I pulled this bottle about a month ago as a back up for a night out with some mates, it wasnt required and has been patiently sitting in the rack at home.
The nose jumped out of the glass, mostly secondary aromas of dusty red berries with a touch of VA, the palate was wide open with sweet slightly stewed dark red fruit and a touch of earth, I found the finish a touch short as well as a lack of acidity. This wine would be loved by a lot of non burgheads for its bonvivant personality, I wonder if they waited just a bit too long to pick these grapes.
A well made wine (in its style) that I found uninspiring 89pts
Funny you post this. I’ve had a long going conversation about the 02s and 03s from Chevillon, and how they missed the mark. 03 LSG is pretty good, but the rest of the lineup isn’t thrilling.
Oh great - this is why I don’t do Burgundy! (as per my recent post) Have one bottle of 2002 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains, figures.
Vaucrains 02 is a far better wine and usually Chevillon do a good job with it and it is one of their better wines, however it takes a long long time to come around.
funnily enough when I was drinking this last night I thought that this wine would really appeal to BDX drinkers, so you might have loved it
Don’t lose hope yet, Todd. I had the '02 Roncières a year ago with an ITB Burghead friend and we both liked it a lot. I wrote: “Lovely, meaty, fairly unevolved but elegant and quite drinkable.”
I thought Todd doesn’t even like ‘67 Dujac. No burg stands a chance? 
SIXTY NINE!!! And I DID love it, and posted where all the 20-somethings like charlie would see it - Instagram, not WB full of we old folks
Their 02 Vaucrains and LSG are both great (and young) wines in my experience, and others whose notes I pay attention to. Haven’t had the 02 Cailles (or Bousselots), but had the Perrieres a few years ago and liked it. I’d be surprised if issues (on their better wines) were anything other than bottle/condition rather wine issues
Eric, I have stored this bottle since I bought it on release in climate control offsite storage, there was nothing wrong with the wine condition it just wasnt that inspiring to drink, as I said in my note it felt like they had got the picking date a little wrong for this vineyard.
I would have called it meaty and unevolved for sure. I found that it lacked the classic terroir and was much darker than I would have expected. You can chalk up my experiences with 2002 Chevillon as “I was expecting something much different, and didn’t get it”.
My phrasing sounded like it applied to the Bousselots, which I didn’t intend (edited above). I haven’t had the 02 B, so don’t know…but checking notes of others I follow didn’t have similar issues (esp wrt over ripeness from a late pick). Sometimes bottles are unhappy and it’s no one’s (or at least not the bottle owner’s) fault.
Otoh, when multiple vineyards get ripe at the same time, priorities have to be made. Bousselots is low on their 1er cru hierarchy, so could see that they’d pay attention to others first…course, being complete speculation, not sure this comment has any value.
I also only have Vaucrains in 2002. Todd, I would wait for at least another 5 years unless you hear from someone you trust otherwise. I think the normal structure of Vaucrains should in principle be a good foil to 2002’s ripeness even if Chevillon did pick late (which is not something I have any knowledge of).
I drank a bottle of the 02 Cailles from my cellar a year ago and it was delicious.
I drank a bottle of the 02 Chevillon Bousselots with friends a couple years ago and thought it was quite spectacular. Everyone at the table raved about it. It was a bit on the young side but so delicious.
I’ve had several 02 Chevillon’s, mostly LSG and Cailles, generally in verticals, or 2001 vs 2002 comparisons, and I remember my impressions were that the wines were a little too ripe. so I would agree with the OP. I’ll go back shortly and find the actual notes. I have almost always preferred the 2001’s.
What he said^
For my tastes, I think Chevillon does better in less solar years. A recent 07 Cailles is further evidence.
I had a 2002 Chevillon LSG recently that I found to be excellent. Long, deep and vibrant. 2003 from Chevillon weren’t great, not even the LSG.
Yeah, some folks find the Chevillon wines to be a bit too rich. I have a soft spot for them, though. They can have really deep fruit.
I have quite a bit of experience with Chevillon, like them quite a bit, and don’t find them at all too rich. And my issue with 2002 doesn’t have to do with richness, just a too ripe character. I would agree with the OP that they likely picked a little too late.