2006 Vosne Romanee

High-toned ripe cherry and red raspberry wreathed with lily perfume and wood smoke, and tinged with cumin reach the nose from Gros's 2006 Vosne-Romanee. Sappy, sweet red berries fill the palate, with persistent smoke and spice accents, but detached notes of tartness and astringency rob the wine of some of the forward, sweet charm its aromas seemed to promise. Still, this will make for satisfyingly sweet Pinot to enjoy over the next several years. I have unfortunately not visited with Bernard Gros in quite some years, and my most recent tastings – from samples – have been ill-fated. His set of 2005s that reached me soon after bottling had been too recently and/or too heavily sulfured to properly assess; and a set of 2006s that reached me only recently included a corked Richebourg, of which I therefore offer no further account. The Gros Frere house style of prominent fruit sweetness and caramelized new wood was very much – for my taste, a bit too much – present throughout these 2006s, resulting in a decidedly sweet-sour tension. A Patrick Lesec Selection (various importers), Paris Fax 011 33 4 66 37 67 23; also imported by Atherton Wine Imports, Menlo Park, CA, tel. (650) 328-6639