2016 Vosne Romanee Les Malconsorts

A relatively deeply pitched nose offers plenty of floral and spice elements along with notes of plum, dark cherry and a touch of Asian-style tea that are trimmed in discreet but not invisible wood. As is usually the case there is excellent volume and a taut muscularity to the sappy broad-shouldered flavors that flash good depth though the austere bitter cherry pit-inflected finish that is markedly compact and fairly short. While that in and of itself is not a flaw, it's not immediately clear that this is necessarily going to better harmonize with time even though I have indicated about when I estimate the tannins will have mostly subsided.

The 2016 Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru has a slightly lactic, dark chocolate tinged bouquet that needs to develop more definitions and terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannin, quite oaky in style and that rather makes the finish more generic than it might have been. There is some nice fruit here, but at the moment the winemaking is shouting over it. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (NM)

The 2016 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts was picked on 30 September, matured in 40% new oak with 35% whole bunch. It has a sophisticated bouquet with cranberry and raspberry fruit, wilted violets and blood orange, gaining more and more refinement with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannin, a crisp bead of acidity and then it clams up toward the peppery finish. It will requite four or five years in bottle but it should turn out to be a fine, if not top tier, Malconsorts.