2010 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges 1er Cru

The top 2010 Red Burgundies are now virtually impossible to find, so it was a real treat to taste these nine gorgeous, reference-point wines together. The goal of this seminar, which I curated at Pebble Beach Food & Wine, was to highlight a number of Burgundy’s finest terroirs ands most representative producers. I was joined on the panel by Master Sommeliers Larry Stone and Alan Murray, and winemaker Rajat Parr. All of the wines showed exceptionally well in what turned out to be a fabulous morning filled with great Burgundy and equally stimulating conversation. For more background on the wines, readers might enjoy this short video I shot just before the tasting. As Burgundy fans know, the 2010 growing season did not get off to a great start. A devastating winter frost killed a number of vines, especially in the low, flat-lying sectors close to the Route Nationale. Poor weather during flowering caused significant issues with coulure and millerandage. Conditions improved markedly during the last few weeks of the season, always the most critical time of the year. The 2010s combine excellent maturity levels from naturally occurring low yields with lively acidity that is the result of a long, cool growing season. Most importantly of all, the wines are highly site-specific. At their best, the 2010s are stunning wines that capture the essence of what makes Burgundy so thrilling. For more on 2010, readers might enjoy taking a look back at my initial thoughts on the vintage and wines.

I have to say, this is a stunning set of wines from Denis and Bertrand Chevillon. The Chevillons told me they were surprised by the quality of the wines given the challenges of the growing season. The 2010s saw 5-10 days of cold soak, followed by 15-21 days of cuvaison. The wines were aged on their lees in French oak barrels, 30% new for the top wines and less for the mid- and entry-level wines. The 2010s will be bottled beginning in March 2012 through July 2012. Unfortunately, the 2009s were in an awkward stage on my last visit, so I had to wait a few more months to taste those wines. It was worth the wait. Chevillon's 2009s are among the wines of the vintage. The 2009s were bottled beginning February (for the entry-level wines) through April for the top selections. I will report on the domaine's 2009s in my April article.

The Chevillon family has another pure, scented collection of Nuits-Saint-Georges premier crus in the works--most of which should offer relatively early appeal but also age very well. The harvest took place between September 23 and 29 with potential alcohols levels in the moderate 12% to 12.5% range and, according to Bertrand Chevillon, none of the finished wines will be above 13% alcohol. The 2010s finished their malolactic fermentations in the spring and were racked in July--a bit later than usual.