Winemaker Notes
The bouquet is very floral, and also presents wonderful notes of blueberry and wild strawberry. The palate offers supple tannins and great depth. The texture is creamy, round, fresh, generous and spicy. The complexity of this wine requires a lot of time and patience but guarantees enjoyment. The finish is long, intense and persistent.
Professional Ratings
-
Jasper Morris
Not too deep a colour, the oak slightly taking the upper hand, though the fine qualities of Forets fruit are trying to show through. I don’t remember how much whole bunch was used in 2012, Jacques Devauges’ second vintage here, and the otherwise thorough fact sheet on the domaine’s website does not specify, but there is certainly some. A little dry at the finish with some acidity.
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.