Bottle 7 from 12. On opening I hardly recognise this wine – the colour still has that young medium-plus cherry-red hue, but the nose has a slightly ashy, oaky aroma and the flavours are quite strident – what’s needed is a little aeration. Et voila: 3 minutes from opening this is aromatically singing, creamy deep redcurrant, indeed so creamy it’s faintly lactic but it is really wonderful. At the core there is a hint of something a little more mature, the ashy element has become a hint of leafy undergrowth, but just a hint. Clearly the acidity is a little ascendant now, but the mid-palate concentration remains enough that the wine is not mortally compromised and there is still an edge of tannin too. A long way from real maturity and still showing sufficient density and energy to keep me coming back for more.
Aloxe-Corton Les Boutières
2002 Potel Nicolas Aloxe-Corton Les Boutières
This was lush, sweet and full of joie-de-vivre from barrel and also for it’s first 18 months in bottle – it was great fun – it’s now a different wine. It still retains that medium-plus cherry red colour and the nose is high toned and fresh though has now lost some bass notes. There is still sweetness and it retains a well-concentrated punch in the mid-palate, but today this wine has lost much of the lush foil to the acidity. It’s fresh and certainly not overly acidic now – but is more obviously tart than before. The last 5 or 6 can spend some time resting now…
2002 Potel Nicolas Aloxe-Corton Les Boutières
2002 Potel Nicolas Aloxe-Corton Les Boutières
Medium-plus, purple-tinged cherry-red. A fresh coulis of black-skinned fruit greets the nose. The smooth palate shows nicely intense fruit – again black-shaded. There is plenty of tannin, but it’s currently very well wrapped in the fruit extract. Nice balance from the acidity and a really pleasing finish. If I can keep my hands of this wine I think it has quite some potential, not drinking these could be difficult. Not as exuberant as when tasted in barrel but a very good wine all the same.