The 2016 Vosne-Romanée Village was still in barrel when I tasted it at the domaine. It has a light and fragrant, quite floral and feminine nose that has a sense of airiness. The palate is crisp and pointed on the entry with fine chalky tannin. Bitter red cherry intermixed with strawberry here with a terse, citric finish that is fresh and tensile. This should gain some weight by the time of bottling and could be worth looking out for.

The 2013 Vosne Romanée Village has a pretty, detailed bouquet with pure small red cherries and strawberry scents, a floral tinge that develops in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with tart red cherry fruit accompanied by wild strawberry and white pepper. Like the generic red Burgundy, there is impressive density and fruit concentration here while maintaining admirable finesse.

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee Village had some reduction on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of lightly peppered red fruit on the entry. There is a pleasing, quite grainy texture here with a nice chalkiness towards the finish. This deserves applause for a village cru. Approaching Domaine Gerard Mugneret, my car is suddenly surrounded by a swarm of merry elderly gentlemen wrapped up in scarves and overcoats. Not wishing to run anyone over, I just put the handbrake on and wait for the crowd to saunter up to the central square in Vosne-Romanee. When I met Pascal Mugneret I enquired their identity. He answered that his mother’s ecclesiastical connections had resulted in the priesthood requesting a winery visit, no doubt to make sure that their monastic ancestors knew what they were doing when establishing Burgundy’s most coveted vineyards. This was my second visit to the domaine in six months having tasted their 2011s back in June. The good news is that the 2012s, which were picked from 22 September, are even better and I think that is partly due to the decision to include 15% to 25% whole cluster fruit for the first time. It lends these wines more structure and freshness and Pascal remarked that he intends to repeat the practice again depending on the growing season. I was very impressed by these wines and when people ask me who the next star is in Vosne-Romanee, it is people like Pascal that come to mind. These wines were beautifully crafted, each expressive of their respective terroirs, full of tension and vigor, quite simply wines that probably satisfied this writer as much as the clergy. Bravo Pascal! Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

The 2011 Vosne-Romanee Village is from 15 parcels scattered north, south and in the middle of the village (only two parcels could ever be isolated and bottled on their own.) It is packed full of vanilla-tinged red and black fruit on the nose – sweet and generous but managing to maintain decent delineation. The palate is supple on the entry with fine tannins. While not a complex Vosne-Romanee, it remains crisp and balanced with a tart red cherry finish that is infused with citric freshness. Very fine. Drink now-2018. God only knows how many times I have visited the hallowed lattice of twisting lanes in the village of Vosne, but I have never actually visited Domaine Gerard Mugneret, whose winery lies just off the central square. Here I met Pascale Mugneret, the third-generation winemaker following in the footsteps of his grandfather who was at the helm until 1973, and then his father up until 2004. He presently tends around 7.7 hectares of vine spread over ten appellations, which will increase to 13 next year due to new fermage agreement. He explained apologetically (since it sounds like a cliche) that he likes his wines to express their respective terroirs and remarked that for him, it is more interesting to taste wines whereby one can perceive the philosophy upon the vine. He thinks that the 2011 vintage is completely different to say, 2007, which people tend to compare it to, because of the different acidity levels. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

This 1983 is a stylish, elegant, and well-balanced wine. It has a strong vanillin-scented character from new barrels, but also lean, ripe, graceful Pinot aromas. It does not have the size, weight, and aggressiveness one sees in other 1983 wines, but it is a very cleanly made, attractive wine that should mature quite rapidly and be ready by 1990.