Winemaker Notes
Year after year the Domaine Robert Groffier produces wines that rank with the greatest in Burgundy. Not only are they elegant, rich, and concentrated, but each cru truly reflects its respective terroir. A high proportion of old vines, 40 years and more, as well as prime locations and constant attention to the vines during the growing season, all contribute to the greatness of the Groffier estate.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Dominated by fruit from Flagey-Échézeaux, with a further third from the lower part of Morey-St-Denis, this is your time to acquire a little bit of Groffier magic at an eminently approachable price. Juicy, ripe and floral, with some tannic backbone and layers of bramble and red berry sweetness.
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.