Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2024 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Les Dames Huguette has the ripest aromatics amongst the Hautes-Côtes from Cathiard: almost plush raspberry and crushed strawberry fruit, a touch of Dorset plum. The palate is medium-bodied with supple but strict tannins, fine tension with a touch of graphite lending more complexity on the finish. This is an excellent introduction to Cathiard's range of 2024s.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.”
The most acclaimed region of Burgundy, the Côte d’Or is defined by a long, limestone escarpment beneath the ground's surface and is home to all of Burgundy’s most famous wines. While Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are produced throughout the Côte d’Or, the north tends to excel at Pinot Noir and the south, at Chardonnay.
The northern half of the Côte d’Or is called the Côte de Nuits. Here reside most of the Pinot noir Grands Crus vineyards of Burgundy—the only one farther south, in Côte de Beaune, is Aloxe-Corton.
The Côte de Beaune is the center all of the Chardonnay Grands Crus with the exception of Le Musingy, found in Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, which produces both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with Grand Cru status.