Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red hue. The expressive nose opens up with black fruits, spice and subtle toasted notes. The attack is elegant and refined and the palate is characterized by floral notes and a touch of mocha.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
Slow to ripen, which was a blessing in 2018, but picked before the rain. Dense concentrated purple. The nose is discreet but fine, the palate an absolute explosion of really dense fruit with a fine crisp finish. Raspberry with intense ripe cherry alongside, just enough acidity. A real crunch at the finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes has turned out nicely, opening in the glass with notes of smoky berry fruit, sweet soil tones and a deft application of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, lively and fine-boned, its pretty core of fruit girdled by bright acids and underpinned by fine, powdery tannins, this is a suave, vibrant Nuits that will offer a broad drinking window.
Founded in 1825, Bourgognes Faiveley has been handed down from father to son for over 175 years. As the sixth generation to take the reins, François Faiveley manages, with equal amounts passion and competence, the largest family domaine in Burgundy. Methodically reconstructing vineyards fractured by French inheritance laws, Bourgognes Faiveley today owns more appellations in their entirety (monopoles) than any other domaine in Burgundy.
"Faiveley’s wines are... supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot Noir... above all they have richness and breed, the thumbprint of a master winemaker."
-Clive Coates M.W.
Côte d’Or, A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy
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.