Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Sufficient black cherry, black currant and mineral flavors are packed into this taut red, yet this is holding back a little. A solid matrix of tannins offers support, while the acidity keeps this focused and long. Finishes with purity and intensity. Shows fine potential. Best from 2019 through 2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Fôrets St Georges, which I sampled from several barrels, was matured in 50% new oak. It has a refined nose, backward at first, but opening in the glass: blackcurrant mixed with raspberry and cold stone scents, and just a touch of undergrowth in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and crisp acidity, just a scintilla of bitter cherry. I like the focus here, the symmetry and whilst it does not possess the sustain nor the length of a top vintage, there is more than sufficient freshness and tension. Give it 3-4 years in bottle.
Range: (89-91)
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.