Winemaker Notes
Wines from Fixin are typified by their robust, tannic, and sometimes “sauvage” character. This Fixin premier cru was completely de-stemmed and aged for 20-24 months in 25% new Burgundian pièce. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Les Hervelets often shows a bit more nuance and finesse than a typical Fixin wine.
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Lifted by fresh, green thyme and basil notes, Les Hervelets offers a bright, almost crunchy black-fruit expression that’s invigorating. A touch more finessed and angular than the producer’s rounder, meatier village-level Fixin, the wine has blackberry and plum flavors edged by hints of granite, licorice and rose petals. Fine-grained but firm tannins mark the finish.
-
Wine Spectator
This red is spicy, revealing sandalwood, sweet baking spices and light bell pepper aromas framing cherry and raspberry fruit. It’s all balanced and supple, with a soft dusting of tannins on the lively finish.
-
Wine & Spirits
Light and fresh when first poured, this develops depth of character and a supple, tensile strength as it opens with air. It’s an engaging Fixin, with some youthfully overt vanillin scents that may dissipate with another year in the bottle.
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 northern reaches of the Côte de Nuits of Burgundy, the Pinot Noir vineyards of Fixin abut Gevrey-Chambertin and produce wines of similar character. The appellation is full of well-reputed Premier Crus that offer some very fine Pinot Noir, even if not quite delivering the exact precision and elegance—nor price tag—of a Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru. These are Les Arvelets and Les Hervelets, Clos de la Perrière, Clos Napoléon and Clos du Chapître. A classic Pinot Noir from Fixin will be rich in dark fruit, underbrush and exhibit good structure and minerality.