Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru “Les Corvées Pagets” Reviews

Black cherry and toasty vanilla aromas and flavors are the hallmarks of this muscular red. Hints of tobacco and chocolate linger. The firm structure begs for patience. 

The 2014 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru les Corvées Pagets was showing just a touch of reduction when I tasted it from barrel, though there seemed to be sufficient fruit concentration underneath. The palate is medium-bodied, the new oak a little more conspicuous here and coating the finish in a thin film of dark chocolate. That should be absorbed by the time of bottling, but I feel this is a slightly more modern style of Nuits Saint Georges (perhaps because it was completely destemmed?). I would like to see more terroir come through by the time of bottling.

Best Buy. An ornate, red-fruikted Nuits, this starts out with the dark, barrel spice of oak and brightens into layers of fruit and earthy scents in the finish. Juicy, tight and youhtfully blunt, this will gain from several years in the cellar.

Expressive aromas of red berries and oak spice grace this polished red, whose tannins are kept at bay by the fleshy texture. Fresh and firm, with spice notes echoing on the finish. Best from 2016 through 2029. 60 cases imported. –BS

An intensely floral and ultra-fresh nose features notes of cool red berries, earth and discreet spice notes. There is more earth and a hint of the sauvage to the humus-inflected, vibrant and attractively textured middle weight flavors that culminate in a moderately austere finish that delivers excellent intensity and very fine persistence. There is a touch of wood that also surfaces but this should be rapidly absorbed.

This is also aromatically dominated by reductive notes but it seems reasonably clear that the underlying fruit is ripe. The textured and well-concentrated flavors possess ripe structuring tannins and fine length. There is good balance and while this is still quite tightly wound there is excellent underlying depth of material that should augur well for up to a decade of improvement.

The 2009 Nuits St. Georges Les Corvees Pagets shows the more delicate side of Nuits in its perfumed, silky fruit. Crushed flowers, sweet herbs and mint add layers of nuance while the silky tannins caress the palate on the finish. The Corvees Paget was made with 40% whole bunches. Tasted from tank. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

An agreeably fresh nose offers up notes of wild red berries with ample soil influence and a hint of the sauvage that carries over to the round and attractively textured middle weight flavors that brim with dry extract that buffers most but not all of the firm and mildly rustic tannic spine. I very much like the overall intensity, balance and impressive length. 2017+