Vosne-Romanée: The pearl of the Côte

Vosne-Romanée, considered the greatest Pinot Noir village by wine enthusiasts the world over, took centre stage in the cellars at Roberson on Wednesday evening . A single bottle tasting showcasing 10 examples designed to demonstrate why this village is considered the best in the world was in hot demand, with the event selling out in less than two hours. In attendance were 18 lucky people (myself included) ready to taste, procrastinate and pass judgement on the credence of the aforementioned statement.

Mark Andrew, the resident Roberson Burgundophile, opened the tasting by giving a brief account of the history of Vosne-Romanée and how over the years it has become a place of pilgrimage, with a ‘vineyard-scape’ that includes some of the most hallowed (not to mention expensive) land in the world. While neighbouring Chambolle has the incredible Grand Cru of Musigny and Gevrey is rightfully proud of Chambertin and Clos-de-Bèze, Vosne can boast a roll call of climats that are enough to make Burgundy geeks weak at the knees. Romanée-Conti, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanée St-Vivant – these vineyards and the wines that come from them are the most sought after in the world. But Vosne is about more than just Grand Crus – the standard of wines across the board is exceptional; the village’s cellars are occupied by some of Pinot Noir’s master craftsmen, making village and 1er Cru wines that rightfully command high prices.

So what of the village itself?  It’s staggering to think that such a list of great names comes from a village smaller than that of some of the largest Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux Château vineyards. The total vineyard area of the commune’s appellations is 229 hectares – 43% of village (99ha), 32% of 1er Cru (73ha) and 35% of Grand Cru (80ha). That last one is an incredible proportion when you consider that this level of wine only represents 2% of Burgundy’s total production.

But looking beyond the figures and the hyperbole, just what makes Vosne-Romanée wines so revered, expensive and sought-after? Ageing potential is often cited as the reason Vosne-Romanée’s wines, especially the Grands Crus, but to a lesser extent the Premiers Crus as well, are so good. Some of these wines have Bordeaux-like lifespans of 30+ years. Of course, this also has its side effects, one of which is that the wines are hard to appreciate after only 5-10 years, and only are worth their full value if left to evolve for even longer.

But ageing isn’t the primary reason for Vosne’s success. The main reason is that the climate simply produces wines that combine powerful flavour and silky elegance in a way that no other villages can really rival. Most people in the world can’t afford the Grand Cru wines that Vosne produces, since the legendary status of the wines has raised them to ludicrous price levels. Even the most avid Vosne lovers will still have difficulty coughing up £70 minimum for a Vosne Premier Cru when they could easily pay around the same amount for a top négociant-bottled Grand Cru wine from another village. Why, then, is there still more demand than supply for Vosne’s top wines? Because there’s no real place elsewhere in the world that can compare to Vosne for sheer diversity and quality. Vosne is simply the best place in the world for what it does best – a combination of elegance and power.

Mark really pulled out all the stops to make the night’s tasting a real treat, the producers and vineyards reading like a who’s who of greats.