Nuits-St-Georges info please

[macrosan]

Someone gave me a present of a boxed bottle of Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru, La Richemone, 1992 for my birthday last year. It looks wonderful in its wooden brass-clasped box, and it came from one of the top wine merchants in London. The question is - is this a great wine, a good wine, or none of the above ? And should I be drinking it now, or waiting?

It says "mise en bouteille a la Propriete par A. Pernin-Rossin" at the bottom. What is "the property"? Is that the same as a "chateau"?

[David Russell]

Sorry, I'm not a fan of this wine. Pernin-Rossin, who has (I believe) recently retired and turned over the running of the domaine (maybe he even sold it) to Christophe Perrot-Minot, is/was one of the most ardent proponents of the Guy Accad vinification: i.e., chill the must way down, blanket it with a massive dose of SO2 to prevent the onset of fermentation, and let it macerate for an extended period of time (20-30 days) before warming it up and again and allowing fermentation to kick-start. The results are, to me, truly bizarre: weird weedy/leafy aromas of stewed vegetables and aromatic herbs (basil, mint). Not much better in the mouth, with an overly dense palate feel and overdone "fruitbomb" flavor profile that is the antithesis of elegance and finesse and seems not even remotely "transparent" in terms of expressing the terroir of its vineyard site. Combine all this with a vintage that is not one of the better ones for Burgundy in the '90s (only '94 was less successful), and I'm afraid there's not much pleasure to be found here.

That said, in the interests of full disclosure, no less an authority than Michel Bettane of "La Revue du Vin de France" is an unabashed fan of Pernin-Rossin's efforts, and what I see as aromas of "rotting veggies" he likens to "bourgeon de cassis." I respect his opinion, but I also think he's flat-out wrong in this case. ;-)