2007 Vosne-Romanée La Colombière

Although the malolactic fermentations of the 2008s were later than usual here, they still ended by mid-June, said Louis-Michel Liger-Belair. "Our cellars are not too cold because our house [the stately old Chateau de Vosne-Romanee] is directly above them," he explained. Liger-Belair carried out a pre-harvest to remove rotten and rose grapes, then picked fruit with grape sugars between 12% and 13.2% and had 30% less crop than normal. Liger-Belair compares his 2007s to a cross between 2001 and 2000 and says the 2008s have more precision and acidity. I found the first couple of samples a bit tart but at the cru level there are some stunning 2008s in the making. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA and Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)