Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The maiden 2012 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Thorey comes from the lieu-dit Haut Thorey. Representing three hectares, it was fermented with 50% whole bunches. It has an excellent bouquet with fragrant red berry fruit and minerals – superb definition here. The palate is sensual and very focused on the entry: a real citric tension here with superb finesse on the finish. This is one of the estate’s best wines this year – this is a debut that deserves a round of applause. Range: 91-93
-
Wine & Spirits
The bottom half of this 7.4-acre vineyard dates to 1975, while the upper half was replanted in 2013. Its chalks soils give a fragrant, rosy Nuits, a formidably concentrated wine that keeps a skinny profile. It's fresh and high-toned, with oak adding notes of star anise and dark coffee. Several tasters noted the wine's dual nature, which one described as "pretty, and also masculine."
-
Wine Spectator
This is expressive, boasting black cherry, raspberry, spice and kirsch notes. Firm, ending with a lingering hint of sweet fruit and spice. Knits all the elements together nicely. Best from 2018 through 2030. 45 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.