2011 Vosne Romanee Beaumonts

The 2011 Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts is one of the highlights in this range. Fleshy and supple on the palate, the Beaux Monts is wonderfully expressive today. Sweet red cherries, plums spices and new leather are all woven into the caressing, expressive finish. This is a very pretty Beaux Monts. Today, the 2011 is quite a bit softer than it was from barrel.

The 2011 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts was aged in 75% new oak. The nose is tightly wound and laconic at first, but unfurls to reveal attractive floral scents with hints of bay and tea leaf. The palate is smooth and harmonious on the entry, but those firm tannins came to prominence in the second half, at the back of palate, exerting a gentle grip and a foursquare, dry(ish) finish. Just a little tough at the moment, I would afford this three years in bottle. Drink 2015-2024. I have been visiting Jeremy and Alec Seysses at Domaine Dujac for several years now, and it is always one of my favorite ports of call. Alec, looking surprisingly chipper for a new dad had taken time off nappy duty to guide me through the 2011s this year. I have to confess that I was concerned by the conspicuous nature of the new oak on both their negociant label wines and the entry Village Crus. I felt that 35% new oak tended to overwhelm the fruit and terroir and occasionally impart drying finishes, which is why my scores are parsimonious here. As I tasted through the range toward the flock of Grand Crus the oak seemed better assimilated, although I would still maintain that the wine is of such quality that the present level of oak risks being superfluous to requirements. All the negociant label wines were bottled before Christmas. Importers: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (415) 491-4724; Chambers & Chambers Wine Merchants, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 642-5500

(from a 1987 planting and vines planted in the 1930s): Precise, perfumed aromas of raspberry, blood orange and flowers. Sharply chiseled flavors of red cherry, minerals and spices convey superb cut. This vivacious, intense, tactile wine is almost 2010-like in its inner-mouth tension. Finishes with a light touch and excellent grip and persistence. A beauty in the making.