2005 Nuits St Georges Les Boudots

The 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Boudots (from 70-year-old vines) leads with a combination of ripe blackberry and black cherry allied to a marine minerality of salt spray and iodine. Fanning out across the palate with sweet, rich berry fruit and abundant fine tannin, yet remaining invigorating, this finishes impressively long on sedate low-tones of clear, pure black fruit and minerals, yet still with a sappy tang. Considerable incipient subtlety will reward some years of cellaring, or at least a more leisurely contemplation of the glass. Etienne Grivot aimed this year for gentle extraction (essentially without pigeage), then watchful preservation of the freshness, subtleties and refinement inherent in near-perfect raw material. He performed some very light chaptalization to extend the fermentations. Given the health and natural concentration of his vinous raw material, he felt no need to sulfur or rack the wines until shortly prior to bottling (without filtration), which was the stage at which I tasted. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400.

Good deep red. Superripe aromas of black fruits, minerals and licorice. Fat, silky and seamless, with a compelling sweetness of fruit. Wonderfully lush and broad, finishing with sweet tannins and palate-coating length. Plenty of structure and thrust here.

As its geographic position would suggest, this is half Nuits and half Vosne in character with an intensely spicy black fruit nose nuanced with ample floral, game and earth notes that introduce rich, full and sleekly muscled flavors that also possess suave tannins and terrific length on the dusty and mouth coating finish. This is a 'wow' wine with real punch but also sophistication. Allen Meadows, Burghound, Jan01,2008.