The Lecheneaut 2006 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Damodes is dominated by ripe cassis, with hints of wood smoke, forest floor, oriental spices, and saline savor adding interest to a richly-textured palate. The brothers backed off to 80% new wood here in an effort not to cover up the refinement or natural non-fruity nuances which they see as going hand in hand with Les Damode's high-elevation, Vosne-bordering location, and in fact one can easily perceive this well-concentrated yet elegant wine as amalgamating Nuits and Vosne virtues. (This bottling is not a premier cru-rated precisely due to its incorporating fruit from some of the highest reaches of the site.) Only a bit of detached woodiness in an otherwise soothing and interesting finish give me slight pause, but I suspect that will manage to integrate itself, and that one should feel free to follow this for 6-8 years. Vincent and Philippe Lecheneaut report having ended up with higher potential alcohol in their 2006 fruit than in 2005 – though not, they hasten to add, equally ripe flavors – and having accordingly performed scarcely any chaptalization, so that only a few of the wines finished at over 13%. The regimen of new wood was essentially unchanged from 2005, which I think worked to the disadvantage of a number of these 2006s, wines that – while very well made, and in some instances distinguished – suffer considerably by comparison with their immediate predecessors. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083