2006 Vosne Romanee Aux Reas

Ripe black cherry, cassis, anise, and vanilla in the nose of Bizot's 2006 Vosne-Romanee Les Reas leads to a creamy yet refreshing palate with rich suggestions of meat stock and pan drippings as well as saline and chalky mineral notes offering more than enough of a foil for the wine's almost jam-like sweetness of fruit and its aura of new wood. All that noted, I won't claim that the effect exactly harmonious. A hint of juicy refreshment and of invigorating fruit skin tartness persists in the finish, although a bit of astringency enters in as well. This should benefit from some time to come together or perhaps to be tasted on a different day, or from a different barrel – bearing in mind that each is bottled separately. Jean-Yves Bizot's wines characteristically strive for elegance and finesse, although his use of 100% new wood (albeit often in 350 liter capacity) can in my experience sometimes place a questionable burden on their often delicate fruit and frame. The wines are bottled directly from cask, barrel-by barrel, with very low dosages of sulfur, so they must be carefully stored, and there will be variation among wines that bear the same label. Unsurprisingly, Bizot claimed to have backed off on his already gentle fermentative regimen to encourage what he saw as the inherently graceful virtues of 2006. None of the wines were chaptalized (unlike in 2007) and none exceeds 12.5% alcohol. Bizot, incidentally, has reached and is apparently able to sustain for his tiny production some of the highest prices I have seen anywhere in Burgundy for non-premier cru wines. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524