Winemaker Notes
This 100% Pinot Noir pairs well with game, venison, and meat dishes in sauce.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Bright cassis fruit aromas lead for this classic expression of Nuits-St-Georges, with classic notes of earth, mineral, smoke and leather. The structure is impressively dense and structure, but the lively acidity keeps everything in balance. The grapes come from nearly a hectare of vines in Les Cailles, close to premier cru Les St-Georges. The wine seems more structured and dense than one would expect given its rather cool climate. This is a wine worth seeking out.
Barrel Sample: 93 -
Jasper Morris
Much the deepest colour so far, almost purple black. Something slightly raisiny in the bouquet? The sample might just need freshening up, which will be taken care of. Good depth of fruit, slightly drier finish. Probably a better wine than showing today just needs a little touching up.
Barrel Sample: 89-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of sweet berries, rose petals, orange rind and cinnamon introduce the 2021 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles, a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy wine that's seamless and sensual, underpinned by lively acids and concluding with a saline finish.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Vinous
The 2021 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru is higher-toned, verging on glossy compared to its peers with some polished new oak that I feel is masking a slight shortfall in fruit concentration. The palate has a bold entry with mainly black fruit and saturated tannins (for the vintage). It is velvety smooth but just a bit "blocky" towards the finish where I am seeking more finesse and nerve. Not bad though and it deserves a couple of years in bottle.
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.”
Inhabiting the bottom end of the northern half of the Côte d’Or, Nuits-St-Georges is a busy, market-driven town and home to many of Burgundy’s negociants. It is also the largest town in the Côte d’Or after Beaune and contributes "nuits" to the name of Côte de Nuits (i.e., the northern half of the Côte d’Or).
The appellation itself is divided into two parts, where in the north it directly borders Vosne-Romanée, the southerly end is the commune of Prémeaux. There are no Grands Crus in this village, though it does have a large number of Premiers Crus.
The best Nuits-St-Georges Pinot Noir are layered with cherry, plum, underbrush and sandalwood. The fruit is sweet, the wine energetic, and the finish long and lush.