Winemaker Notes
Beautiful dark brick-red which for the enthusiast is the sign of a good wine after some years ageing. A wonderfully “wild” wine, with aromas of animal fur and a hint of undergrowth. Full-bodied, tannins still noticeably strong, but smooth. Fruit-flavors dominate
revealing a wine that has retained some of its youthful character.
This Grand Cru is ideal served with meat stews, small and large game, goose and soft cheeses. Try it also with a dark chocolate cake.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Such a beautiful, transparent red with raspberry, black-cherry and strawberry aromas, as well as hints of dried flowers and spices. Medium to full body with fine, linear tannins. Focused and precise.
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.”
The origin of perhaps the world’s very finest Pinot Noir, Côte de Nuits is the northern half of the Côte d'Or and includes the famous wine villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux and Nuits-St-Georges.
Fine whites from Chardonnay are certainly found in the Côte de Nuits, but with much less frequency than top-performing reds made of Pinot noir. The little village of Nuits-St-Georges in its southern end gave the region its name: Côte de Nuits. The city of Dijon marks its northern border.