Domaine Manuel Olivier is a small family estate based in Nuits-Saint-Georges with holdings across several Côte de Nuits appellations, including a parcel in the Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Damaudes. The domaine is part of the generation of small, family-operated Côte de Nuits estates that have built reputations for careful, low-intervention viticulture and winemaking over the past two decades, attracting attention from specialist importers and enthusiasts who seek the kind of individual terroir expression that the larger négociants and more established domains rarely provide at this level. Les Damaudes, situated on the northern boundary of Vosne-Romanée adjacent to the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru zone, is a less-celebrated Premier Cru whose wines occupy a distinctive position between the fragrance of Vosne and the firmness of Nuits.

The 2021 Burgundy vintage was defined by spring frost events that dramatically reduced yields across the Côte de Nuits and produced wines of concentrated character and intense aromatic focus from the surviving crop. For a small domaine like Manuel Olivier, where the naturally modest production is further reduced by the frosts, the 2021 will represent a wine of unusual intensity relative to the volume produced, and the Vosne-Romanée terroir’s tendency to produce wines of aromatic complexity and elegant tannin structure should be reflected with particular clarity in what is a low-yield, high-concentration vintage.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru from a small independent domaine occupies one of the most compelling positions in the Côte de Nuits for quality-seeking collectors who are willing to explore beyond the most celebrated and publicised names. Les Damaudes may lack the immediate cachet of Les Malconsorts or Les Beaumonts, but it offers the genuine character of the Vosne terroir from a producer whose commitment to natural farming and careful winemaking produces wines that repay exploration and cellaring.

Deep ruby with a refined and mineral nose of red cherry, dried violet, spice, iron and the characteristic Vosne aromatic complexity. Medium to full-bodied with excellent tannin structure from the low-yield 2021 vintage, natural acidity and a long, mineral, Premier Cru finish. Best from 2028 through 2042.