2006 Vosne-Romanée

"The 2007 growing season brought a balance that we rarely see in Burgundy," said winemaker David Croix. "We had a hot-vintage cycle, with a very early start to the season, but with the weather conditions of a late-ripening vintage. The fruit was cleaner on the Cote de Nuits, and perhaps best of all in Vosne-Romanee; Beaune, Pommard and Savigny were more challenging. But the phenolics were very ripe and the seeds were brown, so we did a lot of punchdowns because we weren't afraid of getting greenness in the wines." Grape sugars were in the healthy 12.5% to 13% range and the pHs ranged up to 3.75. "It's a fleshy vintage due to low acidity; in comparison, the 2006s are more precise and classic," Croix added. He assembled blends of each wine from a new and a used barrel. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Willette Wines, New York, NY and Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA)

According to winemaker David Croix, there was a significant difference between the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits in 2006 "in terms of fruit and depth." One key factor was the precipitation totals during the summer, he explained, noting that Beaune received 100 millimeters of rain in August, while Nuits-Saint-Georges had just half that amount. Croix made the decision to move the young 2006s to tank, still with some lees, earlier than usual to preserve "the purity of the vintage" (some wines went into tank in July and a few the week before my visit). "They did not have enough structure or depth for us to keep them in barrels," he explained. "We didn't want to dry the wines, and so we kept a lot of CO2 and did a very gentle racking with minimal oxidative influence." Incidentally, the plan here is to air-condition the cellar in time for the 2008 harvest. As I have encountered unfinished wines here that seemed a bit dry or advanced for their age, this step would appear to be very constructive. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Willette Wines, New York, NY and Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA)