Domaine Xavier Durand, ‘VI’, Cote-de-Nuits Villages 2017

An ex-rugby player for the Nuits St Georges, Xavier Durand’s number was 6 (position left flanker), which is featured on the front label as ‘VI’.  The grapes for this wine are from a 60yr old vineyard 100m from the largest monopole in all of Burgundy, the Nuits St. Georges vineyard Clos de Maréchale.

To the wine… it is aromatic from a foot away and offers up black cherry and dark fruits.  Upon closer inspection, it is dense, dark and spicy – exactly as I expect wines from Nuits St Georges to be.  On the palate the wine has fabulous structure, in fact the structure is one of the enduring features of this wine as it glides over the palate and sails into the long finish.  This is a dense and almost sturdy pinot, the fruit texture flirts with silkiness but lands on plush instead.  It’s a little too raw to be called plump but it’s on the way there, the quality of the fruit is never in question.  Fine tannins and bright acidity bolster the aforementioned fruit, and the oak creates a framework within which it all operates.  Definitely good to drink now – decant it – but even better in a year or two.  Lovely stuff.

94/100

$56 at Lamont’s Wine Store Cottesloe