2002 Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru

Rouget waited until September 3 to start picking in 2003, in order to get phenolic ripeness.He says the vines benefited from two periods of rain, and because he harvested under cooler conditions he did not have to subject his fruit to a thermic shock.The malos finished by March, but the wines were still on their lees, unracked, in November.Rouget used no new oak in 2003, as he was afraid that the wood would dominate the wines.The new vintage shows more structure and stuffing than Rouget's more delicate 2002s.(Martine's Wines, Novato, CA) Also tasted: Vosne-Romanee*.

Along with Regis Forey and Alan Meunier, Emmanuel Rouget is one of the most candid winemakers I visit in Burgundy. Before I even taste his wines, he makes a point of telling me what went wrong with the new vintage and how he could have done a better job vinifying. Rouget began by telling me that his yields were very low in 2002. 'We had a very difficult flowering due to the temperature differential between day and night,' he explained. 'There was also a lot of millerandage Grape sugars reached 12.8%, but Rouget is quick to admit that his 2002s show limited coloring material. In fact, he was unable to do extended cold macerations as the musts started fermenting rapidly, at 12oC, and then finished quickly. The Echezeaux reached 27oC during the fermentation, but the other wines remained considerably cooler. Rouget planned to bottle his 2002s in December. 'There's no reason to wait; the richness is there, and we need to capture the fruit,' he explained, adding that his cellar, even in November, was warmer than usual owing to France's scorching summer.