Nuits Saint Georges 2016, Henri Gouges

The 2015 Nuits Saint Georges from Domaine Henri Gouges, which is one of the top 10 NSG based producers, was an absolute belter of a wine. What of the 2016 tasted at the Justerini & Brooks annual en primeur Burgundy tasting? Initial nose of plum, some new oak, vanilla. On the palate, red currants, a touch too bright, short in stature. Somehow manages to be both flabby and tart. It's always hard to assess barrel samples but a simple yardstick is that there should be a lot of ripe berry fruit on the palate no matter what else is going on. Not the case with this Nuits Saint Georges 2016. Scores 62-65/100 and costs £445 for a case of 12 bottles in bond. By comparison the rich, fruity, delicious 2015 vintage (still available from Justerinis) is £335 for a case of 12 bottles in bond which is a huge £47.10 per bottle retail. The 33% price increase is hard to swallow given the lower quality of 2016.