The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Gaudichots has an elegant, composed bouquet, with light oyster-shell scents filtering through the veil of bright red berries. The palate offers a ripe, tense entry with good weight, although it is broodier than the bouquet intimates. There is a fine backbone here, evincing the quality of this rarely seen premier cru, finishing with a sprinkle of pepper on the aftertaste. Drink 2016-2026. Located in the heart of Vosne, adjacent to the original Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, lies Domaine Regis Forey. Regis’ great-grandfather by the same name founded the domaine in 1840 and the current Regis at the helm took over the 4.5 hectares of vineyard in 1987. In my experience, the wines have been traditionally made, but generally well-crafted. He also is one of the handful of producers who make a Les Gaudichots from a parcel of vines planted in 1930. These samples had been in bottle for one month. (Readers should note that a retrospective of Forey’s wines is in the pipeline.) Importer: Neal Rosenthal, New York, NY; www.madrose.com

The 2010 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Gaudichots must constitute one of Forey’s best wines to date and here, quite frankly, it showed better than any of the ten other vintages tasted. It has a sensual, beautifully defined, exquisitely pure bouquet with dark cherries and raspberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but tensile tannins that fan out beautifully across the poised finish that shows just the right amount of reserve. What an absolutely delightful, consummate 2010 Pinot Noir. Drink 2015-2030+ .

The 2009 Vosne-Romanee Les Gaudichots shows great intensity in its dark fruit. It is a rich, seductive wine layered with hints of sweet spices, mint and roses, all of which add complexity as well as freshness. A vein of minerality gives the wine its verve. The Gaudichots is too steep for tractors, so Forey works this parcel with a horse. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027. Regis Forey began harvesting on September 13. His wines did a total of eight(!) weeks of cuvaison, by far the lengthiest vinifications of any grower I visited. Forey used 100% new oak for all of his 1ers and Grands Crus. The wines were bottled between December, 2010 and February, 2011 with no fining or filtration. These are unusually open, fruit-driven wines, even within the context of 2009. The Grand Crus are not necessarily better than some of the 1ers. I am not sure how well the wines will age, but in most cases they will certainly deliver considerable pleasure early on. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The 2008 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Gaudichots actually had the audacity to put the 2005 in its place. It has a beautiful nose with blackberry, red plum and juniper berries, the oak nicely integrated but perhaps needs another two or three years to fully integrate. The palate is well- balanced, vibrant in the mouth, with very well-judged acidity, the primary notes ebbing away to reveal touches of Provencal herbs and hints of cooked meat. This has great potential – an excellent wine for the vintage. Drink 2016-2030.

Forey couldn’t locate a single bottle of his 2007 Petites Monts for me to taste, but his 2007 Vosne-Romanee Les Gaudichots smells fascinatingly of moss, mushrooms, small game, and other residents of the forest floor. Cassis and caramelized root vegetables add to the complexity and sense of brooding depth on a seamless, silken palate whose fine tannins are entirely tucked-in. Persistently savory and juicy as will as intriguing, here is a 2007 worth planning on following for at least the better part of a decade. Regis Forey’s 2008s enjoyed up to a month of skin contact (including cold soaks). He punched down only sparingly at the onset of fermentation – then heated the vats at the tail end in an effort to fatten the wines a bit. They finished malo in mi-summer and were racked twice – the second time in December and into tank – to help clarify them sufficiently so that he would not feel it necessary to filter. Considering how the fruit looked at harvest, Forey says he was amazed by how well his 2007s turned out. That was his view already by the time I first tasted them, coming off of early malos in late winter 2008; and in bottle they preserve the bright fruit that many 07s exhibited early on but which was in so many instances dulled or muddied meantime. As is now routine here, the village wines (and Bourgogne) were rendered almost entirely in demi-muids of varied provenance (including even a smidgeon of American oak) but always, says Forey, “very slowly-toasted, without touching the flame.” This size permits him to utilize 50% new wood, but with less surface contact per volume. It’s hard to argue with the approach, given Forey’s consistent excellence of village-level results. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990