Winemaker Notes
A fairly sustained color and powerful nose that hints at the reserve. In its youthful prime, notes of wild summer fruits and sloe; it evolves towards plant and animal nuances. In the mouth, a robust structure and fullness dominated by liveliness and firmness.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of cassis, woodsmoke, wild berries, loamy soil, orange rind and spices introduce the 2020 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains, a full-bodied, layered and velvety wine that's deep, concentrated and elegantly muscular, with lively acids and rich, powdery structuring tannins. As usual, it's built for the long haul.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Jasper Morris
A fine rich but pure purple. A magical weight of plump fruit on the nose enhanced by a thread of energy running through the middle. This is nicely balanced on the plate, builds to the end, well-judged tannins to finish. More accessible than some and rather fine.
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Vinous
The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains ler Cru has a ripe, pure, lifted bouquet with red cherries, blueberry and light violet scents. There's nicely integrated oak, though it doesn't quite deliver the clarity of Faiveley's Les Saint-Georges. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins. It is a little low in acidity.
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.