Winemaker Notes
The wines of the 2021 vintage are round, well-balanced, and delicious, with Pinot Noirs showing aromas of red fruits and Chardonnays revealing notes of white-fleshed fruits. Oak barrel aging imparts woody nuances to the reds and toasted hazelnut to the whites. Elegant in style, these wines may be enjoyed young or after a period of cellaring.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A lithe red, with leading themes of floral, cherry, tobacco, autumn wood and vegetal aromas and flavors. Firms up on the finish, where accents of oak spices add detail. Silky and balanced, with fine length. Best from 2026 through 2040. 50 cases made, 25 cases imported.
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.