When Burgundy gets it right

Opened a bottle of Nicolas Potel's Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Roncière this weekend with a little trepidation. Red Burgundy's one of those wines where I always have a back-up bottle of something different on-hand just in case of a bad hair day. But on this occasion, it was just a foxy wine, supple, lithe and svelte, with that slightly erotic truffle and violet aroma, and the yummy red fruit backed up by ripe but gently earthy tannins. Vintage? 2001, a year that has been alittle chunky for a while, but on this evidence is beginning to relax a little. Sadly this was the last bottle of the Potel, but there are a few other 2001s lurking somewhere in the cellar - I'm looking forward to them