Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Beaux Monts Vieilles Vignes

2016
Clavelier, Bruno
France
Burgundy

From a half-hectare parcel planted in the 1940’s, in the heart of the 1er Cru; this parcel has an ochre red clay top soil and just 40 centimeters below, there is oölite limestone, with outcroppings of the harder Premeaux/Comblanchian limestone. The steep slope and stony soil give the vines excellent drainage. Total production 2,200 bottles

 
90-92 points
"The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts conveys a sense of strictness on the nose, distant at first with slightly darker and more introspective fruit compared to the Aux Brûlées. It takes some encouragement from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins on the entry, quite sappy in the mouth so that you can feel those saliva glands working toward the finish. But throughout it remains distant and refuses to give much away at the moment, so give it four or five years once in bottle."
Neal Martin,
Wine Advocate
, December 2017
92-94 points
"(the soil here is not unlike that of Clavelier's Brûlées holding, but the vines face a bit more east; although they receive less sun, there's less of a cooling combe effect here): Bright medium red, a bit less saturated than the Brûlées. More brooding on the nose, offering scents of darker berries that are not quite black, along with hints of violet, licorice and menthol. Rich but quite dry and less showy than the Brûlées; this is larger and more spherical in the middle palate if a bit folded in on itself in the early going, then much tighter and brighter on the end, showing strong minerality and more masculine tannins."
Stephen Tanzer,
Vinous
, January 2018
89-92 points
"This is the first wine to display any appreciable amount of wood though it's not so much to overshadow the more reserved and cooler nose of airy red currants, tea, anise, clove and a hint of rose petal. There is superb intensity to the delineated and even stonier medium weight flavors that terminate in a borderline rigid and austere finish that stops just short of being tough. This is a robust VRBM and my range offers the benefit of the doubt that this will better harmonize as it's awkward today."
Allen Meadows,
Burghound
, January 2018
94 points
"Shows terrific depth to the aromas and flavors of black currant, blueberry, graphite, earth and baking spices. Delivers weight and length, with overall balance and a long aftertaste that echoes the core of sweet fruit. Needs time. Best from 2022 through 2038."
Bruce Sanderson,
Wine Spectator
, November 2019

SKU/Code: 
DB3448-16
Product Line: 
Red
Varietal: 
Pinot Noir
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic