Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is deep and padded with a hint of musk, fine spice and a creamy crust to the dark fruit aromas. Soft entry, but it’s a little glycerol cushioning that provides the softness, not a lack of structure or flabby fruit; here is a beautifully delineated wine – for a 2007 – clarity of flavour and clean-lines from the understated cool acidity, and even a good base of minerality. There’s a late arriving bitter twist to the serious fruit and finally just a little fine tannic texture. It would be easy to knock ‘Château Eugénie’, and this is certainly very, very polished wine but here is also a wine of class and distinction – the combination of those two words is a rarity in 2007 – not the absolute energy of a 2008 or 2010, but there’s something a little zen-like here.
Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées
2008 Mugneret Gerard Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées
1982 Engel René Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées
Medium, medium pale colour. Right from the start, there’s not a hint of leaf, soil or mustiness on the nose, just a frankly gorgeous blend of precise red berries, brown sugar and the finest ginger cake – wow! One hour on and the snose has lost some of those precise berries to a marzipan-type layer. To me this is a negative as I’m no fan of marzipan – to others, quite the reverse. The flavours deliver width, a plush texture, very fine acidity and an impressive density of sweet, slightly raisin-fruited flavour in the mid-palate. Approaching 30 years-old one might expect this to be described as an old grandmother of a wine – how very wrong that would be. It remains fresh, sensuous and complex. It is blisteringly good – thank-you Caves Baggli…
1995 Engel René Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées
Medium rusty-red colour, more rust than red at the edges. Forward aromas of part fresh, part baked red fruits over a sterner and much more mineral depth – a raspberry jelly aroma is one of the last from the glass. Impact in the mouth – this isn’t a wine that widens across the palate, it starts at full width. Velvet tannin that is faintly edged with astringency and a fresh burst of dimension across the mid-palate. The mineral aroma is also reflected in the flavours. A success! The fruit flavours remain relatively primary, take that together with the slight astringency and I would guesstimate that this is at least 5 or 6 years from being ‘mature’
2000 Clavelier Bruno Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées
Medium ruby-red colour. The nose is round and delicately sweet and, at its core, retains that gorgeous crystalline dark cherry fruit of my original tasting – for the vintage that’s a rare treat. Good acidity also for the vintage and just enough fat to give a silky texture. You can find a little tannin if you’re prepared to work for it, but frankly, why bother? The fruit remains quite primary and shows a subtle creaminess as it lingers. Also a little bitter chocolate in the finish too that harks to oak. Young, but a beautiful drink today.