2005 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots

Quite warm and racy on the nose. Lots of zest and power. A very upright wine with good concentration and balance. Savoury and true to the appellation. Admirable persistence. (JR)

The 2005 Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots gives off scents of black currant, raw meat, violets and truffles. Rather spare in texture but clear and concentrated on the palate, with notes of roasted meat and caramelized parsnip welling up as one works it around, this is refined and long with subtle spices and salty minerality meeting the fruit and meat in the finish, although the richness of the Beaux Monts is missing. (I did not taste Jadot’s 2005 from the Petits Monts.) Jacques Lardiere has once again presided over a collection for the most part not intended to flatter in its youth, but rather to achieve an eventual balance of fruit acidity with (in this instance frequently quite prominent) tannin. Prolonged post-fermentative extraction promoted a formidably-structured group of wines, which Lardiere expressed no hurry about bottling. Certain of these – particularly from the Cote de Beaune – displayed a slightly drying finishing astringency or simply an austere lack of charm to match their concentration, traits Lardiere suggested might be traceable to drought stress in those sites. A brief July rain that reached the Cote de Nuits but not the Cote de Beaune was critical, he asserts, and all of Jadot’s vines in the northern Cote were picked before the harvest in the south commenced. (Wines from the Domaine Louis Jadot, Domaine Heritiers Louis Jadot, or Domaine Gagey, have been identified with a letter “D” in their listings.) Also recommended: 2005 Cote de Nuits-Villages Le Vaucrain ($25.00;86+?), 2005 Santenay Clos de Malte ($27.00; 85-87), 2005 Savigny-les-Beaune Aux Guettes (84-86+?), 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges ($37.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Chambolle-Musigny ($50.00; 85-87+?). Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490 9300

Bright red-ruby. Captivating, mineral-driven aromas of raspberry, violet and cocoa powder; redder in character and more pungent than the Beaux-Monts. Very suave and pure on the palate, but with noteworthy power and spine to the berry, spice and mineral flavors. Finishes juicy, long and penetrating, with a youthful austerity. This one has a bright future.