Winemaker Notes
The domaine exploits a 0.3-hectare plot of 70-year-old Pinot Noir in this steep, rocky-soiled vineyard that sits just above the village’s old quarry. Alexandre retains one-third whole clusters in the vinification here, employing just 30% new oak during the 20-month élevage and bottling without fining or filtration. This distinctive wine shows Nuits-Saint-Georges’ intensely mineral side, with chiseled tension and just-so black fruits on an energetic frame.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This bold Nuits-Saint-Georges has stacks of raw meat, iron and white pepper, behind which lies a wealth of blackberry fruit. As ripe as it is well structured on the medium- to full-bodied palate. Surprisingly supple finish that makes this appealing now. Drink or hold.
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.