2012 Vosne Romanee Beaumonts

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts comes from their 0.30-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1945 and this vintage includes 20% whole cluster. It has a vivacious, penetrating bouquet of blackcurrant, cassis, minerals and graphite that is very well defined. That graphite edge comes through on the tense, sorbet-fresh palate that is long and sweet with macerated dark cherries/kirsch lining the somewhat curvaceous finish. This is a showy Les Beaux Monts at the moment, one that should be delicious after bottling. My final visit of the day was to Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron, just up the Route Nationale from Domaine de l’Arlot in Premeaux-Prissey. It took me a while to engineer the car into the courtyard since a man-eating hound refused to budge out of the way of the vehicle. It would probably not go down well with winemaker, Alain Meunier, had I run the mutt over. Alain’s father-in-law was Jean-Jacques Confuron, a quietly spoken gentleman who has done much to make this one of the most sought after domaines in Nuits Saint Georges. The domaine includes 8.5-hectares of vines in the Cote de Nuits that have been farmed organically since 1989, the portfolio crowned by a parcel in Romanee-Saint-Vivant, a thin but precious strip to the north of the climat, sandwiched between Alain Hudelot-Noellat and Lalou Bize-Leroy. Though usually most of the fruit is de-stemmed, Alain told me that this year the premier and grand crus include 20% whole clusters. The use of new oak here is quite pronounced relative to others: 30% for the village crus, between 40% and 50% for the premier crus and over 60% for the grand crus, but I did not find it excessive and it was beautifully knitted into the fabric of these 2012s, especially his sumptuous grand crus that should easily age over 20 or 30 years. I look forward to visiting once again - mindful of not running over the dog of course. Importer: J.A.O. Wine Importers, 1507 Hampton Hill Circle, McLean (VA) Tel 1 703 628 9615. Also available in UK at Enotria Winecellars Lts. and Ballantynes of Cowbridge.

This is also notably reduced yet the underlying fruit appears to be fully ripe. There is a velvety and highly seductive mouth feel to the medium-bodied flavors as the supporting tannins are admirably fine-grained, all wrapped in a dusty, balanced and solidly complex finish. This gives the impression of possessing very good if not truly excellent potential. Tasted: Jan 15, 2014. Drink: 2019+

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts comes from their 0.30-hectare parcel of vines planted in 1945 and this vintage includes 20% whole cluster. It has a vivacious, penetrating bouquet of blackcurrant, cassis, minerals and graphite that is very well defined. That graphite edge comes through on the tense, sorbet-fresh palate that is long and sweet with macerated dark cherries/kirsch lining the somewhat curvaceous finish. This is a showy Les Beaux Monts at the moment, one that should be delicious after bottling. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com