2012 Domaine David Clark, Vosne-Romanee

There are two barrels of the 2012 Vosne-Romanee Village of which one was new and one was in stainless steel. It has a fragrant, tightly knit bouquet with scents of blueberry and redcurrant, leaning slightly towards more black fruit relative to other Vosne village crus. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, but it seems just a little simple on the finish. It is ironic that my first visit to the finest Scots-born winemaker in Morey-Saint-Denis happened to coincide with his departure from the domaine, from Morey, from France and from wine itself. David was packing up when I arrived, actually renting the winery from Yann Charlopin (see Philippe Charlopin) who acquired his holdings earlier in 2012. David has no regrets about this chapter in his life coming to a close. I asked him whether his 10 years had taken the magic away from wine. He thought about it for a while. He replied that the process of winemaking had given him a different perspective and risked taking away the sheen had he continued. “It’s put me off wine?a bit,” he eventually admitted. “But I will still enjoy wine.” Plus he wanted to leave on a high and the 2012 vintage seemed an apt year to do so, even though at time of writing he does not have a clue what he will do next, apart from relocate back to Blighty. His 2012s had already been bottled and sold entirely to Berry Brother & Rudd (nothing for the United States I’m afraid.) As it was his last vintage, David had no problems in forsaking the organic viticulture he has practiced in recent vintages when mildew threatened. Importer: the 2012s will only be available through Berry Brothers & Rudd in the UK.