Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Boudots Dinner

This was a really interesting dinner, and a good chance to catch up with old friends. Focus tonight was on wines from Nuits St Georges 1er Cru of Boudots (sometimes labelled as Aux Boudots, other times as Les Boudots).

There has been a rough rule-of-thumb for as long as I can remember dividing the great 1er Cru vineyards of NSG as being from the "Premeaux-side" (closer to the neighbouring village of Primeaux-Prissey in the South) or from the "Vosne-side" (closer to Vosne-Romanee in the North). Conventional wisdom has it that the Southern vineyards are more powerful, darker, with more brooding minerality and earthiness, while the Northern ones share more in common with their cousins from Vosne - more elegant fruit and structure, a good dose of spice etc.

This is especially true of Boudots, lying at the very North of the appellation (and midway up the Cote d'Or slopes in terms of altitude). In fact, the terroir here is almost a continuation of Aux Malconsorts - the famous Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru - as both vineyards lie on a fairly homogenous slope with similar soil and subsoil compositions. In many ways, Boudots then is a bit like a sibling that happened to grow up just South of the border - a lost brother in NSG.

We had only a small sample tonight, from two makers (plus a ringer from Mugnier); even then, one could really understand the terroir through the character of the wines. These really drank like a cross between Vosne and NSG. Clearly muscular and powerful, with age-worthy depth and structure; they showed ample notes of berries and spice, some earth and mineral. Almost like a Malconsorts, but with a bit more rustic muscle thrown in. Good terroir, with good makers making good wine then.

All that being said though, in my mind, Les St Georges in the South of the village stands above Boudots (and a few other pretenders) the prime vineyard in NSG; capable in the hands of the best producers of producing wines of both greater elegance and strength than those we had tonight.

All in all, a really enjoyable and educational night.

• 2012 Geoffroy Champagne Premier Cru Empreinte 92 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  This was very nice once again. The extra development since my last bottle a couple of years back has benefited it as well. The nose was really attractive, with shades of earth, yeast and thrown over a core of red apples and fleshy cherry aromas. Quite lovely. The palate was drinking really deliciously, with fleshy, yet always beautifully balanced flavours of ripe red apples and red cherries, maybe some strawberries in cream delicious, all wrapped in a round, creamy mousse, and lifted by a nice bit of fresh acidity. There was quite a good bit of depth as well, showing all the way into a nice mineral finish with a grippy bit of dry extract holding the back-palate. A superbly integrated and deliciously balanced champagne, and one that is starting to drink precociously well.

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• 2017 Samuel Billaud Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  A lovely Chablis 1er Cru. My first time out with this producer, and I must say I really liked the style. The nose was classic Chablis. A bit reductive, and showing a touch of sulphur when first poured, but it opened up into expressive aromas of green apples and chalk, lime zest, and a lovely linger of stony mineral. It was really nice on the palate too. There was some of the power of the terroir showing in its rich, juicy notes of green apples on the attack, but just beyond that, the wine was all about cut and definition, with a lovely zip lent to it by a juicy spine of citrus acidity, all this laced with notes of lemon and lime zest, and a nice bit of mineral just pulling the wine into a lovely long finish. Such a fresh, vibrant mouthful; and it was not just all mineral and citrus either, with a charming bit of fleshy apple fruit mingling with the brighter tones. I really enjoyed this - it went a treat with a lobster dish too. Even then, this is a bottle still very much in its infancy. Give it another 3-4 years in the bottle, and it should be really lovely.

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• 2016 Gérard Mugneret Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Pretty good, if not quite a perfect example. This had a beautiful nose, with wonderful curls of red cherries shading into dark berry and plum notes, violets, and then a lightly green lift of bramble and vine stems, with more savoury hints of earth and meat running the edges. There was just that raw edge of raw ginkgo nuts and green herb that threw me off a bit, but otherwise really pretty. It was quite a big boy on the palate, with large-scale, darker-toned flavours of black cherries and wild berries, laced with a bit of wet stone mineral and a good bit of rather Vosne-nish wood spice in the mouth. I liked the structural feel that this had: the tannins were fine-boned but still gave a little grip, alongside a seam of fresh acidity that gave the wine a nice clarity inspite of its girth. It had a decent finish to end as well, with another lovely blush of warm spice at the end. It was just a tad drying on that back-palate with a touch of wood and perhaps a little hint of furry brett at the end. Apart from that, this was a rather complete wine, with tons of complexity going on, even if it paradoxically still seemed a little on the shy side at the moment. Already pretty good drinking if you do not mind your Burgs young then, but I would love to try this again in 3-4 years’ time when it should integrate further and develop a bit more.

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• 2003 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  A really nice wine - this was far fresher and more refined than I would have expected from a 2003. I liked the nose on this. Almost more Vosne than NSG, it wafted out of the glass in layers of wood spice - think cloves and cumin and cardamom - alongside fresh notes of red cherries and strawberries, earth and ferrous mineral. Lovely. With time, a bit of crushed violets came out as well. Really nice stuff. The palate was lovely to drink as well. Fresh, clear, with a beautiful purity showing through its fleshy notes of dark cherries, red berries and plums, again laced with a bit of crushed violets and a lovely blush of wood spices. I really like the transperancy in this. It had a lovely integrated structure too, with well-woven tannins and a nice bit of acidity carrying the wine into lovely fresh finish, with a nice marriage of fresh fruit and long stony minerality that brought a smile to my face. With time, the fruit put on more power and sweet depth; even then though, this never felt like it came from one the really hot vintages. A really atypical 2003. I was shocked when it was unblinded. Very nice indeed, and drinking quite nicely now.

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• 2014 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  A charmer of a wine - it was perhaps not quite as impressive as either the 2006 nor the 2003 drank alongside, but boy was it enjoyable. This had such a beautiful nose, with little drifts of toasty wood spice, sweet aromas crushed violets, then sweet black cherries and plums, almost with a liquered edge to them, all patted down with little bits of earth and mineral. Just a lovely bouquet. The palate was really nice too. It had such lovely lines - clean, clear, beautifully-cut, with fresh acidity and really fine tannins forming a firm, noble structure against which pure, limpid flavours of dark cherries and berries played away, again laced with a lovely bit of stony minerality. This had plenty of depth and oomph for a 2014, with a real sense of sinewy power to it that not every 1er Cru in the vinatge offers. On the finish, a lovely blush of Vosne-like wood spice then mingled with nice spine of minerality as it pulled away on the back palate. Really nice stuff. Showing decently well now, with some aging potential over the mid-term as well.

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• 2006 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  A had quite forgotten having had this wine twice before - both occasions more than a decade ago. This bottle was pretty good without quite hitting the heights; a little on the tight side I thought, but nevertheless a nicely elegant wine that gave quite a bit of pleasure. I liked the nose on it, with lithe notes of stony mineral, dried herbs and flowers, wrapped around subtle notes of dark cherries and berries, maybe with a touch of menthol on the sides. A quietly pretty bouquet. The palate was very fine, with firm but really filigreed tannins and a nice spine of acidity (especially for a 2006), running through lacy flavours of dark cherries; and then a bit of earth and mineral drifting into a fine finish, all touched with a little bit of spice. As usual, this was a lighter, leaner, but certainly more elegant expression of NSG. Chambolle in chain mail if you will, or maybe NSG in a sun-dress. Not bad now, with the chops to keep going, although I am not sure how much more room there is for improvement in the bottle.

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• 2006 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  This was very good indeed. The nose was a little tight at first, with notes of powdered stone, dried wood spice and violet petals floating around a core of dark berries and plums. With time though, little notes of bramble and herb drifted out as well. Nice and complex on the bouquet. The palate was really nice too, fresh and lively, with fine but firm tannins and wonderfully integrated acidity forming a really nice backdrop for fairly large-scaled flavours of dark cherries and berries, then a lovely trail of earth and mineral, crushed violets and spice, all lingering into a nice long finish. Absolutely delicious now, but with all the qualities needed to age well over the next decade as well.

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• 2007 Gérard Mugneret Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Stunningly youthful for a wine well into its second decade in the bottle, this was a quite a lovely drop. There was a bit of sulphur on the nose at first, but that blew off to reveal what to me was a surprising darker-fruited character for a 2007, with black cherries, plums and blackberries patted down with notes of earth, spice and meat. A different tone from either the trio of Men-Camuzet Boudots we had alongside, or indeed from the 2016 Gerard Mugneret. I was actually quite surprised by the vintage when this was unblinded. Likewise, the palate was quite rich for 2007 too, with a creamily textured depth of dark cherries and berries, some plums, all wearing a little lace of spice. Where the vintage did come out though was in the juicy acidity and nice purity of it all, with a lovely clarity that shone though the fruit. It did take on a higher-tone feel with more time and air as well. All in all, a really youthful and quite lovely wine, with fine tannins still given a firm little grip, and plenty of really juicy acidity leading the wine into a clear, pure mineral finish, with just a tiny hint of spice closing things out. Lovely stuff - drinking deliciously now, if just missing a touch of complexity. Such is the freshness, balance and structure though, that I could see it aging effortlessly well into the its next decade and beyond.

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