2005 Nuits St Georges Les Damodes
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Tasting notes
The 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Damodes is comprised of two-thirds 1er Cru-rated acreage and one-third from higher-elevation, rocky portions of Damodes, but the quality is 1er Cru so what does it matter? (“Otherwise we’d have two Damodes, and wouldn’t that be complicated for our customers, “ remarks Vincent Lecheneaut.) Due to the drought-prone nature of this site, it has been cropped at an unusually low level, particularly in recent years. The ripeness was so perfect this year that Lencheneauts elected for the first time (just as with their Vosne) to include a sizeable proportion of whole clusters in the fermentation. Wood smoke, graphite and cedar inflect the ripe blackberry and black cherry aromas. The palate exhibits some of the characteristic meatiness and stoniness of northern Nuits-St.-Georges, but with some of the pungent spice, textural refinement, and finesse of Vosne. The stems certainly imparted no bitterness. A richly meaty, chalky, savory, freshly fruited persistence reflects the wine’s effortless, natural concentration, while displaying less extroverted sweetness than most of the Lecheneaut 2005s. I would plan on revisiting this fine value only after three or four years. The Lecheneaut brothers – Vincent and Philippe – were still hoping to get the last of two wines (a Chorey-les-Beaune and one of two lots of village Nuits-St.-Georges, the final blend of which, while promising, could therefore not be fairly assessed) to go through malo at the time of my visit. But other than that, things were looking delicious indeed in this cellar. Alcohol levels came in almost shockingly low given the ripeness of flavors on display (in fact, the brothers chaptalized a bit to extend the fermentations) and most but not all of the wines had the requisite concentration to resist any obvious marking by their 50-100% of new oak. These are forward, early-flattering, often positively flamboyant wines for the vintage. The samples I tasted had been drawn in proper proportion just prior to their having been racked and assembled for bottling (which was imminent). Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
(one-third of the vinification was done with whole clusters, as the Lecheneauts felt the stems were of very high quality) Bright medium ruby. Blackberry, dark chocolate and a whiff of licorice on the nose. Dense, sweet and lush, with good thrust and floral lift to the blackberry fruit. Finishes with smooth, fine-grained tannins. Vincent Lecheneaut told me that this wine usually has a low pH and lacks finesse, so he used the stems to bring more freshness and dynamism.