2006 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots

From purchased fruit, the Bouchard 2006 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots displays a haunting aromatic melange and corresponding complex flavor depth of marrow, ripe berries, oriental spices, and black truffle. Silken in texture, it finishes with refined length, though I had anticipated a bit more sense of interplay. I would plan to revisit this within the next couple of years but anticipate 4-6 years of fascination. Director Philippe Prost emphasized the importance of flexible and surgical picking (with a crew numbering upwards of 300) and getting his crop to Bouchard's battery of presses within two hours via a fleet of mini-vans. He insists that relatively little triage was necessary on the domaine vineyards (as opposed to those under contract) and the estate wines are certainly predictably stronger as a group. (I have generally mentioned in the notes that follow which wines are from Bouchard's domaine and which from contract fruit, but have explicitly noted this as part of a wine's description, only if there are two versions of the same appellation within the present portfolio.) The fruit was crushed very gently and the wines racked only once – at 10-14 months, than usual – explains Prost, in order to guard against exposed or drying tannins, a policy which my tastings suggest was generally successful. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767