Vosne-Romanée is a small commune in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits district, known mainly for its red wine from the Pinot Noir grape. Originally named just Vosne, the Village took the suffix Romanée in 1866 in honor of its most prized Vineyard, La Romanée. It is often grouped together with the neighboring commune of Flagey-Echézeaux; while the villages are entirely separate, their finest vineyards are clustered together immediately North of Vosne-Romanée.
The classic Vosne-Romanée wine is considered by many to have the perfect Balance of weight, Structure, elegance and longevity.
Tasting notes often refer to a combination of tart red fruits (particularly cherries and raspberries) and darker elements of undergrowth, licorice and smoke.
The village has been a known source of quality wines for more than a thousand years, since the arrival of the monks of the Saint-Vivant monastery. Today, it makes wine almost exclusively from Pinot Noir, although up to 15 percent of the local white varieties are permitted, to allow for natural planting variations and mutations. The wines are made under the Vosne-Romanée communal appellation (with about one-third coming from premier cru sites) and six grand cru appellations, each pertaining to a specific vineyard.
The entire surface area of Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru vineyards is only 27 hectares (67 acres – about half the Size of the single Clos de Vougeot climat just across the commune boundary). This is divided between six individual sites: La Grand Rue, La Tâche, Richebourg, La Romanée, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and the most famous, Romanée-Conti. Despite this small surface area, Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru red wines are some of the most respected (and most expensive) in the world.
Vosne-Romanée's best vineyards lie just above the village, on the mid-slopes of the Côte d'Or; this is where the grand cru sites are located.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
wines from the region of Vosne-Romanée go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, veal or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of autumn leaves, simple veal sauté or rabbit in sauce.
On the nose in the region of Vosne-Romanée often reveals types of flavors of red fruit, non oak or earth and sometimes also flavors of oak. In the mouth in the region of Vosne-Romanée is a with a nice freshness.
