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.
Wine Information
This vintage surprises us with its maturity and its depth. It’s what may be described as a classic year, which offers us, across our various terroirs, the full palette of Burgundy’s aromas. Balance is its principal characteristic. The colours are attractive, and after one year in the bottle, the wines remain open and charming. The less prestigious wines are accessible, but the premiers and grands crus will require some ageing, because some of them are impressive. This evolution should take place gradually, with the wines proving very gratifying in a few years’ time. The competition with 2005 has begun.
Vintage 2006
2006 VINTAGE in Burgundy
The personality of Burgundy wines makes the difference
A charmer. Such is the epithet most frequently employed when Burgundy's newest vintage is evoked. Nearly two months after the grape harvest, and following a year typified by rather fantastical weather, Burgundy is finally catching its breath. The 2006 vintage, a preoccupying one which never allowed an idle moment, both in the vineyards and in the cellars, excels in its whites and surprises with its reds.
"Like the flowering of the vines which was concentrated over only a few days, the grape harvest did not follow its habitual course throughout the vineyards of Burgundy, " confided Michel Baldissini, President of the B.I.V.B.
Indeed, organizing the grape harvest was no simple undertaking, and choosing the optimal dates was particularly challenging as September's sunshine suddenly ripened grapes which had been previously languishing throughout August.
Even though a careful sorting of the harvest was required the result is now promising, particularly thanks to the knowledge and expertise of the winemakers. As such, even more than with other years, the choices made in the vineyard and during the vinification process were primordial for the creation of the wines of 2006.
2006 is a year that has never stopped surprising us, from its metrological conditions through to the wine that has finally been obtained. This wine is still being patiently worked with, and now shows the promise of many pleasant and memorable tastings.
The white wines
With their seductive nature, these wines promise to be excellent. Supple and fresh, they are already proving to be expressive and fruity in the mouth and boast considerable richness. Their aromas conjure up citrus fruits, white fruits and their flowers, with notes of sugared and stewed fruits at the more elevated degrees. Chablis expresses its typical minerality marvellously. We have noticed a very agreeable uniformity of quality from Chablis to Mâcon, as well as respect paid to the specificity of different wine districts.
The red wines
Burgundy globally presents high quality wines with nevertheless more uniformity in the Côte de Nuits and in the Auxerre district.
The wine boasts beautiful, intense colours. Indeed, thanks to analyses performed on the grapes to find out their "anthocyanes" quotient (this is the molecule contained in the grapes' skin which confers its red colour) and their extractability, the winemakers benefited from valuable indications which allowed them to choose the techniques best adapted to revealing the grapes' full potential. Just before the grape harvest, the longevity of the tannins was relatively high, but regular tasting during the maceration period allowed for the adjustment of these tannins so that more balanced wines were produced. The careful sorting of the grapes at harvest time, a determining factor this year, undeniably created the parameters of the red wines' quality.
Some are delicate and elegant, while we have found others to be robust and full-bodied, which indicated a fine capacity for ageing. Their aromas flirt equally with red fruits (raspberry, red currant) as with cherry, spices and cocoa.
As such, we find a concrete recompense for all the efforts made in the name of quality by the entirety of the players in the Burgundian wine industry.
