Domaine Ragot Vieilles Vignes 2016
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This wine has notes of black fruits, cassis, blackberry, and raspberry along with some vanilla and spice. A nice match for grilled steaks, pork roast or chicken stew, or hard cheeses like aged gouda or parmesan.
After Jean-Pierre's death in 1991, Jean-Paul took sole control of the property. His son Nicolas, after studying winemaking in Beaune, entered the society in 2002. Large investments were made in the winery and vineyards the next year, with new tanks and an underground barrel room constructed and certain non-productive parcels replanted. Jean-Pierre retired in 2008, leaving his son Nicolas in sole control of the domaine. Of course retirement doesn't mean much to a French farmer, and Jean-Pierre can still be found in the vines or the cave.
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.”
Noted as the preferred wine of King Henry IV of the late 1500s—though maybe because his mistress came from here!—Givry is a top red wine-producing village in the Côte Chalonnaise.
Its firmly structured reds, made exclusively from Pinot Noir, also boast plenty of blackberry and strawberry fruit with supple tannins that benefit from about two to five years in the bottle. The robust fruit and firmness on the palate in a Givry red begs for dishes such as mixed charcuterie, braised veal, stewed poultry or roasted duck.
Typical Givry whites have a fresh bouquet of lemon, lime, white flower licorice and can benefit and become softer with age.