2005 Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux

Good full medium ruby. More exotic on the nose than the Brulees, showing an aroma of blackberry liqueur. Large-scaled and fat but youthfully unevolved, with inky depths to its brooding, chocolatey flavor. A wine of compelling richness but not yet showing the personality of the Brulees. Broad, slow-mounting finish reveals surprisingly strong acidity (the pH here is a low-for-the-cellar 3.35). This is likely to require at least a decade of bottle aging.

As with many '05s after bottling, the nose of extract of black pinot and black cherry fruit that is also spicy and elegant has already begun to shut down and this reserve is particularly apparent on the delicious mineral suffused flavors that possess superb focus and intense detail on the layered and tautly muscular finish that goes on and on. The transparency here is stunning as is the sheer length. As I noted in Issue 25, this is absolutely a Cros to find, buy and forget as it will need even more cellar time than I originally suggested. In a word, brilliant. Allen Meadows, Burghound Jul01,2008

The 2005 Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux – all 50 cases worth of it – penetrates the nasal front with wild berry bitter-sweetness, distilled berry high-tones, pungent spice, and iodine. A huckleberry bitterness, blackberry, wet stone and charred meatiness on the palate all contribute to an amazingly dense and ripe, if somewhat severe impression. The finish bursts with salty, smoky, brightly-tart-berried flavors, bitter black chocolate, and meaty savor. Staining on the palate and bound to be a long keeper, this don’t-mess-with-me wine is a steel spring of Pinot. David Schildknecht-Wine Advocate # 170 Apr 2007