Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges 1997
An extremely generous gift from Wade Hostler. 13% abv. For the first few minutes open this was stinky and animal and seemed like a hypothetical Burgundy that Ch. Musar might make. But amazingly, while I let this breathe while making the final preparations for a bit of boeuf bourguignon (maybe an hour or so), this opened up beautifully and lost its stinky aromas (how does that happen?). What appeared was a beautiful, almost mature Pinosity, with far more sexiness and fruit and far less red-toned tightness than any other Gouges I have had. It does still have quite a bit of tannins which shouldn't be surprising for a Gouges, but is surprising considering everything else I've read about this wine on-line. Also the fruit still has a bit of primary character to it. I thought this was really lovely now, but I think I might have enjoyed it a bit more with a few more years age.