Winemaker Notes
"Clos des Réas" is located on the hillock that overhangs the small Réas valley. The geological stratum of the subsoil is a "Salmon conglomerate" on the Oligocene strata, with, at this place, a large quantity of limestone blocks alternated with marls. This soil profile, together with the slope, ensures excellent drainage.
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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Wine Spectator
This is oaky, offering mint, vanilla, toast and vegetal aromas and flavors, wrapped around a core of cherry. Lacks the purity of other reds from Vosne, yet shows intensity, persistence and a succulent feel. Best from 2023 through 2040.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Clos des Reas has one of the most ebullient and vivacious bouquets from Michel Gros this year with red cherries, wild strawberries and a touch of blood orange in the mix. The palate is very well balanced with fine tannin, crisp acidity, plentiful tart red fruit with a fine structure that does not dominate toward the finish. Excellent.
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.