Patrice Rion Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Argillieres Premier Cru 2015
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To the eye the wine is dark and purple. On the nose, blackberries dominate the nose, along with blackcurrants and blueberries. There is a more savage side exhibited in the notes of juniper and hawthorn. Even if in youth the nose is discreet, its class is always evident. On the palate, concentrated and deep, but with elegance primordial. The tannins are fine, but a certain firmness holds place. A welcome minerality supports the finish.
Its elegant structure marries well with dishes such as saddle of lamb, rib steaks or duck breasts.
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This is the largest parcel in Rion’s domaine, 4.44 acres near the top of the hill. The base of the parcel lies on the pink limestone of Premeaux, while the soil shifts to white oolite higher up the slope. In 2015, it transforms the ripeness of the vintage into fat blackberry flavors, welcoming and heady, the powerful blast of fruit lasting alongside chocolate-rich oak tannins. Give it cellar time to develop detail.
Other Vintages
2019- Vinous
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Morris
Jasper
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Morris
Jasper
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Morris
Jasper
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Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert
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The domaine currently farms 15 acres focused in the Nuits Saint Georges and Chambolle-Musigny appellations, and works with growers in other 1er Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits. The approach to viticulture in all vineyards is rigorous with vines that are pruned short and bud selection kept very low. The vineyards are farmed without herbicide, preferring to plow and hoe as a way to control weeds.
Patrice and Maxime do not believe that the “maximum” is the “optimum,” particularly when it comes to extracting phenolics, tannins, and color. Instead, you will find wines that maintain the freshness and minerality of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Patrice is known for “very pure, harmonious wines, skilfully vinified,” according to Jasper Morris, MW.
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.