Ripe black cherry and cassis mingled with herbs and leather scent the 2006 Nuits-St.-Georges Clos des Porrets St.-Georges. A complex though hard-to-pin-down sense of things mineral and carnal accompanies this wine's sweetly rich black fruits across a silken palate, and faintly medicinal, herbal, black tea, iodine, cardamom, and bitter fruit pit notes add intrigue to a long, dynamic finish.. A silken texture and refined tannins again present the option to relish this for its generosity now, or at any time over at minimum the next 7-9 years. To hear Christian Gouges tell – and, indeed, to taste the wines – there was nothing terribly problematic about 2006 or exceptional about his approach to it; he considers his (in the context of this vintage) relatively low finished alcohols of 12.5-13% ideal; and he says the wines all clarified beautifully without fining or filtration. I find the denser, more structured 2005s here are completely routed by the 2006s' charm offensive, though perhaps a return engagement half a dozen or more years from now will prove a fairer fight. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802