2005 Domaine Daniel Bocquenet Nuits St. Georges Aux Saint-Julien

Bocquenet’s 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Aux St.-Julien (from a site just north of the town) smells typically cedary, smoky, woodsy, intensely black-fruited and touched by vanilla and spice from the barrel. A broad-shouldered, rich, sweet, but slightly husky palate impression is unabashedly tannic but well-covered in rich fruit. The finish displays an oily, smoky, pungent cling and ample, satisfying, extroverted sweetness. Bocquenet keeps threatening to retire (while he looks quite young) but let’s hope he’s bluffing, because his wines continue to offer consistent quality (as witness his sweetly-fruited, well-concentrated and moderately ageworthy 2004 Aux St.-Julien) in a style all Bocquenet’s own. Nothing but new wood has been used on these wines for years, nor are they filtered, but they are assembled into large tanks after ten or eleven months and left until bottling, nowadays generally not more than a few weeks before harvest. Bocquenet’s rather fearless extraction in 2005 resulted in wines that are much more similar to (good!) 2003s than are the 2005s of other growers. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93.