Yak's Home Page
Introducing Yak
Yak's Rating Scale
Yak's Burgundy Primer
Tasting Notes Archive
Wine & Food Adventures

Nuits - Clos des Argilleres 1990 D. Rion

8/2000. Bought from Patrice Rion at the winery, Apr-96 for $30.
In general I am not a big fan of Nuits-St. George. Not that I have tasted so many, but the dozen or so that I did, always had some crude coarse touch to them, no matter how old or highly-touted they were.
Patrice Rion is a fine winemaker, and 'Clos de Argilleres' is, IMHO, the best of his NSG 1er vineyards.
COLOR: Medium-dark ruby. Very good color for a 10-years (B).
NOSE: Deep, penetrating aromas of forest-fruits, more black than red ones. Excellent 'Bourgogne Nose' with a fine touch of wood to add to the complexity. A fine nose indeed!
TASTE: Less impressive than the nose. Good fruit, reasonable winyness and not lacking in complexity or taste. Yet the wine feels harsh in the mouth. Somehow, though full of character, the wine does not sing.
As we only finished half of the bottle with the meal, we VacuVined it and got back to it the next day. As many times happens (though certainly not always), this time the wine was simply delicious. All of its roughness went away and what we were left with was smooth, stylish wine that is a pleasure to drink...
LENGTH: Medium-long tannins-affected aftertaste on the first day. Rather short but pleasant aftertaste on the second.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied rustic and somewhat coarse wine [a situation altered dramatically by leaving half a bottle for 24 hours]. Good fruit and concentration but not ideally balanced.
OVERALL: Very good now, but effect of letting a re-corked half-bottle stay overnight hints that it may improve a lot in years to come.
MARK: 17/20.BUY MORE? Yes.


Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Yak's Home Page
Introducing Yak
Yak's Rating Scale
Yak's Burgundy Primer
Tasting Notes Archive
Wine & Food Adventures

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.