2006 Nuits St Georges Clos St Marc

Representing the first Rion vintage of what is now their monopole (long associated with Bouchard, to whom Rion was obligated to sell his first three harvests after acquiring this land in 2003), the 2006 Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos St.-Marc boasts enveloping, rich, lightly cooked black fruits, violets, with a slightly leathery accompaniment that emerges more prominently in the finish and deprives it of quite the sweetness of fruit that the palate promised. (I suspect here an incipient case of brett, which – even if I am correct – might still remain low-level.) The tannins here are less fine-grained than in the Argillieres. Still this is an admirable initial achievement from the standpoint of its sheer richness, and future vintages should be fascinating to experience. I had not visited with Patrice Rion since before 2000, when he left his very long-standing position as winemaker at Domaine Daniel Rion & Fils and began focusing his efforts on the Domaine Michele & Patrice that he and his wife Michele had established in 1990. Together with a hands-on negociant branch known officially as "Patrice Rion," their activities have grown to encompass an extensive array of wines, only a small subset of which I had time to assess. (Following my general practice in this report, I have noted the estate origins of certain wines in my tasting notes, but have not made a distinction in the way that the wines are named between those belonging to the domaine and those sourced by acreage or fruit under contract.) A Scott Levy Selection, Norcross, GA; tel. (770) 730-0361

A bit sweet and gamey but very ambitious. Strongly kirsch. Lip smacking. (JR)

Pretty tough without the lift of the Argillières. Substantial. Weighty with perhaps a little bit to much oak? Near Argillières. 'C'est pas le millesime.' (JR)