Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, which comes from the north and south parts of the climat, has an earthy bouquet with hints of graphite infusing the mainly black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, a little subdued on the mid-palate but then returning with style on the suave, cassis-tinged, poised finish. There is something a little austere about Grand Cru, though I imply that positively rather than negatively. Range: 91-93
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Wine Spectator
Rich and bursting with sweet fruit, this exudes black cherry, black currant, violet and spice flavors. Firmly structured and long, with the fruit notes returning on the lingering aftertaste, accented by a touch of spice. Best from 2016 through 2028.
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.