Albert Bichot Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Les Dames Huguettes 2019
-
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The nose is floral, mineral and fruity (strawberry) with an underlying hint of menthol. Full-bodied, silky and well structured without any harshness. Warm finish with notes of vanilla and candied fruit.
Serve this wine with red meats, simply prepared small game, or mild cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Although young, this wine is also well balanced. Its tannins and generous berry fruits harmonize well, giving a fresh, juicy character and a drier core. Drink the wine from 2022. Editors’ Choice.
Since 1350, the Bichot family has called Burgundy home. But, it was in 1831 that Bernard Bichot founded a merchant house bearing his name in Monthélie, a couple of kilometers south of Beaune. At the end of the 19th century, his grandson Albert Bichot took the family business into a new direction and created the winery, Maison Albert Bichot as we know it. The family heritage has been perpetuated from father to son since then. The family crest, consisting of a deer and antlers, has been synonymous with the winery since its inception.
Since 1996, Albéric Bichot has represented the 6th generation managing the winery. The winery’s mission is to utilize the best fruit possible to create the best wine and best expression of terroir. In the constant pursuit of accomplishing this mission, Albert Bichot has acquired 250 acres of vineyards in the most reputed growing areas throughout Burgundy. In addition to this expertise as a wine-grower, Albert Bichot carefully sources grapes with an extremely hands-on approach, in order to vinify many of its regional and village wines, enabling them to supply high quality wines with continuity. For these grapes sourced from our partner growers, quality, and a close partnership, are of the utmost importance.
Albert Bichot owns 6 Domaines set at the heart of 5 great vinicultural regions that make up Burgundy: Chablis, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnaise, and Beaujolais. Each estate consists of vineyards cultivated with sustainable practices, as well as facilities, cellars and dedicated winemaking teams devoted to wines of that Domaine and region.
The 6 estates include:
- Domaine Long-Depaquit in Chablis
- Chateau Gris in the Cote de Nuits (Nuits-St.-Georges)
- Domaine du Clos-Frantin in the Cote de Nuits (Nuits-St.-Georges)
- Domaine du Pavillon in the Cote de Beaune (Pommard)
- Domaine Adelie in the Cote Chalonnaise (Mercurey)
- Domaine du Rochegres in Beaujolais (Moulin-à-Vent)
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
In the hills just above the commune appellations of the Côte de Nuits, rising to about 1,600 feet, scattered vineyards join to form what is known as the Hautes Côtes de Nuits.
Hautes Côtes de Nuits together with Hautes Côtes de Beaune include 47 communes. Collectively the wines of the Hautes Côtes offer a great introduction to the personality of Burgundy—both red and white—that won’t make a dent in the pocketbook.
The majority of wines produced here are red (made of Pinot Noir) and show a spry fruitiness, crisp texture and aromas of blackcurrant, cherry, rose, violet, pepper and mint. Red Hautes Côtes are perfect with crostini topped with pork or duck rillettes, soft soft cheeses like Camembert or Brillat-Savarin and dishes such as grilled lamb or roasted quail.
Whites, while less prolific, offer diversity and aside from Chardonnay, this is where one might occasionally run into the very rare Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris, which are completely forbidden among Villages appellations and Crus. Aligoté grows here as well, alongside the blackcurrant bushes used to make cassis for vin blanc cassis (a cocktail of dry white wine mixed with blackcurrant liqueur). Hautes Côtes whites show qualities such as lemon, quince, apple, pear, white peach and honeysuckle; they are great stand-alone sippers or paired with savory tapas, sautéed shrimp and flaky white fish.