2007 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots

Lachaux’s 2007 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots is prominently gamey, with a mustard-like pungency allied to its ripe plum and black raspberry fruit. With its tannins – like those of the corresponding Reignots – seamlessly integrated, indeed with a velvet-like feel, this displays additional animal as well as peat-like mineral shadings in its long finish. Seductive already, I would look for a decade if not longer of satisfaction, though it’s clear Lachaux thinks I am underestimating this wines potential as well as its present caliber, which I nonetheless agree is undeniably impressive. I tasted Pascal Lachaux’s 2008s soon after their late-January bottling, and a few of them may have been suffering from trauma they thereby sustained, but on the whole this was an impressive if darkly-hued and unapologetically firmly-structured collection. Lachaux reports that his malos were “on time, normal,” and adds “the truth about 2008 and why the malos were so often retarded is that people sulfured the fruit too heavily at the advice of their enologues.” Even at bottling, Lachaux reports that he was sparing with sulfur and expected to take advantage of the high levels of residual CO2 in his 2008s. He says he allowed temperatures to rise during the fermentation as a means of extracting more flavor without having to actively work the cap and in consequence risk pulling out green flavors or hard tannins. This approach may explain the particularly low-toned personality of this 2008 collection, which certainly didn’t leave me wishing that the wines had sustained additional pigeage! If the number of magnums I saw is any indication, Lachaux seriously intends on putting to the test his confidence in this vintage’s aging potential. Yet he is also very keen on his 2007s, those of which I tasted from bottle were indeed impressive, though I seem even in this instance to be missing what those growers most enamored of their 2007s profess to perceive. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Good medium red. Deeply pitched aromas of black raspberry, spices, chocolate and cocoa powder, with intriguing high notes of flowers and minerals. Rich, sweet and deep, with a round texture that makes this a treat already. There's a sappy quality to the dark raspberry and cherry fruit, but Lachaux notes that this has the highest pH of his 2007s, at 3.61. Finishes with substantial supple, broad tannins. In comparison, the Echezeaux is a bit tighter and racier but this is downright sexy. These 2007s have indeed delivered on their substantial early promise. Lachaux told me that he has made 23 vintages and 2007 is one of his two or three favorite years. "Right now I prefer 2007 to 2005," he said, "but in ten years it may be the other way around."

Bright, dark red. Exhilarating, nuanced aromas of musky raspberry, Oriental spices, cocoa powder, violet and licorice. Compellingly silky and subtle on entry, then brilliantly vibrant and delineated in the mid-palate, with an explosive floral quality lifting the flavors of crushed red berries and blood orange. The wine's pungent minerality gives it a weightless impression. This palate-staining essence of Burgundy finishes with terrific cut and lift and mouthfilling perfume.