2012 Vosne Romanee

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee Village comes from two parcels in “Les Barreaux” and “Aux Communes”, the former representing a good 70% of the blend. It is actually one of the last cuvees to be harvested as it is a cool site. It has a tightly wound, slightly laconic bouquet that takes some coaxing from the glass, eventually offering black rather than red tertiary fruit. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, taut red berry fruit with a crisp, chalky structure towards the finish. This will probably need two or three years in bottle to really unfurl. Domaine Meo-Camuzet boasts one of the most enviable portfolios in Vosne-Romanee, crowned by Richebourg Grand Cru and Cros Parantoux, the latter essentially grand cru in all but name thanks to the late Henri Jayer, who decided that vines might profit more from the land than a few veg. I have been following the wines for over a decade and visiting Jean-Nicolas Meo’s cellar just down the road from Bernard Gros. Together we tasted through both his negociant and domaine bottlings, partly from pre-prepared samples and others directly from barrel. He told me he had been surprised at the changes in pH post-malo-lactic fermentation, possibly due to a precipitation of potassium that had made the wines feel rounder. Certainly some of the cuvees did have a certain “sumptuousness” about them, but for the most part that tannins were present and correct, lending backbone to offset the occasionally intense fruit. Readers should note that I took a video of Jean-Nicolas discussing the vintage in his cellars, so please access this for further insight. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee Village comes from two parcels in “Les Barreaux” and “Aux Communes”, the former representing a good 70% of the blend. It is actually one of the last cuvees to be harvested as it is a cool site. It has a tightly wound, slightly laconic bouquet that takes some coaxing from the glass, eventually offering black rather than red tertiary fruit. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, taut red berry fruit with a crisp, chalky structure towards the finish. This will probably need two or three years in bottle to really unfurl. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com