2010 Nuits St Georges Les St Georges

Bright, deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black cherry, black raspberry, spices and lavender. The palate offers grand cru density and fullness without any undue weight, with the urgent crushed dark berry flavors complicated by flowers, spices and minerals. Utterly seamless wine with an element of complexity that transcends Nuits-Saint-Georges--and a strong argument for elevating this vineyard to grand cru status. Terrific medicinal reserve here to support a long and glorious evolution in bottle. Leaves the taste buds humming.

The 2010 Nuits St. Georges Les St. Georges is a huge, huge wine that shows the greatness of this site. In many ways, the St. Georges encompasses many of the qualities of the other wines here. The expressive bouquet of the Pruliers and the structure of the Cailles and Perrieres come to mind, but with more depth in all dimensions. Black cherries, plums, graphite, violets and licorice flow effortlessly to the dramatic, explosive finish. This is a flat-out great wine from the Chevillon brothers. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055. I have to say, this is a stunning set of wines from Denis and Bertrand Chevillon. The Chevillons told me they were surprised by the quality of the wines given the challenges of the growing season. The 2010s saw 5-10 days of cold soak, followed by 15-21 days of cuvaison. The wines were aged on their lees in French oak barrels, 30% new for the top wines and less for the mid- and entry-level wines. The 2010s will be bottled beginning in March 2012 through July 2012. Unfortunately, the 2009s were in an awkward stage on my last visit, so I had to wait a few more months to taste those wines. It was worth the wait. Chevillon’s 2009s are among the wines of the vintage. The 2009s were bottled beginning February (for the entry-level wines) through April for the top selections. I will report on the domaine’s 2009s in the April issue. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524