The 2007 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a ripe bouquet with quite precocious fig-tinged red fruit, developing an attractive ferrous top note with continued aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and adheres to the decadent style Sylvain pursued at that time. Yet there is certainly balance here, impressive density with a gorgeous, warm, mushroom tinged finish that envelops the senses. Tasted at the WIMPS Xmas lunch at La Trompette.

Bright medium red. Captivating, soil-inflected aromas of red raspberry, minerals and bitter chocolate. Densely packed, creamy and deep, but with much more sap than the foregoing samples. A very full, even thick, 2007 with near-grand cru volume and superb persistence. This is sexy already but Cathiard says he would wait ten years.

This is a very stylish wine with a beautifully layered nose that offers up fresh and spicy aromas of ripe red berry fruit and warm earth hints that continue onto the rich, full and also tautly muscled flavors that are supple yet quite concentrated with excellent underlying material. As good as this is, it's not presently clear if it holds its usual superiority over the Murgers in 2007. Either way, both are very impressive efforts and are recommended.

Full bottle 1,415 g. Pale ruby – looks more evolved than the En Orveaux. A more complex, more savoury nose than the En Orveaux with real pace. Sweet, rich and shines like a jewel. Very expressive. Long, with a hint of violets and the lightest of tannin imprints. (JR)