1971 Domaine
Robert Arnoux&nbsp;Vosne-Romanée
Les Suchots 1er Cru

BY NEAL MARTIN | OCTOBER 15, 2019Last April
I attended a tasting of bottled 2017s from Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux in the
offices of their UK agents, Corney &amp; Barrow. It was a welcome diversion
from thinking about my impending heart surgery. Following the tasting,
winemaker Charles Lachaux served a bottle blind and asked me to guess the
vintage. It turned out to be my birth year. Lachaux told me that he had purloined
the bottle from his family’s cellar for no other reasons than to share a lovely
old wine and keep me chipper. Well, it did the trick, but it did more than
that. I must confess that I never really warmed to Charles’s father’s wines. Pascal
Lachaux often picked a bit late and rather over-egged his wines in the winery,
especially in terms of new oak. Charles has taken the domaine in the opposite
direction, guided and inspired by no less than Lalou Bize-Leroy. I had never
tasted a bottle from the era of Charles’s grandfather, Robert Arnoux, whose
passing in 1995 led to his son-in-law taking over. But this bottle revealed a
connection between Robert Arnoux and Charles Lachaux’s approach to winemaking;
it was far more elegant and refined than I would have imagined, even taking
account of its age.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571147901191-vosne_romanee_1971_arnoux_copy.jpg"> 

The 1971 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru
is clear in color with modest bricking. The heavenly bouquet is exquisitely
defined, offering vestiges of red berry fruit intermingled with bay leaf,
undergrowth, tea leaf and a hint of balsamic. The palate is not powerful and
arguably lacks the substance of the very best Côtes de Nuits from this vintage,
yet there remains a sense of energy and nervosité&nbsp;that is extremely appealing. Slightly tart in style, featuring a refreshing
sour cherry note mixed with soy and seaweed on the finish. A delightful Les
Suchots that continues to give pleasure. 93/Drink
2019-2029.

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