"As It Should Be, But So Rarely Is..."
2007 Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges 1er Crus
Les Cailles and Les Vaucrains
Nuits-St-Georges Benchmark
Lowest Price in the Nation
Matt Kramer in Making Sense of Burgundy says Chevillon is how NSG should be, but so rarely is: "concentrated, tannic, almost painfully intense, but with no apparent winemaking signature."
That's Chevillon:A dead-honest proclamation of terroir.
This is Nuits-St-Georges in all its meaty, rustic, textured glory. These are unmistakable, clear-speaking, reference point Nuits-St-Georges - rich with fruit, animal, mineral and soil in equal parts.
Quite honestly, these are two of THE wines coming out of Nuits-St-Georges - impressive creatures with exemplary winemaking and outstanding vineyards as their parents.
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Les Cailles and Les Vaucrains along with Les St. Georges are heralded as the most premier premier cru plots in NSG. The three sit huddled together, a holy trinity at the southern end of the commune, Les St. Georges butting up against Premeaux-Prissey with Vaucrains immediately upslope and Cailles a shuffle-step to the right as you look at the hill.
Les Cailles is the stoniest plot, delivering perhaps the most structure while still beaming with grace, while Vaucrains is often the more intensely aromatic and concentrated. Both 07s are marked with more finesse than is usual and, as the Burghound describes, a "more deeply pitched earthy" element. If the Les St. Georges is the obvious target for NSG fans, tickets to that show also start at about 30% more than Cailles and Vaucrains - the latter two are stunning wines and stunning values.
Domaine Robert Chevillon, now run by Robert's sons Bertrand and Denis, is, along with Domaine Henri Gouges, the benchmark in NSG.Shunning modern winemaking techniques like cold maceration, low temperature fermentations or new oak, the estate really only poked its head fully onto the scene in the 1970s after it increased its holdings from three hectares to 13, began bottling under its own label and, in 1979, exporting its wine.
Still, the reputation of the domaine was already shaping up on the basis of their vintages from the 60s and 70s: Here was a domaine with real consistency, great wines year in and year out, and now, some of the choicest plots in the commune. The 80s solidified buyers' confidence in Chevillon with a continuing streak of phenomenal wines vintage after vintage, each individual wine a precisely-tuned expression of its own site.
For our money, 2007 beautifully complemented wines from Nuits-St-Georges, all the area's muscle, spice and sinew cloaked in the year's pretty, softly ripe, lively fruit and fresh aromatics. The classic dark berries are fully present, as is the forest musk, the gaminess, the intensity backed with power, but there's also a little bit more spring in these steps, a lovely streak of bright, red-fruited perfume coursing through them, the subtle mark of the vintage. (Burghound's tasting notes below.)
Popular opinion may hold that 07 red Burgundies are for early, easy drinking, but Nuits-St-Georges is a different animal - though there's a tremendous amount of fruit here, especially in the 07s, these are still surprisingly sturdy, and those of you who are lucky enough to lose a few in the cellar will likely be very happy finding them a decade from now.
Chevillon's 78s are just coming into swing now and are fully impressive. Truly, old premier cru NSG from a producer like Chevillon has the potential to age like the great grand crus of the Côte de Nuits - though the NSG results, happily, come at a much, much more accessible price.
Our parcels for today's offer are small, and once they're gone, so is this pricing. To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Les Cailles
Compare at $80-120
Burghound: This is equally pure though less elegant and much more sauvage in character with much more deeply pitched earthy and gamy dark berry fruit aromas that precede the rich, sweet and vibrant flavors that culminate with good detail and a focused finish that exudes controlled power. This possesses excellent potential and this is a bit finer than it usually is with dense but fine tannins and a touch of backend wood. One rarely hears finesse and Vaucrains in the same sentence but this is one such exception.
Wine is pre-arrival
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