2008 Nuits St Georges Les Proces

Blackberry and smoky-sweet hints of machine oil and steel shavings in the nose of Lachaux’s 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Proces put me in mind a bit of a concentrated Loire Cabernet Franc. Alkaline and piquantly fruit pit notes lend austerity to the firm palate but some of the same salinity that lent the corresponding Les Poisets a certain enticement is evidenced here as well. Here, too, the tannins are formidable but fine, and there is an impressive, vintage-typical sense of transparency to mineral characteristics in this Pinot’s implacable finish. Like a less-rich version of a 2005, this is another Arnoux 2008 to cellar for a few years if you are up to a challenge, and one that I predict will pay maximum dividends at something like 6-8 years’ age. I tasted Pascal Lachaux’s 2008s soon after their late-January bottling, and a few of them may have been suffering from trauma they thereby sustained, but on the whole this was an impressive if darkly-hued and unapologetically firmly-structured collection. Lachaux reports that his malos were “on time, normal,” and adds “the truth about 2008 and why the malos were so often retarded is that people sulfured the fruit too heavily at the advice of their enologues.” Even at bottling, Lachaux reports that he was sparing with sulfur and expected to take advantage of the high levels of residual CO2 in his 2008s. He says he allowed temperatures to rise during the fermentation as a means of extracting more flavor without having to actively work the cap and in consequence risk pulling out green flavors or hard tannins. This approach may explain the particularly low-toned personality of this 2008 collection, which certainly didn’t leave me wishing that the wines had sustained additional pigeage! If the number of magnums I saw is any indication, Lachaux seriously intends on putting to the test his confidence in this vintage’s aging potential. Yet he is also very keen on his 2007s, those of which I tasted from bottle were indeed impressive, though I seem even in this instance to be missing what those growers most enamored of their 2007s profess to perceive. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

(50% new oak) Good bright red. Distinctly red aromas of cherry and flowers. Juicier than the village wines, with more flavor intensity and lift. There's a lightly herbal character here but plenty of red berry and spice flavors. Not a big wine but persistent and aromatic on the back end.

Bright crimson. Meaty and sweet on the nose. Rich start and then lovely grainy texture and real juiciness. Very authentic but not cheap. Also tasted 14 Jan 2010. Score 17. Drink 20112-18: Bright cherry red. Rich and juicy. Very smooth and seductive and this wine has seen a management consultant about how it presents itself. Super cool. Not for those who seek a hair shirt. Very clean. Fresh, too, without being aggressively acidic. (JR)