2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Vosne-Romanée Cuvée Duvault Blochet 1er Cru

The Domaine's 2006 Vosne-Romanee Duvault-Blochet represents an assemblage from younger vines in Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux, Romanee-St.-Vivant, and Richebourg whose fruit did not make the cut for the estates grands vins. (Such a second wine has been essayed on several other occasions during the past decade. Previous bottlings of this cuvee were labeled "Vosne 1er Cru" which has led to occasional confusion. While the Domaine de La Romanee-Conti notoriously owns choice parcels of several Vosne premier crus, they have never – at least under the current management – bottled any wine from those sites, but rather only from their grand cru holdings.) Dark cherry, black raspberry, licorice, and charred meat in the nose lead to an initially lush, silken-textured palate, generously-fruited and tinged with clove and mace. The abundance of fine-grained tannin here becomes evident in the finish, accentuated by a hint of detached oak, but lightly-cooked fruit, charred meat, and spice continue to generously dominate. I would expect this to be best enjoyed over the next 4-5 years. The Domaine de La Romanee-Conti harvested from the 20th-25th of September (commencing with Richebourg) and subjected the crop to rigorous sorting. Understandably, the viticultural meticulousness at this estate as well as its team of some 60 highly-skilled and –motivated pickers paid dividends in the context of a challenging vintage. Director Aubert de Villaine and cellarmaster Bernard Noblet vinified their 2006s with a lesser share of stems and whole clusters, and exposed them to new wood for a shorter period (thereafter racking into older barrels) than the corresponding 2005s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661