Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four – the lost vineyard

Have you ever heard about the vineyard Vosne-Romanee Derriére le Four – most likely not. The vineyard is nevertheless mentioned by both Danguy & Aubertin (1892) and Rodier (1920) as one of the better vineyards in Vosne-Romanee.

But what happened to Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four, where was it located … and who were the owners.

Owners of Derriére Le Four

Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four was not mentioned by Lavalle but in 1892 Danguy and Aubertin mention the vineyard as deuxieme classe alongside vineyards like La Croix Rameau, Cros Parantoux. The owner of the vineyard was Les heritieres de Duvault.

In 1920 Rodier mention Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four as deuxieme cuvee again alongside well known and prominent vineyards like Cros Parantoux and Aux Reas. According to Rodier the area was 1.65 ha in 1920. The owners were Chambon, Gros Renaudot and Grivot in 1920.

So the vineyard was regarded to be at the same level as good 1er crus …. but what happened to this vineyard?

Location of Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four

The location of Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four was a unknown to me until I found an old cadastre map of Vosne-Romanee. The map show the vineyards and plots in Vosne-Romanee in 1827.

On the map below we see that Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four is located below the southern section of Romanee-Saint-Vivant, the sections once known as Clos des Quatre Journaux and Vigne a Jehan Roy du Rouvres.

Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four today

The vineyard Vosne-Romanee Derriére Le Four has ceased to exist, the southern part has been included in the garden of domaine Gros Frere et Soeur and the northern part is now a part of the DRC estate – see maps below.

The current ownership seem to match the owners in 1920, as most of the area still belongs to DRC and Gros.

The village of Vosne-Romanee has expanded, and vineyards have been transformed to gardens and houses. In this case 1.65 ha of what could have been Vosne 1er cru is lost .. most likely forever. The vineyard name does however still exist Vosne, as the road going from Romanee Saint-Vivant behind the Church towards Rue de Chateau is named rue Derriére Le Four.