The Modern and the Traditional
- A Modern Notion of How to Work the Land to Create the Best Grapes
- A Traditional Approach to Winemaking
- Alain Michelot's Nephew
- These Wines Are Miracles in a Bottle
- If You Have Cellar Space Buy As Much As You Can and Forget Them for 10 Years
2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes
- 24 HL/HA Yields
- Shocking Levels of Density - Utterly Elite
- A Tour de Force in Winemaking
- Underpriced by at Least a Factor of 4 (with Age)
- I Recently Gave the 2013 a 9.7
- Nose: Super Fragrant
- Ethereal with Deep Rich Fruit and Pungent Stoniness
- Mashed Black Flowers
- Violets, Roses
- Pungent Almost Lurid Red Fruit Quality
- Black Cherries in Pastelle Clay
- Nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges
- Palate: Amazing Richness and Density
- Almost Like an Invasive Species of Pinot Noir in Your Mouth
- A Holy Crap OMG Wine
2018 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts"
- The Same Kind of Insane Effort Winemaking
- More Affordable Terroir (Les Beaumonts = Best Terroir in Chorey)
- Gorgeous Aromas of Raspberry Cake, Dank, Dark Cherries
- Loads of Complexity
- Complex and Fragrant Nose of Raspberry Coulis
- Smoke, Tin, Leather
- Palate: Ripe and So Juicy
- Bright Mid Season Cherries
- Amazing Balance and Purity
- Concentrated and So, So Sappy
- Amazing Purity
- Terrific Inner Mouth Aromas
- Fantastic Mineral Spine
- Amazing Texture
If You Cellar Burgundy, You Need to Buy These Wines
There are a handful of people even in Burgundy even trying to make wines like this. And most of them are well known and the wines cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The first vintages of Ledy's Nuits St. Georges are just coming into their prime. So few people have tried them. And let me tell you, they are exactly what I expected. You can taste these next to any Burgundies you like and they will stand to toe with them. These are underpriced by at least a factor of 4.
Here’s the thing about Ledy. He’s a genius of the highest degree. But his wines need age. They demand age. I’ve been drinking my 12/13/14 Ledy’s and they are mindbending today. I emailed Vincent recently and asked if his 2013 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes was ready to drink and he actually said YES! He never ever says his wines are ready to drink. But he said yes and I opened it and it blew my mind. At 9 years old it was just divine. I gave it a 9.7. First time I’ve ever had this bottle as it was entering its drinking window. And it was easily the best NSG I’ve had at Fass. Easily on the same level as Brisset. I also had the 2014 Chorey-Les-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” and that was also stunning and gave it a 9.4.
The Winemaker
...but Jasper Morris, British Burgundy legendary critic has posted in the past about a visit with him in Burgundy and I was thrilled about it. He said he makes "promising powerful reds." And yes he does.
The Wines
The 2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes is $102.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. It's probably next to the Poisot Romanee St. Vivant, a few Brisset reds, the best Red Burgundy I sell. This is from 85+ year old vines. Yields for this wine were only 24 hl/ha versus an average of 37 for NSG Premier Crus. This wine is a love letter and a tour de force in winemaking. It is a work of remarkable genius.
The nose. Super fragrant nose. Like the best fragrance you can imagine. 13 was darker and had lower yields and more brooding. 14 had more lift to it and is a bit more evenly fruited between black, blue and red. 18 is more ethereal with deep rich fruit and pungent stoniness that makes it insanely distinct. It also has terrific crunch with all that rich yet energetic 2018 fruit. Mashed black flowers and tons of stoney minerality. So floral. Violets, roses, just beguiling. But all of this is on a bed of stone. Limestone. There is also a confectionary aroma as well that envelops the black cherries and blackberries. Big sappy blackberries and black cherries. But there is also a pungent almost lurid red fruit quality that intermingles as well. I also get a iron/graphite mineral/ore component. The aromas are just off the charts. The wine is flat out brilliant. It is so deep. But what the 18 has that the earlier vintages just fall short of is the remarkable finesse that only comes from the best sites in the best years. This is the most finesse I've ever had in a young Ledy and it will only grow more elegant with time. For something so big it floats. I once compared Ledy's style to the great Henri Gouges and this is the wine that made me think Gouges as soon as I smelled it. Like black cherries in pastille clay. This is one of the most expensive direct wines I offer, but I offer it because there is nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges. The wine is an elixir in that the care and love that Vincent puts into it is second to none. You can taste it. The wine is always opening and changing. You see Vincent's artistry here as he uses no new barrels in this wine and the character of the great 1er Cru site "Les Porrets Saint-Georges" shines through. This is naked Burgundy at its finest.
The palate has amazing richness and density and the power and density of the site and the old vine sap are apparent in spades. Yet it is so crisp and fresh which is remarkable for a 2018. The inner mouth aromas are some of the best I've ever encountered. It takes over every nook and cranny of your mouth like nothing I've ever had. It's almost like an invasive species of Pinot Noir in your mouth. The tannins are firm and the energy on the palate is second to none. The freshness and acid combined with the density, length and richness are some of the best I've encountered. This is a holy crap OMG wine. It's a wine I hope to cellar every vintage. And i have. This wine needs extensive cellaring which is a throwback in Burgundy considering so many burgs these days don't demand cellaring like they used to. With the 2018 as in the 2014 vintage Vincent made this wine into two cuvees, separating the young vines and old vines.
What a wine. I can easily put this in a lineup of the top NSG (Mugneret-Gibourg NSG Chaignots, Gouges Vaucrains/Les St. Georges, Chevillon Vaucrains/Les St. Georges) and it would finish at top or in top 3. It is top, top wine.
From vines planted in 1935. Open bunches with small grapes which therefore merit a percentage of whole bunches in the fermentation tank. Rich dense purple black with significantly greater weight of fruit than the regular bottling. Firm thick tannins at the back but with such a wealth of fruit that this should come through. Incidentally, the 2019 shows great promise at this early stage.- 91-94 Jasper Morris (for 2018)
Up next I have by far the best Chorey-Le-Beaune in Burgundy. The Grand Cru beater. The 2018 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Terrific vintage for by far the best Chorey in Burgundy. Most Chorey is forgettable in my opinion. Sorry Tollot-Beaut. Also Les Beaumonts is the best terroir in Chorey. The La Tache of Chorey-Les-Beaune.
Gorgeous aromas of raspberry cake, dank dark cherries, some earth, some animal, spice and loads of complexity. Will open more with air and it did as I always spend so much time in Vincent's cellar. Complex and fragrant nose of raspberry coulis after 45 minutes with smoke, tin, leather, more smoke and minerals. So complex. Amazing raspberry cake. Stunning aroma.Really, clearly defined mid season cherry fruit with just amazing brightness, depth and clarity. Striking. Earth, spice and citrus round it out once it reaches its aromatic apogee.
Palate is ripe and so juicy with just stunning precision and dazzling purity. Big bright mid season cherries and amazing balance. Finish never ends. This is easily 1er Cru quality. Closed as Vincent's wines are super powerful and need time to unfurl but having said that in ripe vintages such as 18, 17 and 15 his wines shine like no other. Concentrated and so, so sappy with amazing purity. Terrific inner mouth aromas that are floral and fruity with a fantastic mineral spine. Amazing texture and such impressive high quality ripe tannins. Clean as a whistle. This is so so impressive. The purity of the fruit on the finish. Stunning. After an hour of air the palate is ripe and sweet with slippery fruit but firm tannins on the back end. Long finish and great quality tannins but firm tannins. Really long and raspberry hits along the way. Fantastic balance and purity. Age is key for Ledy and I see this improving a lot over the next 10 years. Terrific concentration and power. Also shows great finesse despite being a big bodied wine. Wait 5 years. If you want drink me nows Ledy is not your guy but Boussey/Girard fit the bill.
2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges - Vieilles Vignes" - $104.99 ($308.97 3-pack)
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