2006 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Frere et Soeur Nuits-Saint-Georges Argillas 1er Cru

Their last-harvested wine, the Meo-Camuzet 2006 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Argillas Frere et Soeur smells of black raspberry jam shadowed by its spirituous framboise counterpart; comes to the palate with impressive sweetness (reinforced by the caramelization and vanilla of new wood) but runs into considerable blockage from its abundance of tannin in the finish. Perhaps some nuance and refreshment will emerge and the relatively heavy hand of tannin and wood will lighten. There seems to be something more wanting to express itself here, and possibly the wine was in a momentarily awkward phase when I tasted it. Jean-Nicolas Meo harvested 2006 fruit between 13.25-14.25% potential alcohol, slightly higher than in 2005. Except for a few instances of vineyards touched by hail, he said, he vinified in essentially the same way (including the same percentages of new barrels) as he had in 2005. Meo notes that the pHs of his 2006s ended up quite high after their malos, and while this contributes to their sense of softness and generosity, I sometimes find these wines wanting for some vivacity or primary juiciness. (I have appended to the description of Meo's negociant bottlings the words "Frere et Soeur" that appear underneath "Meo-Camuzet" on their labels.) Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524. Also a Jean-Marie de Champs Selection (various importers), French fax 011 33 3 80 22 58 25