2012 Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux

My sample of 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cros Parantoux came from the three new barrels produced by the domaine this year. The nose is quite closed at first but opens with vigorous swirling over the next two minutes, offering scents of baked cherries, bergamot, minerals and wild strawberry that are all beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm backbone, layers of mineral-rich black fruit, superb tension and laser-like precision towards the finish. This is an impressive, convincing Cros-Parantoux, one of the best that I have tasted at the domaine. Domaine Meo-Camuzet boasts one of the most enviable portfolios in Vosne-Romanee, crowned by Richebourg Grand Cru and Cros Parantoux, the latter essentially grand cru in all but name thanks to the late Henri Jayer, who decided that vines might profit more from the land than a few veg. I have been following the wines for over a decade and visiting Jean-Nicolas Meo’s cellar just down the road from Bernard Gros. Together we tasted through both his negociant and domaine bottlings, partly from pre-prepared samples and others directly from barrel. He told me he had been surprised at the changes in pH post-malo-lactic fermentation, possibly due to a precipitation of potassium that had made the wines feel rounder. Certainly some of the cuvees did have a certain “sumptuousness” about them, but for the most part that tannins were present and correct, lending backbone to offset the occasionally intense fruit. Readers should note that I took a video of Jean-Nicolas discussing the vintage in his cellars, so please access this for further insight. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

A restrained, cool and superbly elegant nose features notes of Asian spices, red currant, plum and lavender along with the hallmark mineral nuances, all of which are trimmed in enough wood to notice. There is superb intensity to the refined, delineated and focused medium-bodied flavors that are shaped by dense but exceptionally fine tannins that are impeccably well-integrated on the energetic and explosively long finish that is distinctly saline in character. Like the Brûlées, this is indisputably built to age. Tasted: Jan 15, 2014. Drink: 2029+

My sample of 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cros Parantoux came from the three new barrels produced by the domaine this year. The nose is quite closed at first but opens with vigorous swirling over the next two minutes, offering scents of baked cherries, bergamot, minerals and wild strawberry that are all beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm backbone, layers of mineral-rich black fruit, superb tension and laser-like precision towards the finish. This is an impressive, convincing Cros-Parantoux, one of the best that I have tasted at the domaine. ||Domaine Meo-Camuzet boasts one of the most enviable portfolios in Vosne-Romanee, crowned by Richebourg Grand Cru and Cros Parantoux, the latter essentially grand cru in all but name thanks to the late Henri Jayer, who decided that vines might profit more from the land than a few veg. I have been following the wines for over a decade and visiting Jean-Nicolas Meo’s cellar just down the road from Bernard Gros. Together we tasted through both his negociant and domaine bottlings, partly from pre-prepared samples and others directly from barrel. He told me he had been surprised at the changes in pH post-malo-lactic fermentation, possibly due to a precipitation of potassium that had made the wines feel rounder. Certainly some of the cuvees did have a certain “sumptuousness” about them, but for the most part that tannins were present and correct, lending backbone to offset the occasionally intense fruit. Readers should note that I took a video of Jean-Nicolas discussing the vintage in his cellars, so please access this for further insight. eRobertParker.com.December, 2013