Winemaker Notes
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, the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Argillieres Premier Cru is 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.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2019 Nuits Saint-Georges Clos des Argillières 1er Cru comes from Rion’s largest parcel of 1.8 hectares, currently undergoing piecemeal replanting using a massal selection program. This has a fragrant bouquet of red berry fruit, loamy earth and discreet woodland scents that unfold with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins. This feels very harmonious, a little opulent in style toward the finish, but deftly kept in check by the tertiary notes from the whole bunches. Quite peppery on the aftertaste. Excellent.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Jasper Morris
Bright full purple. A rich ripe plummy fruit, heady but not clumsy. The tannins are a little bit drying on the palate as this wine might have been picked a day or two later than the ideal. Even so, there is a good volume of fruit to follow, kicking on nicely.
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.