2008 Nuits St Georges Les St Georges

Saliva-inducing soy-like savor and intimations of rich meat stock already share billing with ripe red berries and purple plum in the nose of Forey’s 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Les St.-Georges, which then bursts onto the palate with invigorating, lip-smacking fruit and savory-saline umami concentration. Texturally refined – though possessed of ample, perfectly proportional tannin – its pungency of black pepper and suggestions of crushed stone add to an already irresistible finish. This should be worth following for 12-15 years, yet it would be a shame not to start enjoying it right away. Regis Forey’s 2008s enjoyed up to a month of skin contact (including cold soaks). He punched down only sparingly at the onset of fermentation – then heated the vats at the tail end in an effort to fatten the wines a bit. They finished malo in mi-summer and were racked twice – the second time in December and into tank – to help clarify them sufficiently so that he would not feel it necessary to filter. Considering how the fruit looked at harvest, Forey says he was amazed by how well his 2007s turned out. That was his view already by the time I first tasted them, coming off of early malos in late winter 2008; and in bottle they preserve the bright fruit that many 07s exhibited early on but which was in so many instances dulled or muddied meantime. As is now routine here, the village wines (and Bourgogne) were rendered almost entirely in demi-muids of varied provenance (including even a smidgeon of American oak) but always, says Forey, “very slowly-toasted, without touching the flame.” This size permits him to utilize 50% new wood, but with less surface contact per volume. It’s hard to argue with the approach, given Forey’s consistent excellence of village-level results. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Deep red-ruby. Dark raspberry, strawberry and smoky oak on the reticent nose. Large-scaled, sappy and powerful, with serious depth and a saline suggestion of soil to the concentrated dark fruit flavors. Has the chewy middle to support its big, ripe tannins, which reach the front teeth but do not come off as dry. Long on the aftertaste.