinot Noir
• Appellation: Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru En Orveaux
• Region: Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
• Vintage: 2014
• Producer: Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et Fils
• Winemaker: Sébastien Cathiard
• Vineyard: Limestone mid-slope in Flagey-Échézeaux, sold under the Vosne-Romanée hierarchy
• Estate: Around five hectares in total, all Pinot Noir — roughly 50 barrels a year across every appellation
• Farming: Organic in practice, without certification
• Vinification: Rigorous sorting, 100% destemmed with no whole cluster, cold pre-ferment soak of around ten days, ambient yeasts, 22 to 30 day cuvaison
• Ageing: 18 months in barrel; unfined and unfiltered since 2000
• Serving temperature: 15–17°C
• Style: Dry red wine

👃 Tasting Notes & Experience

• Color: Bright, medium ruby
• Nose: Dark berry fruit with forest floor and a light truffle note
• Palate: Medium-bodied and finely drawn, with good mid-palate weight
• Structure: Tannins with fine grip, well balanced
• Finish: Restrained rather than showy, and long

Alfred Cathiard arrived in Vosne-Romanée from Savoie in the 1920s and worked as a labourer at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and then Lamarche before starting to buy vines. The domaine that grew from that is still barely five hectares, and its single grand cru is a 0.17-hectare piece of Romanée-Saint-Vivant planted in 1919 — the smallest holding in the vineyard. Sébastien Cathiard took over the cellar with the 2011 vintage and has been reducing new oak ever since, on the view that less wood makes a more terroir-driven wine. En Orveaux is where that shows most clearly: limestone-driven, restrained, and built on tension rather than flesh. 2014 gave the Côte de Nuits a cool, precise year that suits the site.

❤️ Why We Love It

• The mineral, understated wine in a range better known for power
• From a five-hectare domaine producing about 50 barrels a year in total
• Three bottles only

🍽️ Food Pairing Ideas

• Roast poultry, guinea fowl and game birds
• Mushrooms, truffle and root vegetables
• Aged Comté and washed-rind cheeses

👤 Who This Wine Is For

✓ Drinkers who prefer minerality and restraint to obvious power
✓ Anyone wanting a way into Cathiard below Malconsorts prices
✕ Not ideal if you want richness and immediate impact