Vosne-Romanee Vielles Vignes 2008 - Domaine Jean Yves Bizot

Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes 2008 — Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot

This Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes 2008 from Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot belongs to the very rare and confidential world of great Pinot Noir from Vosne. From a tiny domaine sought after for its precision, low-intervention approach and extremely limited yields, it offers a fine, racy and deeply aromatic expression: red cherry, small black fruits, rose, Vosne spices, delicate smoke, forest floor, graphite, liquorice and a long, fresh and mineral finish.

The Vieilles Vignes cuvée is generally described as a blend of three small Vosne-Romanée parcels: Les Saules, Les Communes and La Colombière. The very old vines give a wine of remarkable purity, based more on perfume, texture and energy than on demonstrative power. The 2008 vintage brings freshness, tension and precision, in a style that is now delicately evolved yet still very much alive.

Terroir: Vosne-Romanée, old vines and micro-parcels

Vosne-Romanée is one of the most prestigious villages of the Côte de Nuits, famous for Pinot Noir wines that are perfumed, spicy, sensual and of great textural finesse. At Jean-Yves Bizot, production is extremely limited, coming from small parcels worked with meticulous attention. The Vieilles Vignes cuvée brings together several Vosne lieux-dits, each adding a nuance of depth, fruit, structure and perfume.

The old vines, often cited as close to eighty years old for this cuvée, naturally produce low yields and concentration without heaviness. Vosne’s clay-limestone soils bring the spicy frame, minerality, tension and the silky texture so highly sought after. In the 2008, the terroir expresses itself with great finesse: fresh red fruit, floral notes, delicate spices, smoke, earth, graphite and a straight finish.

Tasting notes

Appearance: medium ruby to evolved garnet, with discreet brick reflections depending on storage. The colour retains the natural transparency of Pinot Noir and the visual elegance of a mature Vosne, more luminous than massive.

Nose: delicate, refined and gradually complex, with red cherry, small black fruits, strawberry, rose, dried petals, fine spices, soft smoke, damp earth and graphite. With aeration, nuances of forest floor, liquorice, black tea, dried herbs, fresh truffle, fine leather and limestone minerality may appear.

Palate: medium-bodied, fine, fresh and taut, with a delicate texture and very 2008 energy. The red fruit remains precise, supported by notes of smoke, spice, fine earth and graphite. The finish is long, pure, lightly saline and mineral, with lively acidity and fine tannins, which may seem firm if the bottle has not benefited from perfect storage.

Expression of the 2008 vintage

The 2008 vintage in Burgundy is known for its freshness, lively acidity, aromatic precision and a profile that is more taut than solar. In Bizot’s Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes, the year gives a wine of line, perfume and nerve, where the finesse of old vine material balances the natural tension of the vintage. Available notes mention medium-weight substance, marked freshness, black or red fruits, an earthy dimension, liquorice and a firm finish.

Today, this Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes 2008 should be approached with attention to provenance and storage condition. A fine bottle can offer a subtle bouquet of cherry, rose, smoke, forest floor, graphite and spices, with a fresh and persistent palate. It is best to open it carefully, taste immediately, then choose moderate aeration in order to preserve its perfume and delicacy.