Once again our Bordeaux group veered, this time to Nuits-St-George. John joined me and we took the subway from GC to Astor place, and then walked over to Noreetuh. Since we had some good Champagne coming, we switched our usual food order and started with the mochiko fried chicken.
2018 Etienne Calsac Revenants
A Champagne with no Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Pinot Meunier. 50% Pinot Blanc, with Petit Meslier, Fromenteau/PG, & Arbane. Crisp apple, nutty, brioche, delicious with fried chicken. B+

2006 Taittinger Comtes des Champagne Rose
Damn,a great bottle of rose. Cherries and strawberries with apple blossom, chalk and caraway seed. Lovely aromas of a bakery, long finish, elegant mousse.. A/A-

2000 Clos des Goisses LV
Cathleen brought this treat, I had never had the long elevage version of Goisses before. Pear, plum, baked biscuits, rich and long. A-

On to the NSG
2005 Mugnier Clos de la Marechale Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
Young but brimming with potential, rich black plum nose with forest floor, on palate sappy redder fruit with spicy notes. Nice tannic structure, balanced, long future. .B for drinking now, but really happy to own a couple.

About here some more food arrived- Iberico pork belly skewers and beef skewers, plus 3 types of musubi (galbi, pork jowl, scallop).

2002 Chevillon Vaucrains Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
Again, young but loads of potential., quite open but you can feel the youth.. Black cherry, coffee, a touch of incense. Big, rich, long, complex. A-

1999 Dominique Laurent Vaucrains Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
I’ve been told that the Laurent wines have absorbed their 200% oak, and it’s true it didn’t have pure oak aromas. But what it left behind was pretty unattractive- astringent, hard, fruitless, ash. Paul laughed when he saw Cathleen’s face as she first tasted. C

1999 Gouges Vaucrains Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
Decades to go, but really fun. Black cherry, cocoa, autumn leaves, there’s high tannin and high acid, but there’s balance there. B/B+ for now, easy A is my prediction,
1999 Chevillon Les St. George Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
(mine, double decanted at 2 PM)Also young, but also great. Red and black cherries, roasted meat, sandalwood, great structure. B+ for now, A potential.

The rest of the food came out in waves- sweetbreads, char siu pork chop with spaetzle, dry aged steak with shiitakes

1997 Gouges Vaucrains Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
A Gouges 1er that is almost ready to drink. Warm red plum fruit, a touch of barnyard, still some tannic grip. B+/B

1993 Domaine de L’Arlot Clos des Forets de Georges Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
(mine, double decanted at 2 PM) Group favorite. Resolved tannins, balanced acids, black plum and cherry with lots of tertiary notes -leather, damp leaves, mushrooms. A-

1989 Domaine de L’Arlot Clos des Forets de Georges Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru
This seemed a little muddled. I thought mainly from sediment, but others wondered about heat damage or reduction. Rather stinky nose, which improved with time. Not as precise on the palate as the 93, but an interesting wine with funghi and smoke aromas and decent fruit. B

Certainly not a large sample, but interesting to me in the light of the constant arguments as to decanting Burgundy was that all of my top wines were decanted in advance, while my least favorites weren’t (though don’t think that was problem with Laurent).

Fun night, some great wines, excellent company, Noreetuh did great job with food and service.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.