Nicolas Potel Tasting – December 6th 2009
Saturday afternoon we hosted another Burgundy tasting here at the shop. Nancy Priest (Frederick Wildman) and Christopher Snead (Frederick P. Winner) were once again on hand to guide us through Mill’s pre-arrival offering of the wines of Nicholas Potel.
Nicolas Potel ascends the castle steps...
Nicolas Potel is a young and dynamic vinificateur, who has made a name for himself since 1998. Many growers sell only to Nicolas and he works closely with them during the growing season. He’s not just another negociant coming to call at the harvest.
“This producer is not just one of the best négociants, it is one of the best producers in Burgundy and certainly better than some hard to find and even harder to pay for ‘big names’. Benchmark wines can be found in this cellar.”
-Burgundy-Report.com
Once again, I came to the tasting armed with a notebook, another round of my pate’ – this time laced with white truffles – and my lucky tasting glass. I was ready for action and action I found. Here are a few of my notes from the tasting;
Nicolas Potel Bourgogne Rouge “Cuvee Gerard Potel” 2007
I actually was introduced to this wine at our Wine Find, and it showed equally as well on Saturday afternoon – A bright and heady ruby-colored wine. Presently on sale for $19.99 (regularly $24.99) Like Stephen Tanzer put it so succinctly in his write-up of the 2007 Cuvee Gerard, “If I were a lab rat in a cage, I would suck this stuff out of a water bottle until I drowned…”
Nicolas Potel Cote de Nuits Villages 2005
Classic nose of slightly sour cherry and cranberry. When this was first opened, it was tight and tough with big, gripping tannins, but as I predicted, the last glass in the bottle purred like a kitten.
Nicolas Potel Morey St. Denis 2005
Some earthy funk opens up to reveal a bloomy nose of sweet tobacco and spice. Enormous structure – built like a tank but elegant as hell. Bright sweet cherry fruit and a long and fantastical finish.
Pommard “Les Fremiers” 2005
Beautiful aromas and flavors of red cherry, rosemary, and a trace of anise. Very “classical” in style, but with a loads of loads of lush fruit and verve.
Clos St. Denis 2006
With a nose of sweet woodsmoke, this was a perfect wine for the slushy and cold weekend we had. Very rustic and robust, but with an undercurrent of sweet and sexy fruit.
Clos de la Roche 2006
My notes were a little scattered and wine-stained by this point, but my impressions of this Clos de la Roche were like a disjointed haiku -
Black tea, black truffles
roses and blackberries
blue flowers in rich black soil
I won’t try and make much more sense out of that. But wow, a rich and huge wine. Tightly wound up, this will definitely evolve into something truly special. Hopefully I’ll be able to try it then and write more coherent poetry.
To inquire about purchasing these wines, please give us a call!
(800) 261.WINE
Postscript;
Once again I made a chicken liver pate’ – thanks for your kind words about it. The difference this time around was the addition of White Truffles…
