2014 Nuits St Georges Aux Thorey

(from vines planted in 1953): Dark red-ruby. Nose dominated by licorice and smoky minerality. Concentrated but a bit reduced, showing distinctly primary, sappy flavors of black fruits and minerals. Quite backward today but has the density to make an excellent--and ageworthy--bottle.

The 2014 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey has a gorgeous bouquet with blueberry and wild strawberry fruit, hints of cassis intermingling with violet, a little creaminess coming from the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannin, and a keen thread of acidity that binds the succulent dark plum and blackberry fruit together. There is a sense of controlled opulence here, very silky in the mouth with a very precise finish that does not hang about like the 2009 I tasted a few weeks earlier. The coolness of this vineyard just curtails any ostentation here and renders this an extremely fine Aux Thorey.