I have written about a different Les Saint-Georges wine from a different wine-maker (Domaine Robert Chevillon) and a different vintage (2001) in the past. This one comes from Domaine Chevillon-Chezeaux. If you're wondering if there is a shared lineage between the two wine-makers, then you're right.
Around 1914, Eugène-François Chevillon inherited a few premier cru plots. These were later inherited by his two sons, Maurice and and Georges. Georges went on to create Domaine Georges et Michel Chevillon with his son Michel. Michel and his wife Pascale's daughter, Claire, took over her father's domain in 1999. Her husband Philippe Chezeaux joined her in 2000 to create Domaine Chevillon-Chezeaux. Maurice's son Robert started Domaine Robert Chevillon. Robert's sons, Denis and Bertrand partnered with their father in 1990 and since 2003, following Robert's retirement, to manage the domaine.
At a recent introduction to Burgundy class I was teaching, I picked this wine to be the climax of a three-wine Burgundy tasting. We started our tastings with two Côte de Beaune wines: an Aloxe-Corton and a premier cru from neighboring Pernand-Vergelesses, both very respectable Burgundys in their own rights. Our last tasting was the Les Saint-Georges. Pretty much everyone in the class was struck by it. Even if you think you don't know much about wines, when you are able to compare and contrast, you will likely be able to pick out a wine with elegance and finesse.
Les Saint-Georges has long been considered the best climat in Nuit-Saint-Georges. In the past, a group of vintners have applied for promoting the vineyard to grand cru status, alas unsuccessfully, which means the village still has no grand cru appellation vineyards.
A beautiful fall sunset view from Brooklyn, unusually warm, at 53°F for a November evening
A bunch of us enjoyed this together on a beautiful fall evening, the grim air dense with a collective sense of stress, anxiety and tension a couple of days after the 2016 US Presidential election results. This 2012 vintage Chevillon-Chezeaux was very drinkable young. The wonderful bouquet revealed unripe strawberries layered with violets. On the palate, silky smooth and rounded. Even if only for a few minutes, reality be damned, all that is beautiful is all I knew.
The 2012 Domaine Chevillon-Chezeaux Les Saint-Georges is available at Brooklyn Wine Exchange for $89
