Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
These vines face east, on the steep hill at the northern edge of Nuits, bordering Vosne-Romanee. They produced a wine of gentle beauty in 2012, which a floral, red-fruited aroma that could pass for a grand cru. Darker notes of black peppercorn infuse the tannins, so the finish is like breathing black spice. This gains intensity as it opens with air, brooding, seductive, yet still refined.
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Wine Spectator
Floral, berry and spice aromas and flavors signal this elegant, racy red. Tightens up with bound tannins, but the sweet fruit persists on the lingering aftertaste. Best from 2018 through 2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Nuit Saint Georges 1er Cru les Damodes has a touch more fruit intensity than the Clos de Thorey, blacker rather than redder fruit, stony elements developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, grippy tannins - a savory note in the mouth with cured meat infusing the earthy red fruit on the finish. There is plenty of character here and good ageing potential.
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.