2002 Jayer-Gilles - Nuits St Georges Les Poirets 1er Cru

Good full red. Sappy, extremely fresh, Vosne-like aromas of black cherry, violet, licorice and minerals. Sweet, fat, dense and seamless, with perfectly integrated acids giving definition to the wine's flavors. Finishes sweet and lush, with a very fine dusting of tannins. Pristine, and built to age. (My sample of the Damodes, from a 375-ml. bottle, was simply too reduced to rate; I note that a barrel sample a year ago was also impossible to assess owing to a very late malolactic fermentation and strong reduction.)

Consistently one of the finest villages reds produced in Burgundy, Gilles Jayer’s 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges Hauts Poirets bursts forth with earthy, stony minerals and blackberries. Medium-bodied and satin-textured, it boasts admirable purity of flavors, depth, and superb ripeness. Its prolonged character is packed with sweet red cherries that seamlessly linger through its impressive finish. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2012. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

(malo finished in September and sulfited) Bright red-ruby color. Complex nose melds cherry, licorice, minerals, flowers and sweet, spicy oak. The sweetest and fattest of these 2002s to this point, with black and red fruit flavors complicated by minerals and oak. This is really round and lush in the middle, then quite firm on the back end. (JayerÂ’s Nuits Damodes was in the middle of its secondary fermentation and too reduced to assess.)