(Wednesday, June 8, 2016) — In 2010 a French criminal held several vineyards to ransom by threatening to poison the vines.  The subsequent book, Shadows in the Vineyard: The True Story of the Plot to Poison the World’s Greatest Wine focused on one of the vineyards:  Romanée-Conti.

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The Burgundy commune of Vosne-Romanée owes its reputation as hallowed ground to the five Grand Cru vineyards just west of the village:  La Tâche, La Romanée, Richebourg, Romanée-St-Vivant and Romanee-Conti,  and the Grand Cru neighbours to the northwest in Flagey-Echézeaux:   Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux.  The wines of Flagey-Echézeaux are entitled to use the Vosne-Romanée appellation, and they eagerly do so because there are no bargains to be had in Vosne-Romanée—even the village wines command top price.

But affordability is relative:  Ninety percent of the vineyards in Vosne-Romanée are not Grands Crus, but glance at a map of the commune, and you’ll note first how compact the appellation is.  You may also note that there are Premiers Crus adjacent to the astronomically costly Grands Crus.  Should you choose not to take out a second mortgage in order to finance a couple of cases of fine red Burgundy from the very best parcels of land in the Côte de Nuits, one smart strategy is to find a négociant  with a solid reputation, and buy village wines.  These Vosne-Romanées could conceivably contain Grand Cru grapes from younger vines, and most certainly contain Pinot Noir grapes which share the same climate and similar soil composition as their exalted neighbours.  Or buy Premier Cru wines.  Les Chaumes Premier Cru, for instance, abuts the downhill edge of La Tâche.  Les Suchots Premier Cru is hemmed in on its northern flank by Les Echézeaux, and to the south by both Richebourg and Romanée-St-Vivant.

The village wines, we assume, should be ready to drink sooner.  From the excellent négociant, Louis Jadot, we have five successive vintages of Vosne-Romanée:  2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.  From the house of Remoissenet we have three mature Premier Cru wines:  Les Chaumes 1967 and 1985, and Les Suchots 1989.

And there’s no need to pay a ransom.

Our tour guide through the commune of Vosne-Romanée will be Lloyd Evans who, in 23 years at the LCBO and 17 years as  an importer at The Case for Wine, has demonstrated a superior palate coupled with a passion for and knowledge of fine Burgundy.

Date:  Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Time:  6:45 p.m.
Limit:  88 people
Place: North York Memorial Community Hall,  5110 Yonge St. (under library) – North York Centre Subway
Members: $95
Guests:     $115

Cancellations accepted up to Friday, June 3, 2016 — Jennifer Curran (905-829-4675) evenings). No reservations by phone, please. No confirmations will be issued — you will be contacted only if we are sold out.  First come basis. Non-members may attend at guest rates, but preference will be given to members.

GST/HST account: 844742619RT0001;  Business name: Winetasters Society of Toronto