Dominique Laurent Nuit St Georges les Damodes 1er Cru 2010 (750ML)

91-93 VM

(from very old vines on a steep slope; no fertilizers were ever used here, according to Laurent): Good deep red. Lovely lift to the blackberry and licorice aromas. Sappy, deep and high-toned, with taut acidity giving definition and verve to the flavors of cranberry, cherry pit, blood orange, flowers and spices. Wonderfully perfumed wine with terrific precision and almost painful cut. Gives the impression of a low pH--and in fact this set of four domain cuvees are between 3.25 and 3.35, according to Laurent, and the wines should be slow to evolve. The fruit for all four wines comes from an 18-year fermage arrangement Laurent has with Alfred Haegelen (Domaine Haegelen-Jayer). Stephen Tanzer