2007 Vosne Romanee Les Gaudichots

Forey couldn’t locate a single bottle of his 2007 Petites Monts for me to taste, but his 2007 Vosne-Romanee Les Gaudichots smells fascinatingly of moss, mushrooms, small game, and other residents of the forest floor. Cassis and caramelized root vegetables add to the complexity and sense of brooding depth on a seamless, silken palate whose fine tannins are entirely tucked-in. Persistently savory and juicy as will as intriguing, here is a 2007 worth planning on following for at least the better part of a decade. Regis Forey’s 2008s enjoyed up to a month of skin contact (including cold soaks). He punched down only sparingly at the onset of fermentation – then heated the vats at the tail end in an effort to fatten the wines a bit. They finished malo in mi-summer and were racked twice – the second time in December and into tank – to help clarify them sufficiently so that he would not feel it necessary to filter. Considering how the fruit looked at harvest, Forey says he was amazed by how well his 2007s turned out. That was his view already by the time I first tasted them, coming off of early malos in late winter 2008; and in bottle they preserve the bright fruit that many 07s exhibited early on but which was in so many instances dulled or muddied meantime. As is now routine here, the village wines (and Bourgogne) were rendered almost entirely in demi-muids of varied provenance (including even a smidgeon of American oak) but always, says Forey, “very slowly-toasted, without touching the flame.” This size permits him to utilize 50% new wood, but with less surface contact per volume. It’s hard to argue with the approach, given Forey’s consistent excellence of village-level results. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990