2006 Domaine Sylvain Cathiard Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Thorey 1er Cru

The Cathiard 2006 Nuits St.-Georges Aux Thorey comes from a portion of that cru deeded to him as part of the arrangement made when Dujac and de Montille purchased Thomas-Molliard, on a portion of whose Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts Cathiard had a lease. There is a superficial oak character here (from 80% new barrels) atypical for this address, along with fresh red berries and purple plum, wreathed in pungent suggestions of wood smoke and sweet, lily-like floral perfume. Faintly detached tannins kick in on the finish of what is otherwise an extroverted, ripe, flatteringly polished performance that should remain worth witnessing for at least the next 5-7 years. My report in issue 171 was in error – as both Cathiard and de Montille let me know – in reporting that Cathiard's production of wine from this cru would drop dramatically in consequence of his having agreed to compensation for relinquishing his lease on a share of its acreage. In fact, the portion of Malconsorts that Cathiard farmed under that former agreement never informed his domaine bottling, whose production level will thus be uninfluenced by its absence. Sylvain Cathiard said sorting out rot was not a major challenge for him in 2006 (but in 2007, yes) and that at most 10% of fruit was rejected. Unfortunately, he did not offer me the opportunity to taste half of his wines and I was unable to catch up with them subsequently. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70