Domaine Sylvain Cathiard

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru 'Aux Malconsorts'

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, France

2020

Vintage

Varietal

Pinot Noir

ABV

Peak 2038-2055

Where it is, June 2026

Too Young: holding.

As of May 2026, the 2020 Sylvain Cathiard Malconsorts is deeply in its developmental phase, with the drinking window not opening until 2032. This is a wine that demands patience of six or more years from today before it will even begin to hint at its full potential. The tannins are firm, the fruit is compressed, and the mineral character that will one day be the wine's crowning achievement is still wound tightly within the structure. Those who open a bottle now are essentially tasting a blueprint for something that won't exist for another decade. Peak drinking spans 2038 through 2055, placing this firmly in the category of wines purchased for the next generation as much as for oneself.

Related vintages

The ‘20 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru 'Aux Malconsorts'.

An extraordinarily pure and mineral Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru from one of Burgundy's most coveted and smallest estates, built for the very long haul.

Drinking window

The arcYou are here · too young, 2026

Tasting note

Domaine Sylvain Cathiard's Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts is one of the most sought-after premier cru Burgundies from one of the Cote de Nuits's most beloved and secretive estates. Cathiard farms a small parcel in Malconsorts, the extraordinary climat that borders La Tache to the south and shares its characteristic stony, mineral terroir. The 2020 opens as a classic Malconsorts in Cathiard's register: deeply layered dark cherry and rose petal on the nose, immediately followed by layers of mineral earth, iron, and a saline, chalky quality that is the site's most distinctive fingerprint. The palate is precise and structured, with silky tannins that belie the vintage's inherent power, and a long, focused finish that delivers the characteristic Malconsorts mineral salinity through to its final note. The wine is built in the image of its terroir: transparent, aristocratic, and demanding of patience. It reveals its complexity gradually rather than immediately, rewarding those who spend time with it in the glass and, over years, in the cellar. There is an absolute purity of Pinot Noir character here that is Cathiard's trademark: nothing added, nothing subtracted, the wine simply expressing its place with crystalline fidelity.

The 2020 vintage

The 2020 vintage at Malconsorts and across Vosne-Romanee was a year of exceptional power and concentration. The warm growing season produced Pinot Noir with deep color, firm tannins, and concentrated fruit, while the stony, minerally soils of the Malconsorts climat retained the freshness and structural tension that define the site's character regardless of vintage conditions. Cathiard's meticulous farming and minimal-intervention winemaking allowed the vintage's concentration to speak without obstruction, resulting in a wine of unusual depth and longevity even by Malconsorts standards. The 2020 vintage for this wine is expected to be one of its all-time greats.

About Domaine Sylvain Cathiard

Domaine Sylvain Cathiard is a small, tightly held estate in Vosne-Romanee whose wines are among the most coveted and scarce in all of Burgundy. Production is extremely limited, and allocations are nearly impossible to obtain through normal commercial channels. Sylvain Cathiard farms a selection of Vosne-Romanee village and premier cru parcels with obsessive care, producing wines of extraordinary purity, mineral precision, and longevity. The domaine is managed with minimal intervention in the cellar, allowing the terroir to express itself without any winemaking interference. The Aux Malconsorts is the estate's flagship offering and one of the most consistently magnificent premier crus produced anywhere in Burgundy.

From the cellar: pair with

Roasted Bresse chicken with morel cream sauce and tarragon

The wine's mineral purity and restrained fruit profile are best complemented by refined preparations where the ingredients speak for themselves, mirroring the wine's transparency.

Pan-roasted pigeon with beet and black truffle

Squab or pigeon with earthy accompaniments is the classic Vosne-Romanee pairing, providing enough richness to balance the wine's firm tannin structure.

Aged Comte at peak with toasted hazelnuts and a drizzle of chestnut honey

The wine's precision and salinity find a natural counterpart in Comte's crystalline, nutty depth at full maturity.

Service & cellaring

Serving Temp: 14-16C / 57-61F
Decanting: Do not open before 2032 if avoidable. If you must open today, decant three or more hours and expect to taste raw potential rather than full expression.
Cellar Storage: 12-13C / 54-55F

Track this bottle Read the Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, France guide

The drinking window on this bottle is calculated with the Cellared Ageability Index (CAI) v1.0, a 10-factor model. Try the free drinking window calculator on any wine, or read when to drink wine for the practical signals.

Frequently Asked

Why is Cathiard's Malconsorts so scarce?

The domaine produces only a tiny quantity of this wine from a small parcel in the climat. Combined with Cathiard's modest overall production and the extraordinary demand for the wine among collectors globally, finding a bottle at any price requires exceptional connections or secondary market access.

When should I open this?

The window does not open until 2032, and peak drinking runs from 2038 through 2055. This is a wine for extraordinary patience. Opening before 2032 is not recommended.

How does Cathiard compare to other Malconsorts producers?

Other notable producers in Malconsorts include Domaine de Montille and Domanine Hudelot-Noellat. Cathiard's version is generally considered the most mineral and precise, with de Montille offering more power and Hudelot-Noellat a slightly rounder profile.

Is the 2020 vintage exceptional for this wine?

Many critics consider 2020 among the finest recent vintages for Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru expressions, combining the concentration needed for long aging with the mineral clarity that distinguishes Malconsorts.