Winemaker Notes
At harvest time, the grapes are hand-picked. They ferment and macerate in open vats for a period of 14 to 18 days, depending on the taste and texture of the wine. The fermentation starts naturally and is conducted in the classical way, forcing the cap down and pumping over the juice. The different "cuvees" stay in barrels for 10 or 12 months. In traditional fashion, the wines are racked off in the Spring and prior to bottling. Fining is done with egg whites.
The wines from the Northern part of the Cote bring great finesse, the ones from the Southern part bring structure. Cote de Beaune Villages can be enjoyed when young after 2 years or so of age. It has a nice purple hue. The nose offers pretty and delicate flavours of red berries. It is a wonderful example of Burgundy Pinot Noir at a reasonable price.
Celebrated as some of the best wine in the universe, red wine from Burgundy, otherwise known as red Burgundy, is Pinot noir. In fact Burgundy is the birthplace of Pinot noir and the source of the planet’s most sensual, delicate, valuable and sought-after Pinot noir wines.
Understanding and enjoying red Burgundy can stay simple, with a basic knowledge of its subregions, become more intricate by dialing down to the villages and vineyards or become a life-long passion, exploring climats (plots of vines), vintages and the post French Revolution land ownership laws. In any case, a fine red Burgundy will display refined nuances of black currant, red fruit, earth, spice, alluring floral aromatics and have great elegance, complexity and longevity.
Most famous, praised and collected of Burgunday are those from the Côte d'Or. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the area now called Côte d'Or was under a warm ocean whose sea floor has, over time, shifted and decomposed into various layers of limestone, sandstone and clay interspersed with ancient fossilized sea creatures. This is what is referred to as the famous escarpment upon which all of the highly sought-after Grands Crus and Premiers Crus vineyards can be found. In other words, from north to south, the best vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux, Nuits-St-Georges, Aloxe-Corton, Pommard and Volnay follow the path of this ancient sea bed.