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.
Professional Ratings
-
Jasper Morris
A mix of both parts of the vineyard: they used to be separate until 2002. Most is from the section called Meix Bas which has a cool air flow. Though the plant material is not ideal the vines are now 55 years old so they have been tamed. Rich purple, very light reduction, good depth and tension, with some whole bunch minerality at the back. Quite long.
Barrel Sample: 89-92 -
Wine & Spirits
A muscular wine from the top of the côte in Fixin, this is an umami-laden pinot noir. Its texture is rugged and tight, finishing with clean grace for all its density. This is built the herbs and long-braised meat of a daube de boeuf.
-
Wine Spectator
A fluid, open-knit red, with cherry, currant, vanilla and toasty oak flavors aligned to an elegant profile. Harmonious, revealing subtle intensity and length on the long, spice-tinged aftertaste. Drink now through 2028. 200 cases made.
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.