Nuits-Saint-Georges
1er Cru Les Terres Blanches 2017
Nuits-Saint-Georges is one of those magical names that visitors recite like a rosary. Known the whole world over, Nuits-Saint-Georges has the original profile of a genuine wine village, but on the scale of a small town.
Origin
The Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation has only 6.79 ha of white premier cru. A rarity!
The plot "Les Terres Blanches" located at the edge of the forest of the Mountain on the village of Premeaux-Prissey offers the most famous chardonnays of the appellation. Exposed south, the soil is predominantly limestone, it is light and very filtering. Dotted with small white gravel, it gives its name to the climate.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot blanc
Soils: mostly limestone, light and very filtering.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.166 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 55 hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 9 September 2017.
The grapes were handpicked and were sorted a first time in the vineyard and a second time when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: The whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation (up to 10 months!) using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 18 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. 50% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: Oak of French origin toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was bentonite fined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in March 2019.
Number of bottles: 1,200.
Vintage
2017, finesse
The growing cycle was thrown off-kilter by a very cold winter, late spring frost, then optimal conditions for rapid flowering, sporadic hail, and summer drought. Harvesting began in early September in the sun, and after several lean years, the vines finally produced abundant grapes, although with significant differences in maturity between whites and reds and from one region to another, which called for strict sorting.
Ageing potential: from 5 to 8 years
Tasting notes
The color is pale yellow with golden reflections. On the nose, this wine turns out to be noble, mixing aromas of white and yellow fruits as well as subtle notes of flint. Far from the standards of the appellation, its flavor is silky, tangy and more about freshness.
