Winemaker Notes
Halfway between Premeaux and Nuits Saint Georges, les Saint Georges is undoubtedly the most well-known vintage of the commune. Ideally located flush with the hillside, with an eastern exposition, the vine blossoms on a large range of soils. Les Saint Georges are complex and elegant wines, marked by the fruit purity, the subtlety of the tannins, and the nobility of the cru.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Gorgeous, black-colored, full-bodied, rich and intense '97 Pinot. Amazing quality, really, for the vintage. It tastes of terroir as the wet earth bursts on the scene, and there is fabulous fruit. Immense concentration for this vintage.
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.