2008 Vosne Romanee Les Barreaux

Musky narcissus and gentian perfume; peat, crushed stone, and (oak-reinforced) resin; along with ripe black raspberry inform the nose and palate of Anne Gros’s 2008 Vosne Romanee Les Barreaux, whose sensed of delicacy allied to inner-mouth florality and mildly austere stoniness reflect its high-elevation, hardscrabble location above the famed Cros Parantoux. An invigorating and refreshingly juicy persistence of tart berry fruit keeps the finish here from turning spare. But the balance of elements – like the wine itself – is so delicately that I wonder whether it won’t also prove fragile, or that if it is replaced whether what replaces it will have equal charm. I’d enjoy some of this soon and then guard any bottles watchfully, as I could imagine the charm fading already in five or six years. Anne Gros always tends to prefer a light touch with extraction. This applies to a set of 2008s that she bottled already in December and agrees will probably be best enjoyed on the early side (though I suspect she might find my suggestions a tad too conservative). She picked until quite late, though, and – relative to most of her colleagues – even later in 2007, from which unfortunately I did not get opportunity to taste her collection. “The past three vintages,” she notes – including 2009 in her comment – “I’ve taken three weeks to harvest six and a half hectares, and I now regret that in the previous years I started too late,” meaning it was impossible to take as much time as she prefers for her wide range of elevations and exposures with grapes both black and white. (In 2003, harvest took place the 25th through 28th of August, the earliest and fastest harvest in the history of the domaine, but one Gros says she hopes fervently never to have to relive.) In Clos Vougeot alone, Gros harvested for five full days in 2008. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93

Medium bright red. Black raspberry fruit aroma lifted by violet, rose and mint. Brilliant juicy fruit boasts terrific energy and really perfumes the mouth. For all its definition and cut, this remains supple and pliant. Finishes very long, with a light touch. A potentially stunning village wine, from a calcaire-rich parcel of 80+-year-old vines situated high on the hillside, above Cros Parantoux. No shortage of density here.

Quite an opulent nose. Really quite fruity. Much richer and sweeter than most 2008s. Some Vosne energy here but it tastes really quite forward. Very sweet and generous. (JR)