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.
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Vinous (91-93)
(from 68-year-old vines featuring a high percentage of tiny millerande grapes): Good dark red with ruby tones. Black fruits, violet and strong oak notes of bitter chocolate and coffee. Fat, thick and powerful, with terrific depth of material and enough acid/tannin structure to give shape and freshness to the creamy middle. The blackberry and licorice flavors carry through on the long, rising finish.Inc. VAT£4,046.44 -
Wine Advocate (90)
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Initially, the Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey from Cathiard seems to have a lot of oak smothering the sappy black fruit, although with aeration it coalesces nicely and develops attractive floral scents. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity cutting through the thickset fruit. This feels a little primal and flirts with over-extraction but I think it does not step over the mark. Give this 5-6 years and this could turn into a fine Nuits Saint Georges.Inc. VAT£583.45 -
Vinous (93-96)
Good full medium red. Slightly reduced nose offers sexy scents of dark cherry, cocoa powder, flowers and summer garrigue. Sweet, silky and fine-grained, with superb lift to its fruit and mineral flavors. This coats the palate in a completely different way from the previous samples. Finishes very long, with noble tannins and lovely finesse. Cathiard does look for big extraction here.Inc. VAT£4,080.80 -
Vinous (93-96)
Good full red. Superripe, musky aromas of strawberry liqueur, roasted meat and smoky, stony minerality. Like a liquid confection in the mouth; thick and highly concentrated yet somehow lively and delineated, with terrific minerality and verve to its explosive flavors of sappy crushed berries and crushed rock. This impressively opulent and very ripe grand cru finishes extremely minerally and very long, with terrific grip and ineffable building perfume.Inc. VAT£2,720.00 -
Vinous (89-92)
(from 11-year-old vines planted to three clones): Good full, bright red. Very floral, perfumed aromas of black cherry, lavender and cardamom. Spicy, sweet and expressive but with less depth than the Murgeys. But this boasts impressive power and intensity for young vines and is not overpowered by oak. Tannins are a bit less fine than those of the Murgeys, though.Inc. VAT£1,481.05 -
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 (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 -
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£8,122.84 -
Vinous (90)
The 2011 Vosne-Romanée Village has a smooth and sensual bouquet that obliges coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing scents of crushed red cherry, strawberry and pressed white flowers. The aromatics feel cohesive and effortlessly bound together by the conspicuous oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, smooth and silky with ample red berry fruit and well-judged acidity. There is nothing pretentious about this Vosne-Romanée - just a really beautiful wine from Sébastien Cathiard. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.Inc. VAT£522.80
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Vinous (91-93)
(from 68-year-old vines featuring a high percentage of tiny millerande grapes): Good dark red with ruby tones. Black fruits, violet and strong oak notes of bitter chocolate and coffee. Fat, thick and powerful, with terrific depth of material and enough acid/tannin structure to give shape and freshness to the creamy middle. The blackberry and licorice flavors carry through on the long, rising finish.In Bond£3,356.00 -
Wine Advocate (90)
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Initially, the Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey from Cathiard seems to have a lot of oak smothering the sappy black fruit, although with aeration it coalesces nicely and develops attractive floral scents. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity cutting through the thickset fruit. This feels a little primal and flirts with over-extraction but I think it does not step over the mark. Give this 5-6 years and this could turn into a fine Nuits Saint Georges.In Bond£483.00 -
Vinous (93-96)
Good full medium red. Slightly reduced nose offers sexy scents of dark cherry, cocoa powder, flowers and summer garrigue. Sweet, silky and fine-grained, with superb lift to its fruit and mineral flavors. This coats the palate in a completely different way from the previous samples. Finishes very long, with noble tannins and lovely finesse. Cathiard does look for big extraction here.In Bond£3,398.00 -
Vinous (93-96)
Good full red. Superripe, musky aromas of strawberry liqueur, roasted meat and smoky, stony minerality. Like a liquid confection in the mouth; thick and highly concentrated yet somehow lively and delineated, with terrific minerality and verve to its explosive flavors of sappy crushed berries and crushed rock. This impressively opulent and very ripe grand cru finishes extremely minerally and very long, with terrific grip and ineffable building perfume.In Bond£2,264.00 -
Vinous (89-92)
(from 11-year-old vines planted to three clones): Good full, bright red. Very floral, perfumed aromas of black cherry, lavender and cardamom. Spicy, sweet and expressive but with less depth than the Murgeys. But this boasts impressive power and intensity for young vines and is not overpowered by oak. Tannins are a bit less fine than those of the Murgeys, though.In Bond£1,231.00 -
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 (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 -
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£6,753.00 -
Vinous (90)
The 2011 Vosne-Romanée Village has a smooth and sensual bouquet that obliges coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing scents of crushed red cherry, strawberry and pressed white flowers. The aromatics feel cohesive and effortlessly bound together by the conspicuous oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, smooth and silky with ample red berry fruit and well-judged acidity. There is nothing pretentious about this Vosne-Romanée - just a really beautiful wine from Sébastien Cathiard. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.In Bond£433.00