Coming – as in the past – from septuagenarian vines in the high-altitude Vignots and Noizons, Laurent's five barrels worth of 2006 Pommard Vieilles Vignes features a familiar alliance of fresh purple plum and dark cherry along with their pits, which on a fine grained, quite polished palate are backed by clean, fresh meatiness. This is quite refined and rarified for Pommard – if a touch austere – perhaps reflecting in part the extremity of the location, and certainly reflecting the talents of the vintage. It finishes long on illusive mineral and carnal subtlety, with ripe and understatedly refreshing but by no means obviously sweet fruit. I would anticipate it's being worth following for the better part of a decade.
Dominique Laurent – whose methodology I attempted to clarify in a bit more detail in my report for issue 171 – purchased fewer wines in 2006 (not all of which I tasted) than he had in 2005, particularly at the lower end of the classificatory spectrum and in the Cote de Beaune. On the other hand, there were some correspondingly sweet opportunities, he noted, to expand acquisitions in top-notch crus due to initial hesitation of many negociants to buy heavily into this vintage. Laurent was highly enthusiastic about the quality of the wines he did raise, which in the glass often proved even more infectious than his enthusiasm – and that's saying something! What's more, although these wines – generally produced in 50-250 case quantities – have a reputation for high prices, most of these 2006s – especially in their upper-echelons – strike me as exhibiting excellent price:quality rapport. While absence of chaptalization and absence of sulfur during the elevage remain constant features this year, less of the wine Laurent purchased and raised from 2006 was vinified with stems than in most years. Vieilles Vignes," incidentally, is used like a brand name chez Laurent, referring to all of his better wines, whereas his "Tradition" line – none of which I tasted – consists of cuvees rendered in slightly larger volumes and exclusively for the French market. Since the words "Vieilles Vignes" are prominently displayed on the label, I have included them as part of each wine's description, although one will often see Laurent's same top wines referred to without that designation.
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