Wine Advisor
Nicolas Potel, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2006
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
The Potel 2006 Clos de la Roche offers a similarly gripping but more texturally refined and pure-fruited experience than the corresponding Clos St.-Denis. Smoked meat, dark berry concentrate, black tea, and roasted meats fill the mouth, leading to a lingering, saliva-inducing finish. In the final analysis, there is a trade off between the mystery of the Clos St.-Denis and the greater clarity and refinement here. They will make a fascinating pair to follow over the next 6-8 years. Nicolas Potel consistently favors promoting ripeness at low potential alcohol and consistently eschews chaptalization. He is also a fan of freshness and clarity in Pinot, while maintaining notably low levels of sulfur. A vintage where a significant share of fruit came in near or above 14% potential alcohol and was shadowed by botrytis was thus a challenge, which seems to have been selectively well met. (For more on the style and methods associated with Maison Nicolas Potel – whose wines are sourced from a mixture of contract fruit and purchased juice – consult my report in issue 171.) Despite the huge number of 2006s I tasted here, incidentally, they did not represent the entire Potel vintage collection. In May, 2009, Potel left the negociant firm that bears his name (and which belongs to the Cottin brothers, owners of Laboure-Roi) to devote himself entirely to his own domaine and negociant operation, Maison Roche de Bellene, which crushed its first grapes with the 2007 vintage (in part from Potel holdings that were showcased in Maison Potel bottlings of vintages 2005 and 2006). Long-time cellarmaster Fabrice Lesne has now assumed direction of Maison Potel. By the way, suggested retail prices for the 2006s here took a sharp downturn vis-a-vis those for the 2005s, an occurrence worth noting for its rarity. (That said, of course the effective, eventual retail prices for all 2006s have turned on market factors that transcended cellar door prices, let alone the parameters envisioned by national importers). Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700
About the Producer
Maison Nicolas Potel is a Burgundy négociant business founded in 1997. While the house owns no vineyards, Potel makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from some of the most highly regarded sites in the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Potel has access to multiple grand cru and premier cru vineyards, notably producing Corton, Charmes-Chambertin and Echézeaux Grand Cru wines, among others. Wines are also produced at the village level from regions all over Burgundy, including Chablis and the Maconnais, as well as Beaujolais to the south. Although initially eponymous, winemaker Nicolas Potel is no longer associated with the wines bearing his name (although discussions were reportedly under way several years ago). Potel's father was manager of Domaine de la Pousse d'Or until his death in 1996. The resulting sale of Pousse d'Or led Nicolas to start his own winery using his relationships with Burgundy growers to secure high-quality fruit. In 2005, he sold the winery (and brand name) to the Cottin brothers who owned the Burgundy négociant label Labouré-Roi. Potel remained involved until 2009, when he bought his own vineyards, although his name remains. He now owns the labels Domaine de Bellene in Beaune and Domaine Potel-Aviron in Beaujolais.
