2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er Cru
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Tasting notes
Blackberry and dark cherry; licorice and dark chocolate; and sweet, smoky machine oil inform the nose and stain the palate from Chevillons’ 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Pruliers, whose deep, bittersweet concentration of flavors; near-velvety texture; metaphorically dark shading; soy-like savor; and palpable sense of extract make for an at once formidable, intriguing, and alluring visage. Yet as its long finish makes clear, the vintage-typical, efficacious primary fresh fruit juiciness is still operative here, and abundant though fine-grained tannins lurk beneath its surface. I would give this several years in cellar before revisiting and expect 12-15 of high-performance from bottle, if not more. Bertrand Chevillon reported the typically late, long malos of the 2008 vintage, and the Chevillon crus were not bottled until last spring – subsequent to my tastings of them, which took place in part assembled from tank and in part from representative selections of barrels. Interestingly, Chevillons report a normal crop level, stressing that vigilance and diligence in vine treatments made for a healthy crop. Most of the musts weighed-in between 12.5% and 13% potential alcohol and chaptalization was minimal. Bernard Chevillon compares his family’s 2008 with their 2001 –an underestimation, I suspect – and his 2007s with the less interesting, structured, fresh-fruited, or consistent 2000s, an analogy that strikes me as apt. (The Bourgogne and Les St.-Georges, incidentally, had been committed right down to the bottle chez Chevillon by the time I got ‘round to tasting 2007s, hence the absence of notes on those.) Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524
Critic scores
David Schildknecht, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(racked three weeks ago) Deep red. Quite tight and brooding on the nose. Then dense and imploded in the mouth, with a distinctly high pitch to the intense flavors of cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and flowers. Bright acidity gives terrific cut to this spicy, pure wine.
Blackberry and dark cherry; licorice and dark chocolate; and sweet, smoky machine oil inform the nose and stain the palate from Chevillons’ 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Pruliers, whose deep, bittersweet concentration of flavors; near-velvety texture; metaphorically dark shading; soy-like savor; and palpable sense of extract make for an at once formidable, intriguing, and alluring visage. Yet as its long finish makes clear, the vintage-typical, efficacious primary fresh fruit juiciness is still operative here, and abundant though fine-grained tannins lurk beneath its surface. I would give this several years in cellar before revisiting and expect 12-15 of high-performance from bottle, if not more. ||Bertrand Chevillon reported the typically late, long malos of the 2008 vintage, and the Chevillon crus were not bottled until last spring – subsequent to my tastings of them, which took place in part assembled from tank and in part from representative selections of barrels. Interestingly, Chevillons report a normal crop level, stressing that vigilance and diligence in vine treatments made for a healthy crop. Most of the musts weighed-in between 12.5% and 13% potential alcohol and chaptalization was minimal. Bernard Chevillon compares his family’s 2008 with their 2001 –an underestimation, I suspect – and his 2007s with the less interesting, structured, fresh-fruited, or consistent 2000s, an analogy that strikes me as apt. (The Bourgogne and Les St.-Georges, incidentally, had been committed right down to the bottle chez Chevillon by the time I got ‘round to tasting 2007s, hence the absence of notes on those.) Wine Advocate.June, 2010