2012 Vosne Romanee

From five parcels around the appellation, the 2012 Vosne-Romanee Village has a fragrant, vibrant bouquet with lifted scents of macerated, small red cherries and orange peel. The palate is sweet and sumptuous with a fleshy core that gains volume in the mouth, though I noticed just a slight attenuation toward the finish, as if to remind this ambitious Village Cru of its standing. “Noellat” might be a name synonymous with Vosne-Romanee for decades. However 22-year-old Maxime Cheurlin, Georges Noellat’s nephew, is a name to look for in the future. He grew up in Champagne rather than the Cote d’Or since his parents run a successful champagne house, but it seems that Maxime heard the calling and seems intent on reinstalling the family name in Burgundy. With some enviable parcels of vine scattered around the locale, Maxime works out of the family’s small cellars just behind his parents’ house whose conservatory offers a fantastic panorama across their holding of Les Chaumees. Stylistically, these wines reminded me of Sylvain Cathiard. Yes, there is a modern sheen lent by the new oak, although it only seemed to be slightly excessive with respect to the Echezeaux. Maxime seems to be a driven young vigneron whose tenets have been instilled from an early age, but wow – what potential! Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)