The 2015 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots has a generous, lively bouquet with dark cherries, a hint of blackcurrant and cold stone - very defined with good fruité. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe red cherry and cranberry fruit. It possesses an agreeable sense of reserve towards the second half: more structured with grainy tannins and a chalkiness lingering on the aftertaste. Mugneret-Gibourg aside, Les Chaignots does get better than this. This is an outstanding effort.

The 2014 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru les Chaignots was showing a touch of mushroom and leafiness on the nose when I tasted it (and incidentally this is 100% destemmed, so it was not from "les raffles"). The palate is better with fresh strawberry and raspberry fruit, quite firm tannin in the mouth, a little conservative perhaps but with appreciable salinity developing on the strict finish. Classic in style, give this just a couple of years in bottle.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots has a complex bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, sandalwood and damp undergrowth, a hint of wilted violet emerging with time. The palate is fresh and pure on the entry, marked by supple, saturated tannin, layers of red cherry and strawberry and demonstrating impressive density on the finish that betrays some stem addition. This is a wine that is determined to make an impression and it does so without ostentation or vulgarity. Tasted September 2016.

Tasted blind at Flint Wines’ 2007/2012 Nuits Saint-Georges tasting in London. The 2012 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots has ripe cherry and cranberry scents on the nose, earthy and rustic in character, later on finding scents of woodbine and undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied, simple and straightforward, balanced and yet lacking real complexity and nuance on the finish. Adequate, but nothing special compared to more recent vintages. Tasted November 2016.

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. The Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru les Chaignots 2011 has a rather rambunctious bouquet with potent red and black spicy fruit, plenty of oak that with aeration begins to dominate the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine grip and a pleasant saline note on the finish. However, the tannins presently feel rather obtrusive and tend to make it drier than I would have liked.