Winemaker Notes
This plot, with an area of two and a half acres is located South of Vaucrains and above the renowned Saint Georges. The steep slope, which ranges from 850 to 1000 feet above sea level, is composed of yellowish brown, light and sandy soils. The fruit produced here delivers fine wines that have the capacity to open with greater ease than its neighbors.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This nearly 1ha premier cru vineyard is among my favourites from Gouges, year after year. In 2018 the wines have wonderful purity and freshness, despite the heat, and the aromatics are alluring: crushed violets, nutmeg and dark cherries. Beautiful and focused with firm, ripe, supple tannins. Aged for 18 months in 20% new barriques. Long finish.
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Jasper Morris
A full crimson colour. This needed very strict sorting after the hail. The bouquet is exceptionally youthful, and while the fruit is very vigorous on the palate, the tannins are still extremely firm on the palate. The sensation of higher alcohol – without any burning – is still there.
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.