The tasting room at Henri Gouges was showing a new vintage this week – so why not? 😊
Mainly 2022s, except for the Les St.Georges…
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Chênes Carteaux
Top of the hill above Les St.Georges etcetera…
Plenty of colour but still transparent. Really open, rounded with a ripe fruit – a little cherry in style but an accent of florals and some herb in that style too. Lovely in the mouth – quite silky and fluid too. The last flavours have plenty of length and a modest touch of bitters. This is already very attractively drinkable.
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos des Porrets St.Georges
Still a little extra colour. An extra herb – but bouquet-garni – and with a larger scale to this nose, more cherry-stone than cherry, with a small strawberry lift – that’s a great invitation. Extra width, extra flavour energy and complexity too – a big step up in flavour energy here – what an excellent and surprisingly approachable wine. More chalky tannic dryness right at the end – much extra personality after the Chênes. What a simply excellent wine…
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Pruliers
More powder, high-toned and a little more austere – with air, the aromas are going much deeper. Hmm, the most fluid, and also a little more juicy – some citrus-style bitters – this is more obviously a baby, but I could still drink it. Lovely concentration despite the fluidity. You could carafe and enjoy today, but here I’d wait another 2-3 years…
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Vaucrains
Another aromatic with excellent scale – powdery, stony fruit here. Hmm, but this is rather an elegant Vaucrains – lots of tannin but also of velour – wow – the first time I tasted a young Vaucrains that’s so approachable – it might be silly to say ‘ready’ – but I would drink this today and certainly ahead of the Pruliers. What an excellent wine…
Ouf – the largest, most complex, most cushioned nose. So mouth-filling, concentrated but also fluid – the finest of tannin. The most complex and largest scale of this range of wines, despite the cooler vintage, but the lower volume of the vintage (they lost 60% of their crop from 2 nights of frost in April) ensured proper ripeness. A haunting, though not powerful length. Class!
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er La Perrière (Blanc)
A generous width of fine citrus, though not overly ripe citrus. A juicy, mouth-watering, palate-cleansing delicious wine. This 22 is still showing some of the textural padding and flavours of the barrel – but it’s delicious with a last twist of tannic dryness on the tongue – chalkiness, as there’s no grain…