2012 Nuits St Georges Les Boudots

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots comes from 0.30-hectare parcel of vines towards the north of the appellation that was planted in 1950. Therefore the sensual Vosne-like nose comes as no surprise, springing subtle cooked meat notes into the mix. I can imagine this becoming quite gamey in its adolescence. The palate is dense and slightly “furry” tannins compared to the razor-sharp Chambolle premier cru, with good depth on the bullish, assertive finish. This is full of rustic charm. Although the domaine owns 0.50-hectares in Chaboeufs, part of the vineyard was pulled up in 2011 leaving just 0.18-hectares in production, an original planting from 1957. My final visit of the day was to Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron, just up the Route Nationale from Domaine de l’Arlot in Premeaux-Prissey. It took me a while to engineer the car into the courtyard since a man-eating hound refused to budge out of the way of the vehicle. It would probably not go down well with winemaker, Alain Meunier, had I run the mutt over. Alain’s father-in-law was Jean-Jacques Confuron, a quietly spoken gentleman who has done much to make this one of the most sought after domaines in Nuits Saint Georges. The domaine includes 8.5-hectares of vines in the Cote de Nuits that have been farmed organically since 1989, the portfolio crowned by a parcel in Romanee-Saint-Vivant, a thin but precious strip to the north of the climat, sandwiched between Alain Hudelot-Noellat and Lalou Bize-Leroy. Though usually most of the fruit is de-stemmed, Alain told me that this year the premier and grand crus include 20% whole clusters. The use of new oak here is quite pronounced relative to others: 30% for the village crus, between 40% and 50% for the premier crus and over 60% for the grand crus, but I did not find it excessive and it was beautifully knitted into the fabric of these 2012s, especially his sumptuous grand crus that should easily age over 20 or 30 years. I look forward to visiting once again - mindful of not running over the dog of course. Importer: J.A.O. Wine Importers, 1507 Hampton Hill Circle, McLean (VA) Tel 1 703 628 9615. Also available in UK at Enotria Winecellars Lts. and Ballantynes of Cowbridge.

Reduction completely dominates the nose. There is excellent concentration to the suave, round and highly seductive medium-bodied flavors that possess genuinely excellent depth and plenty of inner mouth perfume on the balanced and beautifully long finish. While Boudots is typically a moderately powerful wine, in 2012 there is more finesse and refinement than usual. Well worth considering. Tasted: Jan 15, 2014. Drink: 2022+

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots comes from 0.30-hectare parcel of vines towards the north of the appellation that was planted in 1950. Therefore the sensual Vosne-like nose comes as no surprise, springing subtle cooked meat notes into the mix. I can imagine this becoming quite gamey in its adolescence. The palate is dense and slightly “furry” tannins compared to the razor-sharp Chambolle premier cru, with good depth on the bullish, assertive finish. This is full of rustic charm. Although the domaine owns 0.50-hectares in Chaboeufs, part of the vineyard was pulled up in 2011 leaving just 0.18-hectares in production, an original planting from 1957. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com