2012 Nuits St Georges Les Boudots

(vinified with 15% whole clusters; aging in 60% new oak): Good bright, dark red-ruby. Brooding aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and spices. Denser, riper and deeper than the Murgers but not particularly sweet. In fact, this is much more closed and backward today, with its firm acid/tannin spine obvious. But the tannins are ripe, not aggressive. In a serious style and in need of bottle aging.

Cloves, dark cherries, plums, menthol, licorice, new leather and smoke all flesh out in the Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots. This is one of the more overt, fleshier wines in the range, but there is plenty of underlying tension and minerality to balance the wine's pure resonance. The 2012 finishes with substantial breadth, power and volume, suggesting a very bright future lies ahead. This is a terrific showing. Méo used whole clusters (15%) here for the first time in 2012.

The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots, which contains around 15% whole cluster, has a complex bouquet with a mingling of black and red berry fruit with hints of undergrowth developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, those whole clusters lending a little more complexity on the mid-palate. This feels taut in the mouth, offering blackberry and bilberry fruit, touches of white pepper on a finish that is both focused and refined. This should age nicely for 10+ years. Domaine Meo-Camuzet boasts one of the most enviable portfolios in Vosne-Romanee, crowned by Richebourg Grand Cru and Cros Parantoux, the latter essentially grand cru in all but name thanks to the late Henri Jayer, who decided that vines might profit more from the land than a few veg. I have been following the wines for over a decade and visiting Jean-Nicolas Meo’s cellar just down the road from Bernard Gros. Together we tasted through both his negociant and domaine bottlings, partly from pre-prepared samples and others directly from barrel. He told me he had been surprised at the changes in pH post-malo-lactic fermentation, possibly due to a precipitation of potassium that had made the wines feel rounder. Certainly some of the cuvees did have a certain “sumptuousness” about them, but for the most part that tannins were present and correct, lending backbone to offset the occasionally intense fruit. Readers should note that I took a video of Jean-Nicolas discussing the vintage in his cellars, so please access this for further insight. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524