2009 Domaine Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée

The 2009 Vosne-Romanée shows gorgeous depth in its dark red fruit. This is another dazzling, overachieving wine in its category. The textured, multi-dimensional finish makes it impossible to resist a second taste. The Vosne was made from five different parcels and saw 70% new oak barrels. It is a wine I have had great luck with over the years.

The 2009 Vosne-Romanee shows gorgeous depth in its dark red fruit. This is another dazzling, overachieving wine in its category. The textured, multi-dimensional finish makes it impossible to resist a second taste. The Vosne was made from five different parcels and saw 70% new oak barrels. It is a wine I have had great luck with over the years. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. This small domaine is one of Burgundy’s best kept secrets. Emmanuel Rouget farms 8 hectares of vineyards, of which he owns 2.5. Rouget began harvesting on September 12. The fruit was 10% destemmed. Fermentation and maceration lasted about 20 days. The wines were pressed, and the sediment was left to decant naturally for two days. The wines were then racked into barrel with the fine lees. The malos were fast in 2009; they took only 4 months to complete, versus 17 for the 2008s. Rouget expected to do no rackings until the wines were prepared for bottling, with no fining or filtration. I tasted all of these wines from new oak barrels. Readers will note that some of these wines, especially at the entry-level are not aged in 100% new oak. That means the samples I tasted are not fully representative of the final wines. Ordinarily in a situation like this I would ask to taste multiple barrels, but my schedule was particularly tight on the day I visited Rouget. Of course, this is not an issue with the top wines, which are aged in 100% new oak. This is a beautiful set of wines from top to bottom. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

Bright medium red. Pure, lively aromas of raspberry, minerals and flowers. Silky, round and suave; rich and full but not chocolatey. Notes of spices, flowers and minerals give the wine lovely inner-mouth perfume. Finishes big and broad, with a fine dusting of tannins and excellent thrust. A very promising village wine, representing a blend of five parcels of vines between 45 and 70 years old.