Bouchard Père & Fils : Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru "Les Cailles" Domaine 2017

Dark and mysterious, with intense flavors of black currant, black cherry, licorice, mint and toast permeating the lush texture. The firm tannins build as this finishes long, echoing fruit and spice details. Best from 2021 through 2035. 200 cases imported.

The 2017 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru has a relatively light bouquet of brambly red fruit, with earthy and briary touches emerging over time. The medium-bodied palate offers sappy red fruit and comes across quite tight and spicy, missing some refinement toward the finish. A bit chewy at the moment, but there is decent body and this may improve with bottle age. It depends on whether the dry finish becomes more astringent with time. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.

A real character on the nose, with harmonics leaning toward leather and spices, but a slightly thick tannin supports a body less harmonious than that of the porrets; the grapes did not come from vines that reacted as well to the climate.

Attractive aromas of raspberries and cherries mingling with nuances of blood orange, grilled squab and dark chocolate introduce the 2017 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles, a wine that's showing substantially better than it did from barrel in December. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, showing good depth and dimension at the core, fine but chalky structuring tannins and good length on the finish.