Domaine Coudray-Bizot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau. Six vintages available

Coudray-Bizot Croix-Rameau 6 vintages header

“It’s a lover not a fighter!”

It is with great anticipation that I pull the cork on a new vintage of Domaine Coudray-Bizot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau.

I think it is one of the most interesting vineyards of Burgundy. It probably should be Grand Cru but like all things French the story is not a simple one. You can read more below.

A week or two ago the domaine made an interesting decision. They decided to release the 2017 vintage prior to 2016. This followed a great showing at the Grand Jours de Bourgogne and the thought that the 2017 would provide more drinking pleasure at this point in time.

At the same time they released some 2009 from their museum stock - a real treat for lovers of this vineyard.

Those of you who have purchased prior vintages will know what a special wine La Croix Rameau is. It is aromatic, delicate, yet intense. Heavenly some might say!

The background story...

There is a vineyard in Vosne-Romanee that has long been a centre of controversy. It is the 1er Cru La Croix Rameau - the smallest Premier Cru in the commune.

As Burghound says "The key question regarding La Croix Rameau is this: Was it ever a holding of the monks of the monastery of St Vivant de Vergy (a Cluniac dependency founded by the Benedictines)? Is so, should it now enjoy grand cru status like the rest of Romanee-St-Vivant?"

The entire appellation is just 0.60 hectares in size and it lies partially surrounded by what is currently the Grand Cru Romanee-St-Vivant. It looks like a piece bitten from the corner of the Grand Cru. There are just three owners - Domaine Lamarche, Jacques Cacheux and Coudray-Bizot.

Part of the issue is that there is a lack of information concerning Croix Rameau. Cacheux believes the monks made wine from the parcel and that Croix Rameau and Romanee-St-Vivant were once one vineyard stating that he has sales records dating back to the French Revolution supporting his claim. Indeed, when Nicholas-Joseph Marey (of DRC RSV fame) purchased the vineyards in 1791 he paid the same price per hectare suggesting he had no reason to consider the parcels of differing qualities.

At the time of his purchase La Croix Rameau was larger than it is now. When parcels were sold to powerful entities there was no political opposition to their subsequent inclusion into Romanee-St-Vivant.

In the early 1980's the three current owners applied to the INAO to elevate La Croix Rameau to Grand Cru status. After almost a decade of red tape the Syndicat Viticole rejected the application, despite the fact that the soil types were found to be the same (the potential quality of the terroir being the prime determining factor) and prior tastings of Croix Rameau had confirmed its quality. Some say it was opposition from other Vosne growers that led to the decision.

Whatever the full story is La Croix Rameau is a fascinating vineyard. It is one that I buy whenever I see it, and that is not very often.

Domaine Coudray-Bizot has a alternative policy when it comes to releasing their wines. Where most domaines like to ship their wines as soon as humanly possible, Coudray-Bizot prefer to hold their wines back to enable them develop complexity and interest. Their cellars within Beaune date back to the 15th century and are cold and damp - perfect for this extended aging.

Burghound says "A good version of La Croix Rameau is quite firm with lovely, if reserved, aromatics and fine length." "As with En Orveaux or Cros Parantoux, its is hard to find. For example I have never come across a bottle from Coudray-Bizot, and the appellation's proprietors produce fewer than 3,000 bottles annually. La Croix Rameau keeps well, at least as well as Suchots, so I would suggest drinking the average example in the 10 to 15 year range with exceptional vintages out to age 20."

Today we present the new 2017 at a Special 25% Pre Arrival Discount.

This offer ends 5pm Friday 22 April 2022.

To view all Coudray-Bizot wines including the Echezeaux En Orveaux Grand Cru and Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combottes click here.

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2017

Landed Price $455.00

Special Pre Arrival Price $339.95

37 bottles left

A week or so back Coudray-Bizot made the decision to release the 2017 vintage before 2016.

The message from the domaine was "Jean-Jacques decided to release the 2017s reds before the 2016s which he finds will need a little more time when 2017 is a vintage that offers much pleasure already. It is a generous vintage. We had a lot of positive feedback through the Grands Jours de Bourgogne tastings last week."

We are too early for tasting notes for the 2017.

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2015

$419.95 a bottle

25 bottles left

Darren Harris

This wine is always about the aromatics. They float from the glass. There is an amalgam of red fruits - cherry and kirsch - with cloves, mace, fennel and anise. Yes, the Chinese five spice is all here. As is the vineyard’s characteristic minerals and citric acidity. It is smooth on the palate - old vines, some time in bottle in the cold Burgundian cellars - with a plush, silky feel. It is not a big wine, rather one of intensity which rises on the mid palate. Stellar fruit and impeccable balance are what you experience.

We do not see Burgundy like this often these days. It is proudly old-fashioned in depth of colour and weight but has glorious vigour and complexity. The vineyard adjoins Romanee-St-Vivant and is very much in that mold with wafting aromatics and a delicate texture, not the more muscular Richebourg or a sappy Grands Echezeaux. It’s a lover not a fighter!

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2014

$399.95 a bottle

11 bottles left

Gilbert & Gaillard

Light red. Mature nose of super ripe red berry fruits with a faint forest floor tone. The palate is ethereal, polished and silky with stellar quality fruit. This is a chiselled wine delivering hallmark appellation expression. Still has ageability. 92 Points

Jancis Robinson

From a 40 year-old plot at the bottom of Grand Cru Romanée-St-Vivant practically next to the new offices of DRC. Dr Lavalle classified it as part of RSV. Pale to mid cherry red. Light glacé cherry fruit on the nose and admirable freshness on the palate. Still quite firm but it has all the ingredients necessary for future pleasure. Far from intense but very nicely constituted. Just a little savoury tannin on the end. 17/20

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2013

$399.95 a bottle

14 bottles left

Wine Enthusiast - Roger Voss

In this wine, an initial, flinty whiff of reduction blows off to reveal fragrant notes of dried yarrow and bright red currant. The palate comes in with slenderness and transparency that belies its depth. There still is firmness and grace from the tannins but the freshness and lift of the prisine fruit shines with elegance. 95 Points

Gilbert & Gaillard

Light hued with bricking. The nose shows toasted, smoky overtones with mineral and flint accents backed by ripe, delicate fruit. The palate offers up an extremely refined mouthfeel framed by ethereal fat supported by beautiful exuberance. 94 Points

Jancis Robinson

40-year-old vines on clayey sand on Bajocian limestone within the Romanée-St-Vivant walls in the north-east corner, so lower than most of RSV. Pale garnet. Distinctly pungent and seductive on the nose. Really deep minerally flavours on the palate with a hint of torrefaction. Fresh and neat with rather impressive persistence. That little tweak of dryness on the very end cries out for food. This may be just the job with our roast duck tonight. More obviously Vosne than this producer's two 2013 Gevreys are typical of that commune. 17.5/20

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2009

Landed Price $499.95

Pre Arrival Price $424.95

27 bottles left

Museum release direct from the domaine.

Gault & Millau

The sustained texture of this 2009 produces a racy fruitiness around macerated and spicy red berries. In the mouth the wine is vibrant and offers a harmonious and delectable palate, with fine tannins. A great wine for laying down, still in its youth. 17/20

Dussert Gerber

Fleshy, with a nose of spices and ripe cherries, very rich, with a long finish with ripe and complex nuances of red fruits, undergrowth and liquorice. Very typical. 1er Grand Vin Classe (their top rating)

Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 2007

$399.95 a bottle

8 bottles left

From the domaine's personal reserve.

Gault & Millau

A style that has often been overlooked in favour of 'thundering' alternatives. At Gault&Millau we take delight in this wine’s finesse, caressing the pinot noir grape without bruising it. The result may surprise but this is the real expression of Burgundy when it doesn’t try to emulate the New World. This wine exhilarates us in the way that we expect.

Orders may also be placed to tracey@grandmillesime.com.au or phone (03) 9326 5737. 2017 and 2009 will be shipped in our May 2022 container. All other vintages are in stock.

Click here to view and order on our website