Naturally Lachaux’s 2008 Romanee Saint-Vivant bats last in the Arnoux line-up, but in addition, this vintage it puts every wine that came before it in the collection into perspective, and all but the Reignots in the shade (not that as a group these weren’t already noir enough Pinots). Sumptuous black fruits accented by fruit pit piquancy; complex if to some extent ineffable, decadent forest floor and mineral notes; exotic spices, rich chocolate, and heady floral perfume – all are on display in this seamlessly-rich, already velvet-textured beauty whose structure is implicit but deeply-buried. Yet there is not an ounce of superfluous fat or a bit of superficial sweetness, and there is that vibratory resonance possessed by the exceptional wines of this vintage. There are around 140 cases of this – not a small quantity by the standards of top-notch grand cru Burgundy – though of course a bottle will cost you dearly. I suspect it will be among the last 2008s to still be seducing a few lucky wine lovers 25 or more years from now. I tasted Pascal Lachaux’s 2008s soon after their late-January bottling, and a few of them may have been suffering from trauma they thereby sustained, but on the whole this was an impressive if darkly-hued and unapologetically firmly-structured collection. Lachaux reports that his malos were “on time, normal,” and adds “the truth about 2008 and why the malos were so often retarded is that people sulfured the fruit too heavily at the advice of their enologues.” Even at bottling, Lachaux reports that he was sparing with sulfur and expected to take advantage of the high levels of residual CO2 in his 2008s. He says he allowed temperatures to rise during the fermentation as a means of extracting more flavor without having to actively work the cap and in consequence risk pulling out green flavors or hard tannins. This approach may explain the particularly low-toned personality of this 2008 collection, which certainly didn’t leave me wishing that the wines had sustained additional pigeage! If the number of magnums I saw is any indication, Lachaux seriously intends on putting to the test his confidence in this vintage’s aging potential. Yet he is also very keen on his 2007s, those of which I tasted from bottle were indeed impressive, though I seem even in this instance to be missing what those growers most enamored of their 2007s profess to perceive. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The Arnoux 2007 Romanee Saint-Vivant smells of smoked meats, resin, lightly-cooked black fruits, and forest floor. Palpably dense and a bit stewed, its opacity is the antithesis of the best wines of 2008, yet it’s impossible to resist the blandishments of this cru’s sheer berry-sweetness, cocoa powder richness, and saliva-inducing, salt-tinged meatiness. I would look for ten or a dozen years of satisfaction from this, perhaps more, but at the same time, I’m skeptical that it will need to be held for more than a few years to reveal its full potential. I tasted Pascal Lachaux’s 2008s soon after their late-January bottling, and a few of them may have been suffering from trauma they thereby sustained, but on the whole this was an impressive if darkly-hued and unapologetically firmly-structured collection. Lachaux reports that his malos were “on time, normal,” and adds “the truth about 2008 and why the malos were so often retarded is that people sulfured the fruit too heavily at the advice of their enologues.” Even at bottling, Lachaux reports that he was sparing with sulfur and expected to take advantage of the high levels of residual CO2 in his 2008s. He says he allowed temperatures to rise during the fermentation as a means of extracting more flavor without having to actively work the cap and in consequence risk pulling out green flavors or hard tannins. This approach may explain the particularly low-toned personality of this 2008 collection, which certainly didn’t leave me wishing that the wines had sustained additional pigeage! If the number of magnums I saw is any indication, Lachaux seriously intends on putting to the test his confidence in this vintage’s aging potential. Yet he is also very keen on his 2007s, those of which I tasted from bottle were indeed impressive, though I seem even in this instance to be missing what those growers most enamored of their 2007s profess to perceive. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Scents of ginger, cinnamon, star anise, kirsch, framboise, marzipan, pistachio extract, and wood smoke rise dramatically from the glass of Arnoux 2006 Romanee Saint-Vivant, and the more so with further exposure. The sweet fruit and nut extract counterparts to these high-tones fan out in the mouth with liqueur-like richness, palpable abundance of extract, and ultra-fine tannins. Smoky, stony undertones convey an almost reverberative sense, but this is far less dominated by metaphorically dark, decadent, or meditative aspects than are most representatives of its great cru. Nor has this the soothing allure that characterizes so many of the best 2006s. A palate-staining, gripping, electrically energetic finish is in store for the lucky few who are served this (there were five barrels), featuring implosively-concentrated black fruits and meat reduction mingled with soy, nut paste, and brown spices. I would not re-visit it until 2012 or later and anticipate its remaining compelling two decades. Pascal Lachaux – who subscribes to the prevalent notion that this vintage reflects elements of 2000 and 2002 – is one of the very few red Burgundy growers (Rouget another) whose 2006s strike me as outclassing their 2005s. It's possible that his having had a prior vintage to become accustomed to the opportunities afforded by his spacious new, gravity flow cellar contributed to his success this year. And it's of course also possible that I have under- or over-rated one of these vintages. Lachaux – who defends 2005 as one of his best-ever collections – concurs in finding each 2006 typical for its site as well as more expressive than his 2005s have thus far been, and in the observation that these 2006s improve as they open to the air, suggesting to me considerable longer-term cellaring potential than one can expect from most wines of the vintage. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The 2005 Romanee St.-Vivant offers very ripe but fresh black raspberry, black cherry, ginger, white pepper and game on the nose, exhibits considerably greater depth of fruit and meatiness, refinement of tannins as well as creamy richness than the other 2005 Arnoux offerings, and finishes with deep richness and flavor diversity but great poise and no sense of heaviness. Also recommended: 2005 Bourgogne (85). Pascal Lachaux (the late Robert Arnoux’s son-in-law, who has been in charge here now for nearly two decades) had just bottled his 2005 collection – vinified in his superb, recently-completed, gravity-fed facilities – when I visited. Lachaux compares the proper watchword of the winemaker in a vintage with Pinot as healthy and naturally-concentrated as in 2005, to that of a chef confronted with a perfect piece of fish: restraint. That also describes the results he has achieved in bottle, although allowance should be made for the possibility that the expression of certain wines was restrained by their recent bottling. mporter: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.

Toasty black cherries and violets make up the beguiling aromas of the 2002 Romanee-St.-Vivant. This suave, feminine wine is reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn because of its hugely elegant, extraordinarily pretty, and graceful personality. Medium-bodied, it displays a concentrated core of fruit made up of mocha-tinged blackberries, dark cherries, and hints of tar. Its impressively prolonged finish exhibits loads of sweet, supple tannin. Projected maturity: 2007-2018. Importers: A Peter Vezan Selection, Paris fax #011-33-1-42-55-42-93, and also represented by Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082