2005 Vosne Romanee Beaumonts

The 2005 Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts (also drawn from barrel, where it had only completed malo in November) offers discretely spice-tinged black fruit aromas including high-toned distilled raspberry and bitter-sweet cherry pit. The palate impression is refreshing, bordering on tartness, although at the same time with a positive sense of fat and glycerin, and the finish encouragingly long, but slightly perturbed (today at least) by the tannins. (I happened to be tasting these at cool room rather than cellar temperature, by the way.) This seems to be missing a dimension of top Vosne quality, or else it’s me. Christophe Vial has move here from de Montille to become the cellarmaster, but oenologist Claire Forestier was responsible for these 2005s. I hope I shall prove to have hit them on a bad day. But abstracting from possible (in some instances obvious) effects of having just been racked to tank and sulfured in preparation for bottling, I found many of these wines lacking in striking personalities or grip. Some evinced toasty hints of barrel despite the percentage of new wood being low (only rising above 20-30% in the case of Chambertin) suggesting that they might be a bit “underwined.” Also recommended: 2005 Hautes-Cotes de Nuits ($ 28.00-20.00; 84), 2005 Vougeot ($65.00-70.00; 85), 2005 Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot ($95.00-100.00; 85-87) 2005 Vougeot Les Cras ($95.00-100.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Vougeot Clos de la Perriere ($110.00-115.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Chambolle-Musigny ($65.00-70.00; 85-87), Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800.