2003 Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots

Bright lustrous red. Shy nose at first. Very sweet palate entry insinuates itself. Lowish acid. Some violets and an very slight undertow of fine tannins. Firm and confident with just a little suggestion of cooked fruit. Good constitution! (JR)

The 2003 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Aux Reignots is aging well, even if there is no comparison to other vintages from this noble estate. At a decade old, it has a sensual, incense-scented bouquet with hints of mulberry and sloe jam attesting to the warmth of that growing season. The palate is nicely balance, elegant on the entry and exerting a gentle grip. What it lacks is the ethereal delineation of the 2006 tasted alongside. It is sensual in the mouth, quite generous in terms of fruit, but the persistency was incinerated away by the heat of that summer. Drink now and over the next five or six years. I will be covering Louis-Michel’s highly praised; elusive and expensive wines in future issues of The Wine Advocate. But for now, in October I attended a fascinating tasting of older vintages to glean how they age. Certainly, these wines are imbued with a citrus freshness that verges of sorbet-like with some wines. They clearly go out to impress and impress they do. What these wines refuse to do is short-change the Burgundy-lover apropos perfume or flavor; they willingly go out there to satisfy the senses. They also appear to age slowly and gracefully, and I suspect most of these will reach their plateau after around a decade in the cellar.

Ruby-red. Flamboyantly ripe, slightly roasted aromas of black raspberry, mocha, leather, humus and minerals. Dense and creamy-sweet but with terrific lift thanks to harmonious acids. Chewy pinot fruit complicated by wild flavors of leather, smoked meat and espresso. The wine's firm finishing minerality suggests it will age slowly and well.