2008 Nuits St Georges Aux Thorey

(100% whole clusters) Medium red. Complex, slightly reduced aromas of redcurrant, smoke and crushed stone. More minerally than the Saints-Juliens, with more inner-palate energy and a fine-grained texture. Plenty of stuffing and density here. Finishes with suave tannins and a smoky nuance.

The de Montille 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Thorey strikes me as a possible demonstration that the relatively bright light style in which this estate’s 2008s from the Cote de Beaune are rendered works less well when applied to Nuits-St.-Georges, as there is a certain rusticity of tannin showing through that might be covered over in a plusher or less transparent style of Pinot. That said, tart red fruits and a smoked meat and bouillon-like combination of carnal and prominently saline elements lend this Nuits stimulating, lip-smacking satisfaction. The tannins suggest elements of black tea and leather but are also simply slightly gum-numbing. I would want to reevaluate this in a few years before judging its potential for longer-term aging. (I unfortunately managed to miss-out on tasting de Montille’s 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Aux St.-Julien.) ||Etienne de Montille related having taken great pains in early September, 2008 to stave-off encroaching rot and promote ripeness, and felt that his rigorous leaf-pulling and crop-thinning – not to mention eventual triage – paid off sufficiently that he could vinify a substantial portion of the 2008 crop in his preferred manner, utilizing a high proportion of stems and whole clusters (100% in the case of this year’s grand crus and top premier crus). Those wines for which a point spread is indicated were all last tasted shortly before their early spring bottling as finished assemblages in tank – whence they had been racked at the end of 2009 because de Montille did not think their fruit density or lees quality would have supported longer barrel-elevage. (Despite my longstanding predilection for de Montille and his wines, I regret to report that time and circumstance conspired to keep me from tasting his 2007s.)||Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040; also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29 Wine Advocate.June, 2010