Still in barrel when I last tasted it, the Lecheneaut 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges displays a more seamless ripeness than its village-level siblings. Ripe cherry, mocha, resin, new leather, and peat collaborate in the nose and on an expansive and sappy palate displaying bitter-sweetness but not the bifurcation found in some wines of this collection. Even here, though, the synergy of grape tannins and oak results in a touch of awkward finishing astringency. Perhaps this will benefit from its racking and assemblage, and I take 5-7 years of freshness in bottle to represent a reasonable expectation. Vincent and Philippe Lecheneaut's 2008s had with three exceptions been assembled when I tasted them late last winter, but their malos had been extremely protracted and bottling was due to be later than usual. The brothers employed their usual contingent of new wood but backed-off somewhat on the inclusion of stems (employed at low level even in the village wines) and on pigeage, professing overall satisfaction with a vintage in which they testified to considerable nail-biting in the race between ripeness and rot, but whose fruit required, they said, less sorting than had that of 2007. I found the results here from 2008 on the whole formidably-concentrated but awkwardly marked by their wood and disappointingly lacking in charm or primary juiciness. The several 2007s I was able to taste point in the direction of more harmony and fun-in-drinking, and the Lecheneauts indicated that on the whole they find their 2007s more sweetly-fruited than their 2006s, which they suggest represents a role-reversal from those collections tasted in barrel. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Still in barrel when I last tasted it, the Lecheneaut 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges displays a more seamless ripeness than its village-level siblings. Ripe cherry, mocha, resin, new leather, and peat collaborate in the nose and on an expansive and sappy palate displaying bitter-sweetness but not the bifurcation found in some wines of this collection. Even here, though, the synergy of grape tannins and oak results in a touch of awkward finishing astringency. Perhaps this will benefit from its racking and assemblage, and I take 5-7 years of freshness in bottle to represent a reasonable expectation. Vincent and Philippe Lecheneaut's 2008s had with three exceptions been assembled when I tasted them late last winter, but their malos had been extremely protracted and bottling was due to be later than usual. The brothers employed their usual contingent of new wood but backed-off somewhat on the inclusion of stems (employed at low level even in the village wines) and on pigeage, professing overall satisfaction with a vintage in which they testified to considerable nail-biting in the race between ripeness and rot, but whose fruit required, they said, less sorting than had that of 2007. I found the results here from 2008 on the whole formidably-concentrated but awkwardly marked by their wood and disappointingly lacking in charm or primary juiciness. The several 2007s I was able to taste point in the direction of more harmony and fun-in-drinking, and the Lecheneauts indicated that on the whole they find their 2007s more sweetly-fruited than their 2006s, which they suggest represents a role-reversal from those collections tasted in barrel.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083