Sylvain Cathiard
About Sylvain Cathiard
Originating from Savoie and arriving in Burgundy to work with the imperious Domaine de la Romanée Conti and Domaine Lamarche, the Cathiard family possess one of the most impressive collective CVs in the world. It has, expectedly, forged its glorious reputation later when they started a winery themselves.
Currently at the helm is Sebastian Cathiard, the third generation of the family, who cultivates a mere 5.5 hectares of land spread over so many sites with none bigger than one hectare. For context, the largest cuvée Cathiard produces is the Bourgogne Rouge, which sees just over 2,000 bottles of production each year.
Because of the scarcity, the unmatched demand and the heavy allocation for top restaurants, his wines are, naturally, some of the hardest to acquire.
-
Inc. VAT£6,458.69
-
Vinous (94+)
The 2013 Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru has a typically powerful bouquet with macerated small dark cherries, a hint of dark chocolate and loamy aromas that envelop the senses, developing more floral top notes with aeration. The palate is supple and silky smooth, very sensual with black cherries, boysenberry and spice with just a slight bitterness on the persistent finish. It is probably a decade too young to drink this, so keep any bottles in the cellar for several years. Tasted at 21 Boulevard restaurant in Beaune.Inc. VAT£5,380.84 -
Wine Advocate (96-98)
The 2015 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts has just a little less new oak than the Les Suchots this year. The aromatics are more backward and recalcitrant than the Les Suchots and demanded more coaxing from the glass. There is a sense of depth to the fruit, almost an opacity that suggests the fruit will only gradually open up. It was difficult wrenching your nose away from the glass! The palate is beautifully balanced with succulent fleshy tannin, voluminous in the mouth with immense concentration counterbalanced by a keen line of acidity. Very persistent in the mouth, this will be immense once in bottle. Cellar for as long as you can.Inc. VAT£7,503.64 -
Wine Advocate (94-96)
The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts was showing a little more reduction on the nose compared to the other cuvées. Underneath though, lies intense and quite voluminous red berry fruit, later rose petals, a touch of woodland coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with quite high-toned entry, vivacious blueberry fruit mixed with cassis and orange pith, then closing in quickly on a structure and grippy finish (it finished its malolactic not until September so this would explain this). It will require several years in bottle. It is not quite as audacious as the 2015 Malconsorts, but certainly a prince to that king.Inc. VAT£7,116.04 -
Wine Advocate (93-95)
Cathiard's emblematic cuvée, the 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts is also a great success, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cherries, licorice, spices, dark berries, grilled game and an elegant framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a broad-shouldered chassis of velvety structuring tannin, considerable concentration and a long, expansive finish. Due to a late malolactic, this was one of the more primary wines in the cellar, but its immense potential is impossible to miss.Inc. VAT£5,796.04 -
Inc. VAT£7,860.04
-
Vinous (95-97)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a very intense and opulent bouquet that is currently less expressive than the Les Suchots, but I find more breeding and delineation here, more terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, wonderful structure, certainly the spiciest as if there is some whole bunch in here (there is none).Inc. VAT£4,893.64 -
Vinous (93-95)
The 2021 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru takes time to really cohere on the nose, more backward than recent vintages, sultry even. This seems to lean more towards black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with strict tannins. There's backbone here, assertiveness, yet without the density or opulence that has come to define Cathiard's style, so very different. This will require some time in bottle but will have much to offer.Inc. VAT£6,860.69 -
Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (89-92)
Bright red. Pretty, scented nose offers raspberry, rose petal, Oriental spices and crushed rock; Vosne in a Chambolle direction. Then leanish and vibrant on the palate, with strong but harmonious acidity framing the flavors of dark fruits, flowers and minerals. Not fleshy but showy and enticing. Finishes with excellent verve and cut. These relatively young vines (planted in 1997) were farmed en bio for the first time in 2011.Inc. VAT£6,722.44 -
Vinous (91-93)
(these 18-year-old vines are planted to three clones): The most reduced of these 2014s on the nose, but still with captivating scents of black raspberry, licorice and pungent crushed-rock minerality. Delivers a wonderfully silky texture enlivened by harmonious acidity. One senses a strong rocky element and yet the wine shows no edges. This seamless wine boasts a long, rising finish featuring a hint of dark chocolate and noble tannins. A beauty, and clearly a bottling to follow as the vines continue to mature.Inc. VAT£7,526.44 -
Vinous (87-90)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru, from vines planted in 1997, has a very ripe nose with black cherries and fig, powerful and maybe not quite as well defined as the En Orveaux. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannins, succulent and luxuriant, this just bordering Grenache in style. This is maybe one I would have picked earlier. Maybe I will proved wrong once this is in bottle.Inc. VAT£5,280.29 -
Vinous (90-93)
Bright red. Black raspberry, spices, animal fur and smoky minerality on the nose, with a light jammy suggestion and some pungent oak. Creamy-sweet and lush on the palate, with an old-viney thickness of texture that really saturates the mouth on the finish. This very ripe wine betrays just a tough of oaky harshness today, but there's also good lift from the calcaire-rich soil.Inc. VAT£4,581.64 -
Inc. VAT£6,054.04
-
Burghound (92-95)
Sweet Spot Outstanding. Here too the nose is gorgeously airy, layered and stylish with its ultra-spicy aromas of black raspberry coulis, floral and similar tea nuances. The rich, delicious and voluminous middle weight flavors are also a bit more powerful than usual with good minerality in evidence on the balanced and strikingly persistent finish. This too is excellent.Inc. VAT£5,657.09 -
Vinous (91-94)
Good bright, deep red. Black raspberry, maraschino cherry and a whiff of meat on the compelling nose. Thick, tactile and utterly smooth on the palate, but with real energy and mineral lift to the flavors of dark fruits, mint and wild herbs. Finishes with serious tannic clout but has the stuffing to support it. This impressively vibrant wine should reward eight to ten years of cellaring.Inc. VAT£8,155.24 -
Vinous (95-97)
The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru has a gorgeous bouquet, a mélange of red and black fruit and more sous-bois aromas than the En Orveaux; touches of sage and pressed flowers emerge with time, adding more and more complexity. The medium-bodied palate offers sappy red fruit and gentle grip in the mouth. Quite structured for a Les Suchots, with a stunning, lightly spiced, energetic finish that has more vivacity than it knows what to do with. Fabulous.Inc. VAT£7,634.44 -
Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (87-90)
Deep red with ruby highlights. Deeper aromas of crushed black fruits, violet and minerals. Dense and concentrated but quite primary today, even a bit youthfully brutal, with blackberry and black raspberry fruit flavors supported by firm structure. Finishes with serious tannic spine.Inc. VAT£3,008.69 -
Vinous (90-92)
The 2012 Vosne-Romanée is beautifully lifted and precise in the glass. Sweet red berries, rose petals, mint and spices are some of the many notes that inform this drop-dead gorgeous, racy village-level Vosne. There is a sense of purity and precision in the 2012 that is impossible to miss. What a pretty wine this is.Inc. VAT£2,191.24 -
Vinous (89-91)
The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Village, raised in around 25% new oak, has a very intense bouquet of black cherries and light iodine aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit tinged with graphite, leading to a precise finish that does not outstay its welcome. Very fine, but it will require three or four years in bottle.Inc. VAT£1,963.24 -
Vinous (88-90)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Village, the usual five parcels from four climats, was showing just a light reduction on the nose that made it difficult to read. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, nicely structured (almost Morey-like) with white pepper and sous-bois towards the finish. Not bad, though it needs just a little more clarity.Inc. VAT£1,494.29
-
In Bond£5,363.00
-
Vinous (94+)
The 2013 Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru has a typically powerful bouquet with macerated small dark cherries, a hint of dark chocolate and loamy aromas that envelop the senses, developing more floral top notes with aeration. The palate is supple and silky smooth, very sensual with black cherries, boysenberry and spice with just a slight bitterness on the persistent finish. It is probably a decade too young to drink this, so keep any bottles in the cellar for several years. Tasted at 21 Boulevard restaurant in Beaune.In Bond£4,468.00 -
Wine Advocate (96-98)
The 2015 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts has just a little less new oak than the Les Suchots this year. The aromatics are more backward and recalcitrant than the Les Suchots and demanded more coaxing from the glass. There is a sense of depth to the fruit, almost an opacity that suggests the fruit will only gradually open up. It was difficult wrenching your nose away from the glass! The palate is beautifully balanced with succulent fleshy tannin, voluminous in the mouth with immense concentration counterbalanced by a keen line of acidity. Very persistent in the mouth, this will be immense once in bottle. Cellar for as long as you can.In Bond£6,237.00 -
Wine Advocate (94-96)
The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts was showing a little more reduction on the nose compared to the other cuvées. Underneath though, lies intense and quite voluminous red berry fruit, later rose petals, a touch of woodland coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with quite high-toned entry, vivacious blueberry fruit mixed with cassis and orange pith, then closing in quickly on a structure and grippy finish (it finished its malolactic not until September so this would explain this). It will require several years in bottle. It is not quite as audacious as the 2015 Malconsorts, but certainly a prince to that king.In Bond£5,914.00 -
Wine Advocate (93-95)
Cathiard's emblematic cuvée, the 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts is also a great success, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cherries, licorice, spices, dark berries, grilled game and an elegant framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a broad-shouldered chassis of velvety structuring tannin, considerable concentration and a long, expansive finish. Due to a late malolactic, this was one of the more primary wines in the cellar, but its immense potential is impossible to miss.In Bond£4,814.00 -
In Bond£6,534.00
-
Vinous (95-97)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a very intense and opulent bouquet that is currently less expressive than the Les Suchots, but I find more breeding and delineation here, more terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, wonderful structure, certainly the spiciest as if there is some whole bunch in here (there is none).In Bond£4,062.00 -
Vinous (93-95)
The 2021 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru takes time to really cohere on the nose, more backward than recent vintages, sultry even. This seems to lean more towards black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with strict tannins. There's backbone here, assertiveness, yet without the density or opulence that has come to define Cathiard's style, so very different. This will require some time in bottle but will have much to offer.In Bond£5,698.00 -
Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (89-92)
Bright red. Pretty, scented nose offers raspberry, rose petal, Oriental spices and crushed rock; Vosne in a Chambolle direction. Then leanish and vibrant on the palate, with strong but harmonious acidity framing the flavors of dark fruits, flowers and minerals. Not fleshy but showy and enticing. Finishes with excellent verve and cut. These relatively young vines (planted in 1997) were farmed en bio for the first time in 2011.In Bond£5,586.00 -
Vinous (91-93)
(these 18-year-old vines are planted to three clones): The most reduced of these 2014s on the nose, but still with captivating scents of black raspberry, licorice and pungent crushed-rock minerality. Delivers a wonderfully silky texture enlivened by harmonious acidity. One senses a strong rocky element and yet the wine shows no edges. This seamless wine boasts a long, rising finish featuring a hint of dark chocolate and noble tannins. A beauty, and clearly a bottling to follow as the vines continue to mature.In Bond£6,256.00 -
Vinous (87-90)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru, from vines planted in 1997, has a very ripe nose with black cherries and fig, powerful and maybe not quite as well defined as the En Orveaux. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannins, succulent and luxuriant, this just bordering Grenache in style. This is maybe one I would have picked earlier. Maybe I will proved wrong once this is in bottle.In Bond£4,381.00 -
Vinous (90-93)
Bright red. Black raspberry, spices, animal fur and smoky minerality on the nose, with a light jammy suggestion and some pungent oak. Creamy-sweet and lush on the palate, with an old-viney thickness of texture that really saturates the mouth on the finish. This very ripe wine betrays just a tough of oaky harshness today, but there's also good lift from the calcaire-rich soil.In Bond£3,802.00 -
In Bond£5,029.00
-
Burghound (92-95)
Sweet Spot Outstanding. Here too the nose is gorgeously airy, layered and stylish with its ultra-spicy aromas of black raspberry coulis, floral and similar tea nuances. The rich, delicious and voluminous middle weight flavors are also a bit more powerful than usual with good minerality in evidence on the balanced and strikingly persistent finish. This too is excellent.In Bond£4,695.00 -
Vinous (91-94)
Good bright, deep red. Black raspberry, maraschino cherry and a whiff of meat on the compelling nose. Thick, tactile and utterly smooth on the palate, but with real energy and mineral lift to the flavors of dark fruits, mint and wild herbs. Finishes with serious tannic clout but has the stuffing to support it. This impressively vibrant wine should reward eight to ten years of cellaring.In Bond£6,780.00 -
Vinous (95-97)
The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru has a gorgeous bouquet, a mélange of red and black fruit and more sous-bois aromas than the En Orveaux; touches of sage and pressed flowers emerge with time, adding more and more complexity. The medium-bodied palate offers sappy red fruit and gentle grip in the mouth. Quite structured for a Les Suchots, with a stunning, lightly spiced, energetic finish that has more vivacity than it knows what to do with. Fabulous.In Bond£6,346.00 -
Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (87-90)
Deep red with ruby highlights. Deeper aromas of crushed black fruits, violet and minerals. Dense and concentrated but quite primary today, even a bit youthfully brutal, with blackberry and black raspberry fruit flavors supported by firm structure. Finishes with serious tannic spine.In Bond£2,488.00 -
Vinous (90-92)
The 2012 Vosne-Romanée is beautifully lifted and precise in the glass. Sweet red berries, rose petals, mint and spices are some of the many notes that inform this drop-dead gorgeous, racy village-level Vosne. There is a sense of purity and precision in the 2012 that is impossible to miss. What a pretty wine this is.In Bond£1,810.00 -
Vinous (89-91)
The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Village, raised in around 25% new oak, has a very intense bouquet of black cherries and light iodine aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit tinged with graphite, leading to a precise finish that does not outstay its welcome. Very fine, but it will require three or four years in bottle.In Bond£1,620.00 -
Vinous (88-90)
The 2020 Vosne-Romanée Village, the usual five parcels from four climats, was showing just a light reduction on the nose that made it difficult to read. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, nicely structured (almost Morey-like) with white pepper and sous-bois towards the finish. Not bad, though it needs just a little more clarity.In Bond£1,226.00