2013 Nuits St Georges Les Vaucrains

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains has a dusky bouquet with herbaceous red berry fruit, hints of stewed black tea and later a little orange blossom -- all quite mercurial in the glass. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity, quite dense with good backbone, perhaps undergoing a slightly longer maceration in the winery than its peers, though retaining sufficient freshness and delineation on the typically succulent finish. Tasted September 2016.

Deep, bright red. Brooding aromas of black fruits, bitter chocolate and menthol hint at superripeness. Less fruity and floral than the Saint-Georges and Cailles but fatter, sweeter and larger-scaled, boastig considerable power to the raspberry, earth and chocolate flavors. Saline, dense, classically dry wine with rich tannins that saturate the entire palate. This appears to need several more months of élevage .