Winemaker Notes
This appellation lies on both sides of the town of Nuits-St-Georges, and incorporates the vineyards of neighboring Prémeaux-Prissey to the south. The wines are typically sturdy and long lived, although those from sites neighboring Vosne-Romanée to the north show the most fruit and elegance.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Starts out muted, then the wild cherry, spice and mineral notes emerge with air. This red is fresh, focused and stony, with a long, tactile finish. Best from 2024 through 2038.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Maison Roche de Bellene Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieille Vignes stays long and lovingly on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine delivers the goods in the aromas and flavors of beautifully balanced red and black fruits. Pair it with grilled lamb. (Tasted: August 27, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
This wine is sourced in Nuits from parcels averaging 50 years of age that deliver a solid, somewhat rustic rendition of the village - every bit true to its reputation. In 2018 harvest began on 4 September, and produced a wine that showed refinement on the initial attack but opened up to show a slightly hot, overblown character with time in the glass. Pleasant, typical, but lacking a bit of refinement.
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.