Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
I can't remember a more appealing sample of the Aux Thorey premier cru at this young stage from Sébastien Cathiard. Made with grapes from a 0.43ha parcel planted in 1953, it has a wonderful combination of sweetness, acidity, structure, and plush black cherry and orange zest flavours.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey offers up a lovely bouquet of cassis, blackberries, warm spices, licorice and peony. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with superb concentration and an earthier, chewier profile than the Murgers this year—despite the finesse of its tannins.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.