Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Raspberry and cherry with their distilled Doppelganger; pistachio and almond extract; medicinal herbal essences; and quarry dust constitute the aromatic and palate complexity of Bertheau’s 2007 Bonnes Mares. A marrow-like sense of meaty richness emerges as it takes on air, and hints of fruit pit as well as abundant fine tanning lend a (for the vintage) surprising but not unwelcome note of austerity to an impressively long finish. Expect this to be worth following for the better part of a decade.
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.”
The origin of perhaps the world’s very finest Pinot Noir, Côte de Nuits is the northern half of the Côte d'Or and includes the famous wine villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux and Nuits-St-Georges.
Fine whites from Chardonnay are certainly found in the Côte de Nuits, but with much less frequency than top-performing reds made of Pinot noir. The little village of Nuits-St-Georges in its southern end gave the region its name: Côte de Nuits. The city of Dijon marks its northern border.