Wine Advisor
Henri Gouges, Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains 2011
View analysis
Description
Located out of the Combe des Vallerots and right on top of the renowned parcel of the “Saint Georges”, the estate’s parcel is right in the middle of the hillside, defined on its higher part by the forest borders. The production of grapes is naturally very low: when tasting, these are intense wines, characteristic of their terroir through freshness and minerality. The Vaucrains are nevertheless exceptional long-keeping wines, which require a dozen years to reveal their full potential.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru has a more reserved bouquet than the Les Pruliers: oyster shell scents permeating the red cherries and crushed strawberry scents, just a touch of smoke with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, more backward than the Les Pruliers but with a sense of energy on the finish despite its leanness. I feel that this will develop more flesh and substance with bottle age, so keep it in the locker for another four or five years. Like the Les Pruliers, this bottle shows better than the one at the Gouges retrospective. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru is consistent with the bottle shown at the 2011 horizontal a few weeks earlier. Reserved on the nose with those faint oyster shell scents, the palate is medium-bodied, maybe towards the lean side and just requiring more vim and vigor on the finish. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(cropped at just 24 hectoliters per hectare, according to Gregory Gouges, who noted that the 2011 version of this wine includes a small percentage of 15-year-old vines): Bright dark red. Sexy, vivacious, very pure aromas of cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and licorice. Suave and silky on the palate, with uncommon delicacy for Vaucrains, not to mention terrific energy. Sappy, fine-grained and sweet, with a very long, fruit-driven finish that titillates the taste buds. This lovely Vaucrains avoids the chocolatey superripeness I often find in the warmest vintages.
About the Producer
Domaine Henri Gouges is located in the Nuits-Saint-Georges wine region of Burgundy, France, and is one of the best known wineries in the region. Château Henri Gouges is owned by the Gouges family. The family has been growing grapes for several generations. Today the family owns Château Henegault, which was purchased in 1919. The estate currently has 14.5 hectares of vineyards, including six first growths in Nuit St Georges. All the grapes harvested at the winery are destemmed and then fermented in concrete vats for approximately 15 days. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred to small oak barrels, about a quarter of which are renewed annually. The wines are bottled at the Château using egg whites to underglaze and filter them before being bottled at the estate. The wines produced by Château Henegault in the 1940s and 1950s were full-bodied, aromatic and restrained, ideal for ageing. Later, due to the renewal of the vines in the vineyard, the wines produced in the 1970s and 1980s were much lighter in body. Today, Château Henegault can once again produce powerful, complex wines. Demand for Henrico's wines has always outstripped supply because of the strict control over quality and production. The wines produced by the estate are now increasingly difficult to find and have become the object of many wine lovers' collections.
