2006 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (7/14/2020)
2006 has been a tough vintage. I have opened bottles here and there, only to be faced with hard, charmless wines. This was a different story from the very first pour.
Damp earth, menthol, cherry, maybe even a little roasted meat, converged in a warm, inviting aromatic. It took some work to parse out the elements, as it was so well integrated to a harmonious framework. Still notable tannins starting on the mid-palate, but plenty of material for further (5-10 years) of aging for things to further soften. Despite the bit of constriction from the middle to the finish it’s a fully promising showing, as a formerly severe wine has started to show its soul.
Not at all sure I regard 2006 as stern, either. I bought quite a lot and drink them fairly regularly. Even Bachelet’s Corbeaux has been succulent and friendly and the only stand off-ish examples I can recall are Confuron-Cotetidot’s Suchots (borderline corked when I look up my note) and Mortet Chambertin.
We had it opposite of an 08 Arnoux-Lachaux Suchots, both of which were pretty open (though we didn’t love the Arnoux). There are some 08s that are drinking well. I take the elevated acidity point, but it’s definitely not the same as 96 for me.
Well, I’ve not had any 2006 H-N wines so I can’t speak to them; rather, I was referring generally to wines from that domaine. I have had the 2008 Murgers twice in the past year and it was quite attractive and showing well both times. Other than truchot and pavelots 2006s, I’ve not had any 2006s that I have really enjoyed (although I haven’t had that many).
I’m just wondering if the sternness may be bret related? A few of the H-N wines I have had around this period have had some bret of varying degrees. This could explain David’s “bit of constriction from the middle to the finish”.
Agree on the analogy in many cases, but some 2008s have followed a different path and are really beginning to drink very well: 2008 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands Echézeaux a few weeks ago was very, very pretty and perfumed. Quite a lot more interesting than the nice but less memorable Echezeaux of the same year.
I do think there are some 2008s that are closed (Fourrier immediately comes to mind as a somewhat surprising example), but I’ve had a Chezeaux Suchots recently that was ready for business as well.
I did not find it clipped. We’re into language here. I meant that it started the tannins started clamp down earlier than I would have expected based on the rest of how the wine showed. There was no clipping of flavor. It’s just still a bit hard. I find that to be a sad character of most 2006 Burgundies that I have tried, whether from H-N, Bachelet, Lafarge, Jadot, Drouhin, etc…