Strikingly high-toned aromas of kirsch, maraschino, almond extract, and smoky black tea in the nose of Rouget’s 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges follow on the palate, accompanied by almost confectionary sucrosity yet also satisfying brightness of cherry, with a mouth-watering undertone of smoked meat broth. There is an almost grappa-like aura to the combination of spirituous fruit manifestations and notes from (30%) new wood, but that impression also helps restrain the sense of sweetness. This finishes convincingly, and conveys levity and refreshment while preserving a sense of textural richness, not to mention ripeness. Further integration of its sweet, bright, spirituous, and oaky elements may come with a bit of bottle age, and I am sure this will hold well for at least 6-8 years. I did not taste the 2008 Vosne-Romanee, which was in the process of being assembled. I tasted Emmanuel Rouget’s 2008s from barrel in April and he was planning to bottle them within a month. According to one of Rouget’s favorite descriptors, the vintage was “tres particulaire,” not to mention challenging. “I harvested at an average of 12%” potential alcohol, he reports, “and chaptalized less than a degree. That sufficed. It was more important to harvest while there was still good weather and besides, it was already cold. There was a lot of acidity, but that conveys a superb equilibrium and level of freshness. The wines really exhibit the plenitude of Pinot.” Rouget rejects what he acknowledges is a widespread comparison of 2008 with 1996, suggesting that the latter “was more marked by sunshine, and resulted in less-noticeable acidity.” (As noted in the introduction to this report, he compares 2008 with 1986.) Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400