Tasting Notes
Neal Martin 90
The 2016 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Argillas 1er Cru is showing a touch of reduction, hints of bacon fat percolating through the red fruit, a touch too savoury at this early stage. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black and red fruit that coat the mouth. I find this opaque and missing some race and tension, almost blocky towards the finish. Hopefully bottle age will impart more breeding. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2040
Stephen Tanzer 91-93
(13.1% alcohol; aging in 50% new oak but I tasted it from a one-year-old barrel): Dark red with ruby tones, but less saturated than most of the preceding wines. Discreet if slightly musky nose offers aromas of berries, spices, licorice and flowers; pure but quite reserved. Not a powerhouse but nicely balanced, suave and complex, showing well-integrated acidity and a fine dusting of tannins. The lively rising finish offers noteworthy energy. Not at all a chunky style of Nuits-Saint-Georges. Tardy told me that the northwest half of the vineyard was hit by frost flowing in through the combe, and that he ultimately lost about 30% of his production.
