1990 Domaine Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux 1er Cru

The 1990 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux from Emmanuel Rouget is a wine that I had not tasted before, though perhaps this was compensation for a corked bottle of the same wine but labelled "Henri Jayer" a few weeks earlier. This 1990 was still surprisingly backward on the nose despite persistent aeration. Eventually it almost reluctantly offers a mixture of red and black fruit, violets, clove and just a drop of iodine. The palate is medium-boded, quite "cool" in the sense that it does not evoke the warmth of that summer in Burgundy. It prefers to remain harmonious and poised, almost as if it was sitting bolt upright. Correct? That is an unusual descriptor for a 1990 red Burgundy, but I mean that in a positive sense for it is pristine on the finish. Just exquisite. Tasted November 2016.

The 1990 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux from Emmanuel Rouget continues to offer great pleasure after 25 years. Deep in color, it has a gorgeous nose with mulberry and blackberry, damp tobacco, Lapsang Souchang and a slight marine influence. It is quite "full on." The palate is stocky and broad-shouldered with a slight tarriness on the entry. It is far less voluptuous than you would expect given the vintage, well balanced and focused with a hint of iodine on the finish. I can see this lasting another 20 years!

One taste of Emmanuel Rouget’s 1990 Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux is all it takes to completely stop the conversation at the table. How can a wine be so beautiful? Ethereal and weightless on the palate, yet with considerable depth, the 1990 captures the essence of what makes Pinot Noir and Burgundy so compelling. Sweet floral notes wrap around an eternal, silky finish that is pure finesse. It’s hard to see the 1990 improving much from here although it will certainly hold for some time. Still, my preference would be to drink it sooner rather than later.