La Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole Pinot Noir

The 2nd vintage of La Grande Rue we had at the Burgundy dinner in Sydney 6 weeks ago. This was the 2015. A very Vosne Romanee nose - perfumed and enticing. Sweeter fruit than the 2012. Given its prime location as being over the road (La Grande Rue) from La Romanee and La Romanee Conti it doesn’t reflect the quality of those 2 vineyards nor the price thankfully. Amazing that the separation of the width of a narrow road makes such a difference. The 1.65 hectares of La Grande Rue dates back to the 15th century. It is simply a continuation of La Tache - lighter bodied (and lighter priced).

Another wine from the Burgundy dinner in Sydney 6 weeks ago. I have been figuring out how to get photos from my camera roll to Delectable. It is not always straightforward. Notes to come later. We had 2 vintages of La Grande Rue. This is the 2012. I found my notes. Not a big fruit influence from this cooler year. Initially a fair bit of oak and a fair bit of whole bunch. Medium weight at best. Meadows tells us that the wines ageing potential most closely mirrors that of Romanee Saint Vivant. After La Romanee, La Grande Rue is the smallest of the Vosne Grand Crus.

Tasted blind. Reddish scarlet center with reddish tawny rims. Spicy fruit nose. Dark cherries, rhubarb, Asian spice, dark soil and gravel. Comes across as masculine and powerful. The silky nose is followed by a young fruit and chewy mouth experience. Lots of dirt and cherries. We debate which region it’s from. Gevrey? MSD? Someone says it’s Vosne but I think it’s 95 Ponsot Griotte. This wine needs more time to soften its edges.

The 6th and final of the Vosne Romanee Grand Crus. Tasted blind. Red fruited without the intensity on nose and palate of the others in this final group. In past tastings La Grande Rue has been a standout and good value in relative terms but this year it lacked the depth class and intensity of the others in the group. To summarise the Vosne Romanee GC group the consensus of the group was #1 to the DRC RC, Equal 2nd to La Tache and the Thibault Richebourg, 4th to the Hudelot RSV, 5th to La Romanee ( a tough school when a wine as good as this is placed 5th!) and 6th to La Grande Rue. Congratulations to Prince Wine Store for putting this wonderful tasting on every year and being able to source these increasingly rare bottles. Already looking forward to the next one.

Very young and sappy. Lovely bright, fresh fruit. Clarity and focus.

Cured meat, licorice, blueberry, sour cherry, earth, and dusty herbs. Medium minus acidity and tannins. Less refined than else.

Wine No. 5 in the Vosne Romanee lineup. My notes - Powerful again without the finesse of DRC. Fine savoury Tannins without the intensity of the others in the group. My least pointed in the group. This Cuvée usually shows well at these tastings but underperforming in this company.

Clear and proud fruit. Blue and red. Slightly speed cherry flavors and a little clipped and dusty on the finish.

Lovely fresh Pinot fruit with a whiff of grapefruit. Amazingly forward and succulent on the palate with gorgeous clear long fruit. Surprised how well this is showing.

The final Wine for the day No. 6 from Vosne Romanee blew me away and I gave it 99 points as did J H. I was convinced it was one of the DRCs. Being La Grande Rue it is over the narrow dirt road (Rue) from Romanee Conti and is a Monopole. My blind tasting notes - “Glorious restrained nose showing some whole bunch complexity. Beautiful Balanced Seamless. Fine and long. Unbelievable. Must be RC or La Tache “ A fair mistake given that La Grande Rue lies between Romanee Conti and La Tache. Interesting that Allen Meadows describes La Grande Rue if he only had 2 descriptors as Refinement and Generosity. Could not agree more.!
In summary another amazing tasting. Next years covering the 2015 vintage will be mind boggling!!! Cannot wait!