Rare Burgundy from vines averaging 95+ years of age
93/100: Burghound
"As with the '07 examples, the nose is quite similar to its '06 counterpart though here the fruit is denser and perhaps ever so slightly riper and leads to serious, driving, vibrant and superbly well balanced concentrated and broad-shouldered flavors blessed with plenty of dry extract and well-integrated wood. A terrific example that is built to age. Recommended and very promising." Burghound
Producer François Labet says that 2006 is a "vintage that is the definition of pinot without excess. There is very pure fruit, elegant mouth feel and tannins and ultimately, wines of pleasure. Yes, 2005 is a better vintage but the difference isn't nearly as much as people presently believe though the '06s will drink well earlier. We began picking on September 26th and brought in yields of between 25 and 30 hl/ha with excellent sugars of between 12.3 and 13.3%. I destemmed nothing as I had good ripeness and so I did essentially a normal vinification." While Labet is correct that his '06s do not rival his fantastic '05s, he is also correct that the qualitative differences are really fairly minor, at least at this early stage.