Nuits-Saint-Georges
1er Cru Aux Chaignots 2020
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
Half way between Dijon and Beaune, and with an eastern exposure, the vines of Nuits-Saint-Georges extend for 6 kilometres and cover 160 hectares of the village appellation. The local variation in soils, exposure and location produce a great diversity of terroir. The area as a whole is bisected by the little Meuzin river and its valley, and by the village itself.
This climat is located at the top of the slope. Chaignot is diminutive of the Burgundian word Châne for the ancient French noun Châgne "oak". oak-trees thrived up there.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: mostly limestone, scree from the valley.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.1840 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 16 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 51 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 6 September 2020.
The grapes were handpicked. First sorting in the vineyard, second on the sorting table upon receipt of the harvest.
At the winery: 50% of grapes were destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were 4 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only. 2 punchings of the cap. Vinification without sulfur.
Ageing
Maturation: 4 months without racking and on the lees in 300L barrels of one wine.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in December 2021.
Number of bottles: 390.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: From 6 to 12 years.
Awards
Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France 2023 - 94/100
JamesSuckling.com - 97/100
Tasting notes
With its beautiful dark red color, this wine exhales a bouquet of small red fruits and violets, associated with some lightly smoked notes. On the palate, it is silky and warm and reveals a good length.
