2011 Maison Joseph Drouhin Vosne-Romanée Les Petits-Monts 1er Cru

(13.3% following modest chaptalization): Good bright medium red-ruby. Cassis, blackberry, licorice, minerals, fresh herbs and bitter chocolate on the nose, lifted by a floral topnote. At once dense and juicy, with lovely inner-mouth tension and energy to its intense dark fruit flavors. Savory, penetrating wine with a firm tannic backbone and resounding finishing fruit. The crop level was around 30 hectoliters per hectare and the vines were picked on September 6, according to Drouhin.

In between Cros Parantoux and Reignots. In two slices, one on terres blanches which makes much simpler wines. Bright crimson. Maybe just a hint of oak – despite their best efforts? But great intensity of fruit. Round and easy. Energetic. Great appeal. (JR)

This is even spicier than the Amoureuses with really lovely black cherry and floral scents that give way to rich, intense and extract-rich medium weight flavors that possess fine delineation and an abundance of minerality. There is a distinct sense of restraint to the moderately austere, highly complex and lingering finish. Good stuff and this too will require all of a decade in the cellar to strut all its stuff. Tasted: Apr 15, 2013. Drink: 2021+