The 2006 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Cailles introduces another level of complexity, focus, and concentration from the premier cru bottlings that preceded it in this Chevillon line-up, paralleling the jump in price with which it is assocated. Enveloping yet bright ripe black currant and black raspberry mingle with toasted pecan, cocoa powder, and vanilla. A high-toned, distilled dimension to the fruit adds considerable allure, and a diverse yet largely ineffable range of stony and crystalline mineral suggestions offers counterpoint in the dynamic dialog that ensues, continuing into a long, savory, yet faintly bitter and decidedly chalky finish. I would wait a couple of years and then plan to enjoy this for 6-8 more. Given the superb track record of this estate's wines even in perceived weak and/or youthfully generous vintages - I think, for example, of the youthfully delicious 1992s I purchased at deeply-discounted prices and only recently finished enjoying - it would be foolish to admonish Burgundy lovers to drink their 2006s up early. Nevertheless, like so many of the best wines of this vintage, they are for the most part already on call - or very soon will be - to deliver generously. Bertrand Chevillon reports that little sorting was required above the level of village wines (the team here began picking Pinot September 22), and that while alcoholic fermentation was unusually protracted, the course of elevage from the standpoint of human interaction was unexceptional, save for backing off a pit on pigeage. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Good deep red. Brooding aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and smoky minerals are reticent but pure, with a chalky nuance emerging with air and carrying through onto the palate. Impressively rich and dense, offering superb depth of fruit with considerable power. The big, spreading tannins saturate the palate. Not finer than the 2007 but chewier and larger-scaled.

Fresh, black cherry very opulent fruit, with a hint of green stalkiness. Not the most elegant wine but certainly serviceable. (JR)