2010 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux St-Julien

Tasting red wines with Etienne de Montille is always a fascinating experience because his use of whole clusters varies so widely from cuvee to cuvee, if not vintage to vintage. Some wines are totally destemmed and obviously made to offer easy, early drinkability, while others are two-thirds or even 100% vendange entier and built for extended aging. And as he uses very little new oak for most of his Cote de Beaune offerings, the differences provided by vinification with the stems can be all the more pronounced. De Montille himself is remarkably willing to admit when he thinks his choices worked well and when they didn't. All the wines noted in my coverage this year, with the exception of the Corton Clos du Roi and the two cuvees of Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, had been racked in September and were on their fine lees in tank at the time of my visit. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)