The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Wine Description
The Story
'Cros Parantoux' is a fine example of a 'terroir' revealed by a man: of an almost uncultivated 'terroir', which is nonetheless well oriented towards the east, but difficult to work. Henri Jayer succeeded in obtaining quintessential Vosne-Romanée from it. The vineyard plot is sloping, stony, the soil is not deep, the situation is cool. Henri still owns the largest part of the appellation, but we are happy to be able to work about three quarters of an acre of it. Our smallest 'cuvée', but our most famous!
An opulent, structured wine, both impressive and demonstrative. The acidity is often high and tightens this wine in the finish, especially when it is young, but we cannot speak of austerity, as the first impression on the palate is fat and smooth. A wine which gives you a feeling of generosity.
The vinification does not require a lot of extraction, as the wine possesses naturally the structure necessary for its acidity. Priority must be given to the softness and roundness of the tannins. And anyway, they cannot wait to express themselves.
The vines dated from the 1950s. Strangely enough, the grapes are usually quite big. Obviously there's no comparison with the grapes from modern clones, but their concentration cannot be guessed from their appearance. Because of their situation, they tend to mature late, but achieve an excellent balance.
Vintage 1996
1996 VINTAGE in Burgundy
Maturity levels were in general high following a long hot summer. The wines from the famous Pinot Noir have an intense ruby red colour with lush red fruit aromas. They are wines that are comparable with the outstanding 88s and 89s. The whites are just as outstanding full-bodied with elegant vibrant Chardonnay fruit and sweet white flower and grilled nut aromas. These are wines that have the potential to age magnificently.
Each harvest we hope for three things, favorable weather conditions, healthy grape clusters and high sugar levels. The 1996 harvest provided all of these. April was particularly sunny and brought about an early bud burst (18th of April). Following this we had what can be described as a flash flowering which leads to good pollination, creating high yields.
Arean had low rainfall levels, a sturdy breeze (which kept rot to a minimum) and a long ripening period. These factors created high sugar levels and good acidity within the grapes. Cloud cover in August, combined with the coldest September on record meant that the sugar levels were exceptionally high and so was the acidity: 12% potential alcohol with 5.5g of acidity for Corton Reds and 13%-14% potential alcohol with 6g of acidity for Corton Charlemagne.
As a result, most are very pleased with the 1996 vintage. The reds have an intense color, good tannin structure and concentrated Pinot Noir flavor. The white wines are also impressive, containing plenty of rich fruit character, a crisp acidity and are already showing an attractive bouquet.