Winemaker Notes
The nose is direct and precise with notes of red fruit, flowers and fennel. The very aromatic and delicate palate presents supple tannins revealing a structured texture. The wine is more powerful than in previous years, with an incredible depth that makes it supremely delicious.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The painterly, steep-sloped Clos de l'Arlot is planted with vines that have an average age of more than 50 years and is always among the best and most harmonious wines of Nuits-St-Georges. Deeply coloured and concentrated, with scented 45% new wood, savoury red fruit flavours, nuanced tannins and a precise, well-balanced finish. Classy stuff.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de l'Arlot is showing well, even at this early stage, opening in the glass with aromas of cherries, licorice, sweet spices and subtle soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and supple, with lively balancing acids and promising back-end grip.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
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.