A Taste of 2012 Nuits-St-Georges

2012 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Nuits-St-Georges “Aux St. Jacques”
Price: $59/bottle

Due to challenges with weather and other natural influences, the 2012 vintage in Burgundy yielded only a fraction of a normal harvest. The good news is that thanks to poor flowering many of the grapes were small, so the ratio of skin to juice was usefully high, resulting in wines with excellent structure and depth. The majority of skilled burgundy producers have created 2012 vintage wines that are delightfully pure and unforced. The bad news is that, with a string of low-yielding years, Burgundy isn’t getting any cheaper, which makes this deal on an outstanding Nuits-St-Georges even more compelling.

Taking over winemaking responsibilities from his father, Thierry, in 2009, third generation winemaker Sébastien Odoul farms a little over 20 acres of land in the Côte de Nuits, including a handful of Grand and Premier Cru plots. As with all serious growers, Sébastien is meticulous in the vineyard. His cellar practices are minimal intervention so the wines articulate the terroir of individual sites. You may have picked up a few bottles of Sébastien’s elegant 2011 Morey-St-Denis that we brought in at the end of last year. That wine was charismatic and we sold out of around 13 cases in just a few weeks.

After tasting Sébastien’s 2012 Nuits-St-Georges “Aux St. Jacques” we promptly secured the lot – and with Burgundy “the lot” typically consists of a few cases. The lieu-dit “Aux St. Jacques” is in the zone Vosnoise, to the far north of the commune and bordering Vosne-Romanée. You could toss a stone into “Aux Réas” from there. It is a wine with all the sturdiness you expect from Nuits-St-Georges, yet hinting at the fleshy richness of Vosne-Romanée. The nose is layered and exuberant, with hallmark aromas of bright red fruits and fresh earth. While there’s no reason not to drink it as soon as you get home, it will evolve in a cellar for years, likely developing notes of leather and truffles as it ages.

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Posted on 2015.02.19 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy