Domaine Robert Chevillon
2011
Nuits St. Georges "Les Vaucrains" 1er ♥
1er Cru Red 750 ml
Score: 92
Tasted: Jan 15, 2014
Drink: 2023+
Issue: 53
Outstanding
Note: from a 1.5 ha parcel
Producer note: Bertrand Chevillon called the 2012 a "complicated and challenging vintage that in the end gave us both good and bad news. The bad news is that quantities were off between 40 and 50% due to the poor flowering but the good news is that the quality of the raw materials was first rate. Just to provide you with an idea, very generally speaking that are around 100 berries per bunch in a typical vintage but in 2012 there were between 50 and 60. We began picking on the 20th of September and you really couldn't ask for cleaner fruit as there was literally zero rot. Phenolic maturities were excellent and the potential alcohols were very good at around 12.5%. We did our normal vinification and the result is very rich and concentrated wines that should have early appeal but also age very well as there is no reason why they shouldn't." Chevillon noted that the domaine changed its label as of the 2011 vintage so fans should look for a change when those wines appear in the market place. Note I revisited two now in-bottle 2011s and one 2010 below. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, www.kermitlynch.com, Berkeley, CA; A&B Vintners, www.abvintners.co.uk, and Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, both UK).
Tasting note: This is very reserved, indeed to the point where the nose is borderline taciturn and requires considerable swirling to reveal the ripe and intensely earthy nose of animale inflected dark berry fruit. The concentrated, powerful and muscular broad-shouldered flavors ooze with an abundance of dry extract that actually causes the very firm tannins to appear more civilized than they really are. Despite the reserve of the nose the austere finish is explosive and the length is excellent.
