2018 Vosne-Romanée Les Hautes Maizières Vieilles Vignes Domaine Bru...

The village of Vosne-Romanée produces the region's most acclaimed and famous wines, all made entirely from the Pinot Noir grape. Despite the monopoly control of four of the six Grands Crus by Domane de la Romanée-Conti, the village has at least 40 growers sharing its vineyard area. The Grands Crus are Romanée-Conti, La Romanée, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-St Vivant, and La Grande Rue: La Romanée-Conti Grand Cru The vines, otherwise untouched since pre-Phylloxera days, were replanted in 1947-48, with the first new vintage being made in 1952. The former Cros des Cloux vineyard was renamed Romanée in the 17th century, with Conti being added after it was purchased by the Prince de Condé (or Conti) in 1760. He wanted the very best and kept it only for his own use and that of his immediate circle. Wine writers and critics across the centuries have singled out La Romanée-Conti as Burgundy’s greatest vineyard.

Richebourg Grand Cru Just under half the vineyard (3.51 hectares out of 8.03) belongs to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the rest is shared among nine other growers, counting such Burgundian heavyweight names as Richebourg, Domaine Leroy, branches of the Gros family and Domaine Méo-Camuzet. This is always a robust wine, deeper in colour than the Romanée St Vivant but not necessarily as elegant. La Tâche Grand Cru The domaine purchased most of the 6.06 hectares of La Tâche in 1933, completing the vineyards by exchanging small plots in Les Gaudichots. It stretches from the top to the bottom of the mid-slope band containing the Grands Crus, thus covering a complexity of terroirs. It is a more flamboyant wine than La Romanée-Conti but needs a minimum of 10 years for all its aspects, including the tannins, to integrate. Romanée St Vivant Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's holding covers 5.28 hectares in one single block out of the appellation's nine hectares. This formerly belonged to the Marey-Monge family but was farmed and made by the domaine from 1966, and purchased by it in 1988. It is a beautifully refined, stylish wine, perhaps having more in common with La Romanée-Conti itself than the more rugged Richebourg. Domaine Leroy and Louis Latour's Domaine de Corton Grancey are the next largest owners. La Grande Rue Grand Cru The 1.4 hectares of La Grande Rue are located between La Tâche and La Romanée-Conti Grands Crus, originally classified as Premier Cru but later upgraded. The vineyard is a monopoly of Domaine Lamarche.

Gifted rugby player Bruno Clavelier took over from his maternal grandfather, Joseph Brosson in the late 1980s, expanding the winery buildings and cellars as he intended to bottle all the wines himself. He rents the vines from the family and now farms them biodynamically, with organic certification. There are no hard and fast rules for vinification except to avoid too much intervention. The grapes are sorted first by the picking team and then on a table de tri. Most are destalked though between 5 and 20% of whole bunches may be included depending on the vintage and the vineyard. Vinification is more an infusion than a maceration process, with no punching down and not much pumping over. In the cellar there is not much new oak used – 15 to 20% for the village wines, a quarter to a third for the premiers crus. In elevage as much as in vinification Clavelier does not want to impose the hand of the vigneron. A keen student of the geology of the vineyards, he is keen that each wine should display its terroir. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.