1991 Nuits St Georges Les Vignerondes

Three outstanding premier crus include the Nuits St.-Georges-Les Lavieres, Nuits St.-Georges-Les Vignerondes, and Nuits St.-Georges-Les Boudots. Picking a favorite is akin to splitting hairs, as they are all super-rich, densely colored, broadly built, expansive, full-bodied Pinot Noirs with superb complexity and richness. The 1991 Nuits St.-Georges-Les Vignerondes possesses a wonderful purity of character in its gorgeously ripe, expansive, perfumed nose of black-cherries and other black fruits such as plums. Decadently rich, generous, and well-endowed, this medium to full-bodied wine reveals deep layers of flavor, soft tannins, low acidity, and a finish that lasts for more than 30 seconds. It can be drunk now, but will easily keep for two decades. Once again, the remarkable Lalou Bize-Leroy and her gifted winemaker, Andre Porcheret, have made the wines of the vintage. Of course, Ponsot's Chambertin, Clos St.-Denis, and Clos de la Roche offer worthy competition, but considering the numerous vineyards she possesses, and the remarkable success she has enjoyed with all of them, she gets the gold medal in 1991. These are spectacularly rich, concentrated, compelling red burgundies that are significantly less expensive than her magnificent 1990s, yet very close in quality to those wines. And the 1990s were among the finest Pinot Noirs I have ever tasted. Lalou, with her characteristic bravado, compares 1991 to 1959. Her average yields were under 15 hectoliters per hectare, ranging from a low of 9 hectoliters per hectare to the highest, 18 hectoliters per hectare. Translated into production per vine, keeping in mind that Burgundy's vineyards have from 8,000-10,000 vines per hectare compared to about 1,200 vines per hectare in California and Oregon, this is astonishingly low yields. Because of the minuscule quantities produced and their high prices, the saddest thing about the Domaine Leroy's red burgundies is that few people have a chance to taste them. To taste the wines of Leroy is to know what heights Pinot Noir can attain. After tasting the 1991s from barrel last year, I thought she had fashioned the top wines of the vintage. Now that they are in the bottle, they are even more impressive. Prices are significantly lower (down by %25-%30), but quantities are tiny. Produced according to the rigid disciplines of organic farming biodynamics, Lalou Bize-Leroy's 1991s are extraordinary. Importer: Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA. NOTES ON THE 1992s FROM BARREL: In what was a relatively light vintage for the Cote de Nuits, superb 1992s were produced at Leroy. Sadly, because of difficult weather in 1993 and Bize-Leroy's refusal to utilize anti-rot fungicides, over 80% of the crop was destroyed. Consequently, there will be little wine coming from Leroy in 1993.