Winemaker Notes
The marls give wine the silky character of tannins, the elegance of perfumes and the slight acidity that make it easy to taste from its youngest age. However, this impression of easiness is misleading: thanks to the almost perfect balance of this wine, it can age 10 to 15 years while preserving its fruity expression and its freshness.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Very scented black fruit but also some wild spices and a silky texture with a savory finish.
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Wine Spectator
Black cherry, spice and earth flavors are matched to a dense structure here, with concentration and subtle power building up to the finish. Drink now through 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Vosne Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas comes from Michel's triangular, walled monopole towards the south of the village. It has a slight stemminess on the nose that is nicely defined, very natural, the fruit black rather than red, evolving a light marine accent with time. The palate is energetic and tensile on the entry with blackcurrant, raspberry and a touch of bitter lemon towards the chalky textured finish. This is quite a complex Clos des Réas this year from Michel and one I look forward to revisiting once in bottle.
Range: 90-92
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
This is the village for the most die-hard Burgundy fanatics. Vosne-Romanée has for many hundreds of years been the source of the most sought-after Pinot Noir in Burgundy. The village claims six Grands Crus—and some of the most famous at that—but in other villages where owners manage tiny parcels or a few rows of any one vineyard, monopolies dominate the Grands Crus of Vosne-Romanee.
Of these monopolies, Domaine Romanee-Conti (DRC) reigns supreme, claiming not only more total vineyard area than any other producer, but outright owning the entirety of two of the Grands Crus and a majority of two others. In its full possession are naturally Romanée-Conti, as well as La Tâche. DRC also owns most of Richebourg and Romanée-St-Vivant. The final two, La Grande Rue and La Romanée are completely owned by other other produers: François Lamarche and Comte Liger Belair, respectively.
While one could spend a lifetime on the puzzles of land ownership in Burgundy, the point is that Vosne-Romanee contains the most valuable pieces of vineyard real estate in the world. Pinot Noir from any of its vineyards—especially from within its 27ha of Grand Cru or 58 ha of Premier Cru land—is going to rank among the best.
The most outstanding wines from this village have everything: finesse and elegance coupled with the body and sturdiness for incredibly long aging ability. They are intensely floral and exotically spiced. Beautifully ripe, complex and ephemeral throughout, they are robust, yet fine-grained in texture. These wines will stay gorgeous for the long haul.