2010 Nuits St Georges Clos des Porrets Blanc

Lightly reduced too but fragrant and with good vibrancy of fruit. Relatively luscious if one compares with the Gouges style of old. (JR)

The 2010 Nuits St. Georges Clos des Porrets Saint-Georges is the first wine in this lineup that shows the structure of the vintage. Freshly cut flowers, minerals, graphite and black cherries are woven into a textured fabric of notable class. I especially like its energy and drive. A precise, finely-chiseled finish rounds things out nicely. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. I was a bit surprised by the wines I tasted with Gregoire Gouges. Over the last few years Gouges has worked to make some of his entry-level offerings more accessible, but I noted that quality across the board in the 2010s, which is quite out of character not only for the house, but for virtually all 2010s from important sites. Of course the wines are still mostly in barrel. It will be interesting to see the direction the 2010s take over the next year. The 2010s were made from 100% destemmed fruit and aged in French oak barrels, 20% new. The malos were slow in 2010, and finished in June. The wines were racked for the first time in August. Except as noted, I tasted the 2010s from barrel. Gouges made the decision to move some of his wines into tank in order to preserve freshness. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Reduction dominates the nose. By contrast to the funky nose, there is a lovely inner mouth perfume to the precise, intense and vibrant middle weight plus flavors that possess good volume. There is admirable persistence on the quite firm finish that is at once pure and actually rather refined, which is not always the case with this wine. Worth a look.