2006 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots

Lachaux's 2006 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots displays more gamey, animal notes in the nose than any of his other wines of the vintage, here accompanied by high-toned suggestions of mint; black fruit and decadently floral distillates; and a pungently spicy amalgam of clove, cinnamon, and black pepper. A seamlessly rich, silken-textured palate brims with blackberry and plum preserves as well as dark chocolate which – accompanied by the myriad aforementioned animal, floral, and spice notes – inform a stain-like, incandescent finish. This should be extraordinary for the next 15-20 years, though it would be hard to resist taking a dip early on into its irresistible and intriguing depths. Pascal Lachaux – who subscribes to the prevalent notion that this vintage reflects elements of 2000 and 2002 – is one of the very few red Burgundy growers (Rouget another) whose 2006s strike me as outclassing their 2005s. It's possible that his having had a prior vintage to become accustomed to the opportunities afforded by his spacious new, gravity flow cellar contributed to his success this year. And it's of course also possible that I have under- or over-rated one of these vintages. Lachaux – who defends 2005 as one of his best-ever collections – concurs in finding each 2006 typical for its site as well as more expressive than his 2005s have thus far been, and in the observation that these 2006s improve as they open to the air, suggesting to me considerable longer-term cellaring potential than one can expect from most wines of the vintage. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990