The Modern and the Traditional
– A Modern Notion of How to Work the Land to Create the Best Grapes
– A Traditional Approach to Winemaking
– Alain Michelot’s Nephew
– These Wines Are Miracles in a Bottle
– If You Have Cellar Space Buy As Much As You Can and Forget Them for 10 Years
2021 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru “Les Porrets St. Georges” Vieilles Vignes
– Incredibly Low 24 HL/HA Yields
– Shocking Levels of Density – Utterly Elite
– A Tour de Force in Winemaking
– Underpriced by at Least a Factor of 4 (with Age)
– I Recently Gave the 2013 a 9.7
– Nose: Super Fragrant
– Utterly Ethereal
– Deep Rich Fruit and Pungent Stoniness
– Mashed Red Flowers
– Violets, Roses, Lilacs
– Hints of Licorice
– Pungent Almost Lurid Red Fruit Quality
– Red Cherries in Pastel Clay
– Nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges
– Palate: Amazing Richness and Density Yet Has That 21 Ephemeralit
– Insane Depth
– So Well balanced
– So Perfect, You Can Picture Ledy Lingering Over Every Grape
– Almost Like an Invasive Species of Pinot Noir in Your Mouth
– Yet This Otherworldly Balance
– A Holy Crap OMG Wine
These Vines Are Like Vincent’s First Born Child
Vincent got married and has 2 beautiful children. But his Nuits vines came first. When you hear him talk about them, it’s like the love a father has for his children. Vincent specializes in making Savigny and Chorey that can compete with better known 1er Crus (and sometimes Grand Crus). And when he won the right to make wine from regal terroir in Nuits, he was as happy as I’ve ever seen a winemaker. He slaves over these vines. They are his magnum opus. They produce some of the great wines of Burgundy.
Ledy’s 2021s Are Finally Released
Vincent holds his wines back and that can be good and bad depending on the vintage. For example his 18s came out when most producer’s 19s came out and they were hard to sell as everyone wanted the 19s. Now his 21’s are arriving and they will be easy to sell because the 20’s are mostly gone and his 21s are some of the best wines he has ever made. Ledy killed this vintage.
– Stunning fruit purity,
– transparency
– amazing focus and clarity.
– The fruit is crisp, deep and succulent.
These are some of the best values I’ll sell not only because Vincent slayed 21 but also because of the incredibly strong dollar. You do not want to miss these wines.
If You Cellar Burgundy, You Need to Buy These Wines
There are a handful of people even in Burgundy even trying to make wines like this. And most of them are well known and the wines cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. These are underpriced by at least a factor of 4.
The first vintages of Ledy’s Nuits St. Georges are just coming into their prime. So few people have tried them. And let me tell you, they are exactly what I expected. You can taste these next to any Burgundies you like and they will stand to toe with them.
Here’s the thing about Ledy. He’s a genius of the highest degree. But his wines need age. They demand age. I’ve been drinking my 12/13/14 Ledy’s and they are mindbending today. I emailed Vincent recently and asked if his 2013 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru “Les Porrets St. Georges” Vieilles Vignes was ready to drink and he actually said YES! He never ever says his wines are ready to drink. But he said yes and I opened it and it blew my mind. At 9 years old it was just divine. I gave it a 9.7. First time I’ve ever had this bottle as it was entering its drinking window. And it was easily the best NSG I’ve had at Fass. Easily on the same level as Brisset. I also had the 2014 Chorey-Les-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” and that was also stunning and gave it a 9.4.
The Winemaker
Vincent is a force to be reckoned with now. The wines are deep and powerful and need years to truly express themselves. And when they do, watch out as this wine can compete with even Burgundy Grand Crus.
A client emailed some years back that he did a blind tasting with some friends of his and the 2015 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune “Les Beaumonts” was first place for 3 people over 2 different Corton Grand Crus and a Beaune 1er Cru. He emailed me about it as he could not believe it. He was obviously very happy and it’s nice to have my validations about Vincent Ledy confirmed. One other reason Vincent is not a superstar is because the only critic that has tasted his wine is La Revue de Vin de France which is a like a French Wine Spectator.
The Wine
The 2021 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru “Les Porrets St. Georges” Vieilles Vignes is $106.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. It’s probably next to the Poisot Romanee St. Vivant, a few Brisset reds, the best Red Burgundy I sell. This is from 85+ year old vines. Yields for this wine were only 21 hl/ha versus an average of 37 for NSG Premier Crus. This wine is a love letter and a tour de force in winemaking. It is a work of remarkable genius.
The nose. Super fragrant nose. Like the best fragrance you can imagine. 13 was darker and had lower yields and more brooding. 14 had more lift to it and is a bit more evenly fruited between black, blue and red. 21 is more ethereal with deep, crispy, cooling red fruits and pungent stoniness that makes it insanely distinct. It also has terrific crunch with all that rich yet energetic 2021 fruit. Mashed red and violet flowers and tons of stony minerality. So floral. Violets, roses, just beguiling. But all of this is on a bed of stone. Limestone. There is also a confectionary aroma as well that envelops the red cherries, sour cherries and some black cherries. Big sappy red cherries and a hint of black cherries. But there is also a pungent almost lurid red fruit quality that intermingles as well. I also get a iron/graphite mineral/ore component. The aromas are just off the charts. The wine is flat out brilliant. It is so deep. But what the 21 has that the earlier vintages just fall short of is the remarkable finesse that only comes from the best sites in the best years. This is the most finesse I’ve ever had in a young Ledy and it will only grow more elegant with time. For something so big it floats. I once compared Ledy’s style to the great Henri Gouges and this is the wine that made me think Gouges as soon as I smelled it. Like red cherries in pastille clay. This is one of the most expensive direct wines I offer, but I offer it because there is nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges. The wine is an elixir in that the care and love that Vincent puts into it is second to none. You can taste it. The wine is always opening and changing. You see Vincent’s artistry here as he uses no new barrels in this wine and the character of the great 1er Cru site “Les Porrets Saint-Georges” shines through. This is naked Burgundy at its finest.
The palate has amazing richness and density and the power and density of the site and the old vine sap are apparent in spades. Yet it is so crisp, fresh and deeply fruited which is a trademark for 2021. The inner mouth aromas are some of the best I’ve ever encountered. It takes over every nook and cranny of your mouth like nothing I’ve ever had. It’s almost like an invasive species of Pinot Noir in your mouth. The tannins are firm and the energy on the palate is second to none. The freshness and acid combined with the density, length and richness are some of the best I’ve encountered. This is a holy crap OMG wine. It’s a wine I hope to cellar every vintage. And i have. This wine needs extensive cellaring which is a throwback in Burgundy considering so many burgs these days don’t demand cellaring like they used to.
What a wine. I can easily put this in a lineup of the top NSG (Mugneret-Gibourg NSG Chaignots, Gouges Vaucrains/Les St. Georges, Chevillon Vaucrains/Les St. Georges) and it would finish at top or in top 3. It is top, top wine.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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I am big into certain social media and I want people to take pictures of the wines they have received or will receive and tag me in them and share their thoughts. I a am on Instagram. Please tag me there. I also am on Delectable which I love a lot. It is Iphone/Ipad only, but it’s like Instagram meets Facebook for wine. Tag me there and find me there as well. I want to know if you liked the wine, were not moved by the wine, hated the wine or the wine gave you a religious experience. I want to know it all. Feedback is key and I will answer all feedback e-mails as quickly as I can.
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