Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 2009 Meo Camuzet

Tasting Note Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 2009

Aromas of dark cherries and raspberries are the first to emerge, followed by a sap-like, smoky nuance derived from new oak barrels, which needs to be exposed to air to settle. For a Vosne-Romanée, it feels rich on the palate, possessing the characteristic opulence of a 2009 red wine, yet the tannins remain delicate, and the finish narrows to a lingering hint of stone and iron. It offers a sense of both weight and refinement. While it's fine to drink now after decanting, at mid-palate the tannins still feel as though they're gradually tightening.

Grape Varieties

Vosne-Romanée does not allow for other varieties, and Cros Parantoux is grown exclusively as a single variety:

100% Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir conveys the characteristics of the vineyard rather than asserting its own personality, and this is precisely the essence of this plot. The cool, stony, and shallow soil steers the wine toward red fruit and iron notes rather than rich black fruit.

Cellaring Potential

Best enjoyed through 2042. Let it breathe in a decanter for about an hour before serving at 16-18°C. Delicate tannins and a stony finish provide balance to the wine.

About Meo Camuzet

For decades Domaine Méo-Camuzet owned some of Burgundy's best land without making the wine from it. Étienne Camuzet, mayor of Vosne-Romanée and a deputy for the Côte-d'Or, was too busy with politics, so he leased his vines out to four farmers, one of them Henri Jayer. That arrangement ran on until 2008, when the last tenants retired and Jean-Nicolas Méo finally had every plot in his own hands. He had come back to Vosne-Romanée in 1989, taught by Jayer and by Christian Faurois, son of one of the estate's historic tenants. Fourteen hectares, six Grand Crus (Richebourg among them), ten Premier Crus across four communes, village wines and three Chardonnays. Every plot is vinified and bottled separately. Organic practices without certification, horses on the difficult slopes, around seventeen months in French oak on average, then gravity bottling, unfiltered.

Christian Faurois retired in 2018 after decades running the vines, replaced by Damien Hudelot.

Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs, the négoce arm was set up in the early 2000s with the same family shareholding and is commercially of importance.

Terroir & Climate

Cros Parantoux is situated on an east-facing slope, where the stony, shallow, limestone-rich soil sits in a cool situation. The vines struggle to grow and yield little. Méo-Camuzet cultivates about three-quarters of an acre of this vineyard, while the Jayer family owns the larger part. The shallow soil also means this plot is highly sensitive to seasonal changes.

Winemaking

At Cros Parantoux, new oak barrels play a major role, and the winery is upfront about this. They believe that the wine's true character is revealed only when the oak barrels have fulfilled their role. Prior to that, the wine undergoes cold maceration at approximately 15°C for 3 to 5 days, followed by natural fermentation, with pumping over in the early stages and punch-downs in the later stages. It is aged in French oak barrels for about 17 months. Bottling is done by gravity, and the wine is unfiltered and usually unfined.

Food Pairing

Côte de Nuits pairs best with game meats; its tannins are delicate enough not to clash with the meat, creating a superb harmony.

• Saddle of venison with a porcini sauce
• Venison with porcini sauce, paired with Saddle
• Roast pigeon, pink in the middle
• Sweetbreads with morels
• Boeuf bourguignon, where braising liquid and Pinot Noir meet halfway