When last in Nuits I mentioned I had this wine the cellar and was informed by the Potel-team that I should probably open it as they had problems with the corks and 50% of the bottles were off. I had but one in the cellar so decided to pop the cork – it looked and smelled fine…
1998 Nicolas Potel, Romanée St.Vivant
Double-decanted, poured after an hour. Plenty of lumpy sediment but no fine stuff to cloud things. The nose needs another 30 minutes to open, but it becomes wide and very Vosne; spicy, leafy, somehow ‘warm’ and textured smelling – overall it’s very good though not necessarily better than a (very) good 1er cru. The acidity is slightly forward – though not excessive – no harsh or astringent tannin, just a latent velvet edge. The flavours are a little tart but there’s a slowly deepening intensity in the mid-palate and a width that’s faintly cream-edged. Very good, if not great length. There is no primary fruit here, but it’s a wine that I would leave for at least another 5 or 6 in the cellar. It’s a reasonable grand cru, but today it’s far from a great RSV. This experience was not spoiled by the cork, only by opening the bottle at least 5 years too early…
Rebuy – No regardless of quality, it’s clearly a ‘no’ given the 50% cork lottery.