At close to 50 years, the vines that inform Chauvenet’s 2008 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Chaignots are the oldest sources for any of his crus. Smoky black tea, star anise, black pepper, plum, and cassis in the nose are joined on a concentrated and conspicuously tannic palate by resin and caramel from new wood. This appears to be the exception to my general observation about Chaignots yielding elegant and minerally wines, especially in 2008, as it can hardly be said to display notable refinement. Still, it offers considerable complexity and a welcome juicy exuberance in its long finish. I would plan on cellaring it for at least 3-4 years and anticipate more than a dozen years active live. Hubert Chauvenet testified to normal malos (i.e. finishing in spring – the wines’ first spring that is!). He points to the bright red of his successful 2008s as witness to the health of the corresponding fruit, whereas the 2007s had by the same stage already taken on a hint of garnet, and he tends to agree with me that many 2007s – in which, naturally he did not include his own! – were at their most exuberant and expressive while still in cask. Vigilant canopy-management and aggressive fruit-dropping have long been constants here. Chauvenet’s cellar has now been arranged to permit delivery of his fruit to the fermentation vats via conveyor and to eliminate pumping, and the refinement of tannins and clarity of fruit I witnessed in the best of these 2008s – especially considering that their author still favors high levels of new wood – can almost surely be traced to those developments. And speaking of clarity, Chauvenet pointed out that several of his 2008s are on the edge of what he deems acceptable turbidity and unfortunately resisted naturally clarifying to any greater degree. But after due consideration, he decided to bottle, as usual, without filtration, a wise move I would guess, given how well these 2008s have turned out.Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832 9083
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