1985 Henri Jayer, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Aux Murgers

Paul Seah

This blew my socks of. It had a beautiful nose to start of with -not knowing what it was, I wrote that this was pure Vosne on the bouquet, with wafts of spice and herb dancing around sweet dark cherry aromas edged by a little bit of vanilla, with only a hint of minerality and shaes of earthy, meaty funk perhaps pointing towards NSG instead. I loved it on the palate - it was so giving and generous, with sweet flavours of fresh cherries and red berries that were so open and fresh and juicy that they just brought a smile to my face. It was absolutely delicious all the way into a finish of superb length, where the sweet fruit melded into more savoury shades of sour plums and a hit of warm spice. So very complete, and still fresh and grippy too, with a little squeeze of fine, long tannins tugging away on the back-palate. Somehow, for all its deliciousness and Vosne-like flavours, when push came to shove, this still clearly had that extra muscle and structure (especially when compared to the softer, more seductive Vosne Brulees alongside) to mark it out as an NSG. Brilliant now, but this will go on for a long time yet.