2013 Domaine de l'Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forets-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

Bright, dark red with ruby tones. Classic south-side Nuits-Saint-Georges with captivating spicy perfume to the aromas of dark berries, kirsch , violet, crushed rock and leather. At once penetrating and enveloping, displaying a much silkier texture than the Petits Plets. Quite closed compared to the 2014 from barrel but wine nonetheless boasts a sexy, thick, three-dimensional texture. Black fruit flavors are complicated by wild leather and animal components, with a note of bitter chocolate emerging with air. Finishes with big but ripe tannins and subtle sweetness. Very reticent in the mid-palate today but has the chewy depth and mineral energy to support a long and graceful evolution in bottle. My score may turn out to be overly conservative.

Fleshy, à point black fruit and an attractive pepper and sappy herbal character. More complete than their Petit Arlot premier cru. (RH)

(an approximation of the final blend, made up of six cuvées , with the age of vines ranging from 30 to 60): Dark red with ruby highlights. Wonderfully subtle, complex nose melds blackberry, raspberry, minerals, licorice, violet and sexy soil tones. Rich, lush and fine-grained, showing a restrained sweetness and lovely inner-mouth perfume to the flavors of dark berries, flowers and spices. Juicy and light on its feet thanks to its strong limestone and compact rock elements, finishing with serious but very fine tannins and a subtle saline quality. Before sampling this blend, I tried three totally different cuvées from the bottom, top and middle of this amazingly complex 7.2-hectare vineyard. The experience reminded me of past tastings of the multiple components of the similarly sized Clos de Tart, which Domaine de l'Arlot winemaker Jacques Devauges will be taking over in 2015.