This is the first wine to display any oak influence at all and even here it is almost invisible setting off fresh but very restrained even brooding dark berry fruit aromas that are in keeping with the equally serious intense concentrated full-bodied flavors that possess ample dry extract that confers a velvety mouth feel on what is actually a quite firmly structured complex and admirably long finish. I quite like this and it's at another level.

The more forward style of the 2007 vintage is a very nice complement to the sturdy, structured style of the Gouges Pruliers, but not surprisingly, this is still a bit on the youthful side and could use with a few more years in the cellar to really start to blossom fully. That said, this seems like one vintage of Pruliers that will not need to spend twenty years in the cellar to start to drink well. The bouquet is deep and classically black fruity, wafting from the glass in a very complex blend of dark berries, black plums, roasted game, dark soil tones, fresh herbs, chicory, woodsmoke and a nice dollop of spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and starting to get a bit plush on the attack, with a fine core, excellent soil signature and fine focus and balance on the long, tangy and still fairly tannic finish. In the context of a relatively young vintage of Pruliers chez Gouges, this is actually already not a bad drink, but it retains a bit more suave tannin that will fall away with a bit more bottle age and I would be inclined to give it at least another four or five years in the cellar to more fully blossom.

Effusive with cherry raspberry licorice spice and mineral flavors all wrapped in an elegant profile. Firm tannins enter on the finish needing time to integrate. Already beginning to develop some secondary notes. Best from 2013 through 2023. 125 cases imported. -BS

2007 Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru Les Pruliers Focused on rose scents and dark, soy-like flavors of grilled porcini and hen of the woods mushrooms, this is gamey rather than fruity, a tight young wine with tension in its structure. Cellar it for five or six years and the hidden fruit should come to the fore.