The 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes has a fragrant, creamy bouquet even though the malos were not yet complete. The palate is finely balanced, Vosne-like in style with good tension. It builds nice in the mouth and feels a little chewy toward the finish. This is very fine. It seems to be an occupational hazard that every so often, there is an enormous hound salivating behind winery gates, eyeballing his prospective lunch. Still, once I had let Gilles Jayer’s dog leap all over me, thankfully in excitement rather than hunger, we descended down to his cellars to taste through the 2012s. Here, the vintage commended not until October 2 and yields were low at 20 hectoliters per hectare. He approaches his wines in a modern style, everything rigorously sorted and de-stemmed, the wines bathed in new oak, which to his credit, seems to be assimilated into the fruit far better than others. These wines are very consistent and if you appreciate fruit-driven, sleek, sumptuous Pinot Noir, then these will fit the ticket. Importer: no known US importer.