92+ John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"Like all of the Hospices de Nuits cuvées, this wine is raised initially in one hundred percent new oak, but Laurent Lignier racks this into three to four year-old barrels as soon as the malolactic fermentation is complete, so that the wine is not too marked by its new oak. In 2011, the malo finished up fairly briskly and the wine was racked out of its new oak after seven months. The results are impressive on both the nose and palate, as the wine offers up a fine aromatic mix of dark berries, cassis, bitter chocolate, a nice touch of youthful Nuits St. Georges medicinal overtones, dark soil and plenty of cedary new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and quite elegant for young Nuits, with a fine core of pure fruit, firm, well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the tangy and soil-driven finish. This is an excellent wine in the making, and though it is a touch oakier than the other premier crus in the cellar, it is beautifully-balanced and the wood is far from obtrusive. Fine juice. 2020- 2050+."