2006 Auxey Duresses 1er Cru

Leroux's 2006 Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru displays especially tart, dark mulberry and blackberry scented with coriander on the nose and on a pure-fruited palate of buoyancy, refreshment, cut, and precision. Floral suggestions of buddleia and lilac waft alluringly throughout, while down deep – as it were – runs a cantus firmus of stone and salt. This is brashly palate-staining and refreshing with strikingly mineral length and exhilarating lift. I agree with Leroux that there appears to exist a certain synergy between the characteristics of the vintage and of these sites (Les Duresses and Breterins). I expect this will prove delightfully versatile for at least the next 4-6 years. Benjamin Leroux did not finish harvesting until the end of September, and noted that – particularly in Volnay – his crop was rot-free enough to permit this, and under-ripe enough earlier in the month to demand it! He credits his greening of the rows with having managed the excess August precipitation. As usual, Leroux favored fermentation with berries and stems intact. When I last tasted his 2006 collection, only two of the wines had been bottled, in deference to the estate's usual long elevage, especially in view of very late malos. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers); fax 011-333-80-24-29-70