The 1.65-hectare of La Grande Rue dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the small road bordering the vineyard as it climbs above the town. The vineyard is enviably situated between La Tâche to the south and La Romanée-Conti, La Romanée and Romanée-Saint-Vivant to the north. In truth, it is simply a continuation of the La Tâche vineyard and can be thought of as a lighter-bodied (and somewhat lighter priced) version of La Tâche*. The site first came into Lamarche hands in 1933 and has been a monopole of the family ever since. After La Romanée, La Grande Rue is the smallest of the Vosne Grand Crus. Clive Coates MW writes: “La Grande Rue, in my view, is a more feminine wine than La Tâche. It is closer to Romanée-Saint-Vivant.” Meadows also tells us (in The Pearl of the Côte) that the wine’s ageing potential most closely mirrors that of Romanée-Saint-Vivant.
As always, comparisons are problematic—La Grande Rue clearly has its own personality and it is clearly a site of great class. When you taste this wine next to the same producer’s Echézeaux and Clos de Vougeot (which are themselves superb examples of their respective Grand Cru vineyards), the sheer class and depth of La Grande Rue is self-evident. The 2016 is clearly a milestone vintage for this vineyard and this producer.