2018 Vosne Romanee La Colombiere

Mid crimson. Both ripe and darkly savoury at the same time. Perhaps a little charry. Lots of obvious oak on the palate though there’s good depth of fruit at the core. It’s just a bit flattened by the oak at the moment. Firm, chewy tannins. Could do with more freshness. Needs time though I'm not sure it is for the very long term, but I am often reminded that a wine doesn’t necessarily need acidity to age well. (JH)

The 2018 Vosne-Romanée La Colombière is the debut release since the Mugneret family decided to separate their parcel of vines that lies just behind the maison, à la Comte du Liger-Belair. It offers scents of raspberry preserve and wild strawberry scents, and the 25% new oak is neatly integrated. The medium-bodied palate features succulent, pliant tannins matched with a fine bead of acidity and the purity synonymous with this address. A lovely debut.

A new cuvée for the Mugneret family debuts with the 2018 Vosne-Romanée La Colombière, a bottling from one of the stonier lieux-dits that cluster around the village, where the domaine owns 86 ares planted in the 1960s over which they now have full control after the ending of an old sharecropping agreement. Wafting from the glass with an incipiently complex bouquet of raspberries, Asian spices, orange rind, black tea and incense, the wine is medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with velvety tannins, terrific concentration and a long, precise finish. This is a touch finer-boned and even more elegant than the regular Vosne-Romanée this year, and it will evidently be worth a special effort to track down.