Domaine Humbert Fixin Vieilles Vignes 2020 750ml

Burghound 88 points From 55+ year old vines in Les Champs Tions and Les Tellières.

Producer note: Frédéric Humbert and his younger brother Emmanuel run this 6 ha domaine though Frédéric has essentially eased out of the day-to-day operations. Readers may notice that the vineyard holdings appear similar to both of the Dugat domaines (see above) and this is not by chance - the Humbert brothers are cousins of Claude and Bernard. The younger Humbert simply said that 2020, much like 2019 did, "gave us very ripe and clean fruit but with smaller yields compared to 2018. We picked from the 30th of August and there wasn't much sorting required other than for sunburned berries. Yields were variable at between 25 and 33 hl/ha and potential alcohols that ranged from 13 to 13.9%. I again chose to vinify extremely softly due to the concentrated berries that possessed thick skins and low juice to solid ratios. In fact, we did no punch downs at all as it would have been very easy to create tannic monsters, which is definitely not our stylistic goal. As we usually do, the new wines were barreled down into 30 to 100% new wood. We are actually extremely pleased with 2020 as I honestly believe that it's a great vintage that should age accordingly." Humbert noted that the 2019s, also reviewed below, were bottled in February and March 2021 without fining or filtration.
Tasting note: Pungent aromas of wood and reduction precede more elegant if less concentrated middle weight flavors that are at once sleek and vibrant while displaying solid persistence on the youthfully austere and saline-inflected finale.