2005 Vosne Romanee Les Petits Monts

Too bad there are fewer than 100 cases of the 2005 Vosne-Romanee Les Petits Monts (from between Reignots and Cros Parantoux). This smells of black cherry, flowers, curry powder, and a whiff of smoke. Deep, rich, clear black fruits and subtle spices on the plush, fine-grained palate lead to an undeniably somber, darkly-fruited but impressively-long finish, with further notes of bitter black chocolate and stony minerality. This is a wine that does not wear its extract or ripeness (nor of course its oak) in an obvious way, and deserves 7-10 years in a good cellar. At the time of my visit, Regis Forey had only recently (with one exception noted below) bottled his 2005s – unfiltered, and with very low levels of sulfur. These are a profoundly-satisfying, and ageworthy group of wines, but not at all showy. Forey was not timid with extraction when it came to this vintage; on the other hand he was one of several growers who told me he had recently lightened up on the use of new wood, and one of several to employ a significant number of 500 liter (double barrique) barrels to diminish the stave surface to wine volume ratio and enhance freshness. Forey’s line-up has been significantly enhanced in recent years by rental agreements. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Full medium ruby. Very primary aromas of blueberry, violet, minerals and bitter chocolate. Dense, very intense and higher-pitched than the Saint-Georges, with taut, primary flavors of blueberry and blackberry. Tannic, firmly structured wine, very young and closed today but with a tightly coiled spring giving it excellent inner-mouth energy. This is all potential today and will need a good decade of cellaring. I prefer the material here to that of the Saint-Georges.