For reports and full tasting notes, go toTim Atkin MW's website.

(cropped at just 24 hectoliters per hectare, according to Gregory Gouges, who noted that the 2011 version of this wine includes a small percentage of 15-year-old vines): Bright dark red. Sexy, vivacious, very pure aromas of cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and licorice. Suave and silky on the palate, with uncommon delicacy for Vaucrains, not to mention terrific energy. Sappy, fine-grained and sweet, with a very long, fruit-driven finish that titillates the taste buds. This lovely Vaucrains avoids the chocolatey superripeness I often find in the warmest vintages.

The 2011 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru has a more reserved bouquet than the Les Pruliers: oyster shell scents permeating the red cherries and crushed strawberry scents, just a touch of smoke with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, more backward than the Les Pruliers but with a sense of energy on the finish despite its leanness. I feel that this will develop more flesh and substance with bottle age, so keep it in the locker for another four or five years. Like the Les Pruliers, this bottle shows better than the one at the Gouges retrospective. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.

Firm and crunchy and both rich and fresh. Substance and chew and real confidence. (JR)