Nuits - Les Pruliers..... Nuits - Haute Pruliers.....

Wanting to introduce some friends to the "One vineyard - Many owners" aspect of (B) wines, I opted to open two seemingly identical wines to be consumed side by side along a nice dinner.
Both were Nuits-St. Georges 1er Cru, both were from the excellent 1990 vintage, and both were made by reputable producers: Robert Chevillon and Patrice Rion. Furthermore, the two vineyards are adjacent, "Les Pruliers" and "Haute Pruliers". As usual with these names, "Les Pruliers" might be considered a slightly better vineyard than "Haute Pruliers" (The 'higher' vineyard lying on a steeper slope above the main 1er Cru belt).
Hard to think of a more 'controlled' experiment to let the winemaker - and not any other parameter - shine (or not!).
Let's see...

Nuits - Les Pruliers	1990	R. Chevillon

12/97. Acquired from London Sep-95 for $33 (Imported for $45 net).
COLOR: Dark ruby-red. Slight clearing towards the rim.
NOSE: Quite faint at first, hardly noticeable. With time, some aromas did come out of the glass, but they were more vegetative than fruity and not particularly appealing.
TASTE: Coarse, straight-forward (B). Closer to generic Burgundy or a lowly village wine than to a 1er Cru. Drinkable but not much more.
LENGTH: Nothing.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Coarse and (relatively) heavy. Not watery or diluted, but lacks charm or grip.
OVERALL: Less than 'good'. A disappointing (B). Why did I have to buy three bottles at the time???
MARK: 14/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? No.

Nuits - Haute Pruliers	1990	D. Rion

12/97. Bought that one from Patrice Rion at his cellar Apr-96 for $30.
COLOR: Similar in color to the Chevillon bottle. Very slight clearing towards the rim.
NOSE: Very nice 'Bourgogne Nose' mingled with red fruits. Delicate yet profound. With time, the nose gained an ethery quality that made it a real pleasure to sniff.
TASTE: Though much tastier and generally of higher quality than Chevillon's bottle, the sturdiness of the Nuits-St. Georges wines was also apparent here. Mouth-filling and expressive of the vintage, both fruit and winyness were very pleasant on the palate.
LENGTH: Medium, yet good aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied, good fruit, tannins and acidity. Very nicely balanced, if not extremely complex or multi-layered.
OVERALL: Very good+! I am not a big fan of Nuits-St. George in general, but this is a good example. A very well made wine.
MARK: 16+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.