2006 Clos de la Roche
By Domaine Dujac
2006 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac, Burgundy, France
The esteemed vintage of 2006 in Burgundy was one that offered exquisite challenges, resulting in wines like the 2006 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac which possess an idiosyncratic charm that avid collectors and investors have come to relish. Within the tapestry of Burgundy’s storied landscape, moments arise when the elements conspire to create something truly exclusive; 2006 was such a moment.
An Enigmatic Vintage: A Collector’s Beau Ideal
As fine wine investment sees a burgeoning interest, particularly in Burgundian gems, connoisseurs need look no further than the 2006 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac for a candidate that embodies the best of what these vintages have to offer. This sumptuous red opens with an intricate play of dark cherry and seasoned earth – a nose that speaks of the rich clay and limestone cradle from whence it came.
Balancing Act: Poise and Potential
The year 2006 did not have meteorological benevolence on its side as some other vintages. However, Domaine Dujac’s acumen ensured that the Clos de la Roche vines yielded fruit imbued with depth and balanced acidity. On the palate, this vintage demonstrates the estate's inherent gravity, carrying forth a mosaic of ripe berry tones met with an embracement of subtle oak. The finish displays finesse with tannins that suggest a longevity worthy of patient cellaring.
Investing in a bottle such as the 2006 Clos de la Roche by Domaine Dujac aligns one with an appreciation for a wine that not only speaks of its birth year with clarity but also beckons a future where its narrative deepens with each passing season.
In summation, the 2006 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac presents as an investment piece replete with individuality from a vintage yielding wines that expert palates will pursue for their unique expression of time and terroir - glowing testaments to an unruffled Burgundian spirit amid climatic caprice.
Current market price
£8,400.00
12x75cl
Highest score
95
POP score
560
Scores and tasting notes
The Dujac 2006 Clos de la Roche is a dark, brooding Pinot no less complex or long than its Clos St.-Denis sibling. Here, the animal side is a gamey, faintly sweaty beast; the fruits dark and as bitter as they are sweet; and the sense of chocolate-like richness remarkable in the context of the vintage. And rather than an energetic sense of interplay, this conveys a layering of fruit, meat, and stony, saline mineral elements, supported by tactile viscosity and a sappy sense of almost indelible cling. Lucky are those who can follow and compare both of these wines over the next dozen years. Jeremy Seysses only destemmed a minority of his 2006 fruit, and in some appellations none. The results demonstrate that Dujac got things ripe – not to mention right – in a challenging vintage, with a collection that need not fear comparison with 2005 at this address. (Perhaps, if anything, 2005 ought to look to its laurels!) The team here started picking only on September 23, and then very meticulously and selectively. Clos de la Roche, for example, was picked in two passes nearly a week apart. The top wines came in at between 13 and 13.5% natural alcohol, with minimal chaptalization employed in some instances to extend fermentation. "Color and flavor extraction was easy," says Seysses, "and we did more punch-downs than in 2005, because we felt quite confident of our material. The fruit is fresh and crisp, but not green, and we had no jamminess. It was just right. There's very little to complain about." Indeed! Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (415) 491-4724
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2009