Representing eight barrels from four suppliers, the Maison Potel 2008 Clos de la Roche smells of wood smoke, resin, maple syrup, dark berries, purple plum, and crushed stone. This displays impressive sap and stamina on the palate, with an intensity of fruit nicely poised between confiture and freshness, the tartness and piquancy of skins and pits adding to an energetic and invigorating finishing impression. The sense of stony minerality, too, persists impressively. This ought to be worth following for 15 or more years. In mid 2009, Nicolas Potel was forced out of the negociant firm that bears his name by the owners of its parent company, Laboure-Roi. (For more about Nicolas Potel’s own new negociant and domaine, see under “Roche de Bellene” and “Domaine de Bellene.”) Other members of the team responsible for Maison Nicolas Potel wines – including cellarmaster Fabrice Lesne – remain in place. I tasted more than half of their 2008s – a line-up considerably reduced in numbers as well as different in particulars from that which had come to prevail under Potel’s tenure (and bereft of some obvious gems) – and sampled a few of their 2007s: the last collection here that Nicolas Potel guided to bottle; an exceptionally impressive one for its vintage based on what I could taste; and one characterized by levels of alcohol (generally under 12.5%) unusually modest by any standards, not to mention those prevailing in 2007. Many of the Potel 2008s were tardy in undergoing malo; a few were not finished until Spring of last year and thus not taste-able when I last visited. No wines had yet been bottled at that time either, but all of those that I tasted were ready for bottling, and where applicable assembled in tank. It would be an understatement to note that it is bound to be awkward for both parties from a marketing standpoint to have your operation named for someone no longer involved but rather competing with you, someone whose wines in turn cannot be labeled with his own name. But under the unfortunate historical circumstances, there may for at least the foreseeable future be no alternative. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Having the same sources as the 2008, Maison Potel’s 2007 Clos de la Roche offers a combination of smoky pungency and rhubarb-like tartness found in some other wines of this collection but rare in the vintage as a whole. Dark cherry, burley tobacco, resinous notes from barrel, crushed stone, and brown spices contribute to a complex, sappily-concentrated but rather severely tannic palate impression, and this leads to a forceful and persistent though slightly grainy finish. This ought to be worth following for at least a dozen years. In mid 2009, Nicolas Potel was forced out of the negociant firm that bears his name by the owners of its parent company, Laboure-Roi. (For more about Nicolas Potel’s own new negociant and domaine, see under “Roche de Bellene” and “Domaine de Bellene.”) Other members of the team responsible for Maison Nicolas Potel wines – including cellarmaster Fabrice Lesne – remain in place. I tasted more than half of their 2008s – a line-up considerably reduced in numbers as well as different in particulars from that which had come to prevail under Potel’s tenure (and bereft of some obvious gems) – and sampled a few of their 2007s: the last collection here that Nicolas Potel guided to bottle; an exceptionally impressive one for its vintage based on what I could taste; and one characterized by levels of alcohol (generally under 12.5%) unusually modest by any standards, not to mention those prevailing in 2007. Many of the Potel 2008s were tardy in undergoing malo; a few were not finished until Spring of last year and thus not taste-able when I last visited. No wines had yet been bottled at that time either, but all of those that I tasted were ready for bottling, and where applicable assembled in tank. It would be an understatement to note that it is bound to be awkward for both parties from a marketing standpoint to have your operation named for someone no longer involved but rather competing with you, someone whose wines in turn cannot be labeled with his own name. But under the unfortunate historical circumstances, there may for at least the foreseeable future be no alternative. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

The Potel 2006 Clos de la Roche offers a similarly gripping but more texturally refined and pure-fruited experience than the corresponding Clos St.-Denis. Smoked meat, dark berry concentrate, black tea, and roasted meats fill the mouth, leading to a lingering, saliva-inducing finish. In the final analysis, there is a trade off between the mystery of the Clos St.-Denis and the greater clarity and refinement here. They will make a fascinating pair to follow over the next 6-8 years. Nicolas Potel consistently favors promoting ripeness at low potential alcohol and consistently eschews chaptalization. He is also a fan of freshness and clarity in Pinot, while maintaining notably low levels of sulfur. A vintage where a significant share of fruit came in near or above 14% potential alcohol and was shadowed by botrytis was thus a challenge, which seems to have been selectively well met. (For more on the style and methods associated with Maison Nicolas Potel – whose wines are sourced from a mixture of contract fruit and purchased juice – consult my report in issue 171.) Despite the huge number of 2006s I tasted here, incidentally, they did not represent the entire Potel vintage collection. In May, 2009, Potel left the negociant firm that bears his name (and which belongs to the Cottin brothers, owners of Laboure-Roi) to devote himself entirely to his own domaine and negociant operation, Maison Roche de Bellene, which crushed its first grapes with the 2007 vintage (in part from Potel holdings that were showcased in Maison Potel bottlings of vintages 2005 and 2006). Long-time cellarmaster Fabrice Lesne has now assumed direction of Maison Potel. By the way, suggested retail prices for the 2006s here took a sharp downturn vis-a-vis those for the 2005s, an occurrence worth noting for its rarity. (That said, of course the effective, eventual retail prices for all 2006s have turned on market factors that transcended cellar door prices, let alone the parameters envisioned by national importers). Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700