2012 Nuits St Georges Les Roncieres

The 2012 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Roncières is mesmerizing upon the first impression. Deep, rich, beautifully resonant layers of dark red/black fruit, smoke, cloves and new leather blossom in the glass. The Roncières is incredibly sumptuous for a young Nuits, but even so, there is plenty of detail in the glass. Most importantly, though, the 2012 also appears to be holding quite a bit in reserve, suggesting its best days are off somewhere in the future.

The 2012 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Roncieres is from the brothers’ 0.97 hectare of vine. It has a tightly knit bouquet with superb mineralite – wet limestone, sea spray and strawberry pastilles. The palate is clean and fresh with a crisp tannin lattice and then it unties its bodice, lets it all flow on the more rounded, sumptuous Morello, raspberry leaf and blood orange. Wonderful. “You were supposed to be here at two o’clock,” admonished Bertrand Chevillon upon my entering his courtyard at 2.20pm. I resorted to the wine critic’s equivalent of the schoolboy’s default excuse” “The dog ate my homework”; replying that “The Satnav had sent me in the wrong direction”. Which is true incidentally. For despite tasting, writing about and admiring this domaine’s wines since the late 1990s, this was the first time that I have visited. Chevillon might well be the appellation’s benchmark producer, especially since the ‘lesser-spotted’ Denis and Bertrand Chevillon took over the entire running of the estate from their father in 2000. They tap into the essence of their enviable holdings year on year, wines not just driven by power or complexity, but by their sheer force of personality. As Bertrand’s large frame flitted around the barrel cellar, gathering momentum as we scaled the heights of his premier crus, he enthused about the vintage’s innate ability to express the uniqueness of their terroir. If you require evidence that Nuits-Saint-Georges is long overdue its own grand cru (“Les Saint Georges” the shoo-in when I enquired) then take a look at these splendid 2012s that are destined to give so much joy over the next two decades. As usual, bunches were de-stemmed, underwent a pre-ferment maceration and matured with a prudent use of new oak, around 25-30%. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Moderate reduction renders the nose difficult to assess. There is more size, weight and mid-palate concentration to the delicious medium weight flavors that are supported by phenolically mature tannins on the ripe, balanced and ever-so-mildly austere finish. This possesses fine development potential and will require at least 5 to 7 years before it will be approachable. Tasted: Jan 15, 2014. Drink: 2022+