Nuits Saint Georges: an overlooked commune

16 April 2016: It might not be the most fashionable theme but for an evening amongst Bourgogne aficionados with a home-cooked supper, it turned out to be a theme that elicited interesting discussions and interests.


From the heights of giving its name to the Côte de Nuits, and being the birthplace of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Bourgogne’s most famous wine-brotherhood, in 1934, why don't the wines from Nuits-Saint-Georges share the same attention and glamour as those from their illustrious neighbouring commune Vosne-Romanée? True, there is no Grand Cru here.


Nuits-Saint-Georges can be divided into 2 parts: the northern end is adjacent to Vosne-Romanée, and the southern sector straddles Nuits-Saint-Georges the town itself and the commune of Premeaux-Prissey. The northern end boasts some excellent wines, with almost the same degree of finesse as those from Vosne. Examples of which are Aux Boudots and Les Damodes. South of Nuits-Saint-Georges, the Premier Cru climats tend to be fleshy, rich and powerful. Examples are Les Saint-Georges, Les Cailles and Les Vaucrains. Into the Premeaux commune, the wines are more delicate and over-extraction could result in excess and the less refined tannins that will take years to soften. Examples are Clos de la Maréchale, Les Argillières and Les Forêts.

There are in total 41 Premier Cru climats in Nuits-Saint-Georges. In terms of red and white production, reds account for 297.06 ha (including 136.32 ha Premier Cru) and whites occupy 9.78 ha (including 6.79 ha Premier Cru). The whites are rare indeed!


For our evening, we started with a Nuits-Saint-Georges Blanc, followed by 3 premier cru wines from different winemakers.

2010 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de L'Arlot Blanc

The terroir of the Clos de l'Arlot blanc is rugged and rocky (brown soil on limestone, about 90 cm of top soil). The hillsides are so steep that all work on the vines, often performed with the help of machinery, is done by hand here. Such painstaking work is necessary and worthwile for this vineyard of unique quality and character.

The grapes which come from young vines are vinified separately and make up a cuvée labelled La Gerbotte, Nuits Saint Georges Blanc.

My tasting note: Pale gold in colour. Intense notes of honey, white flowers, pastry and liquorice. The medium weight belies a vinosity and oily texture that makes it almost Condrieu-like, if it hadn't been for the bright acidity. It is definitely a food wine and it paired very well with the oily texture of the salmon tartare prepared by our host. It was a lovely surprise to our friends who had not tasted Nuits blanc before.


1996 Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint Georges, Domaine de L’Arlot

The Clos des Forêts Saint Georges (monopole) covers a surface of 7.20 hectares, all in one piece. It is a unique terroir in a privileged location which right from its origin has made one of the greatest Nuits Saint Georges wines. The top soil which reaches 50 - 60 cm, consists of clay-limestone gravel, over another 50 cm of small stones, before reaching the cracked limestone mother-rock.

Clos des Forêts Saint Georges is only made with grapes from its oldest vines. This means that grapes from the younger vines are not used for the Clos des Forêts but vinified separately to make Les Petits Plets Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru.

My tasting note: Garnet-ruby hue. Notes of raspberry, dried rose petals, and spice, with just a hint of sappy nuance (possibly from the use of stems at the domaine then). Bright minerality threads through the palate, with silky tannin. Aeration in the glass brought a very elegant integration to the delicate style of the wine. Hint of volatility detected, but it was not enough to detract from the elegance and quality of the beautifully evolved wine. This wine will drink well for another 3 - 4 years.


2002 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges, Domaine Robert Chevillon
One of the oldest climats, this place was already planted in the year 1000. In 1023 it was given by Humbert, archdeacon of Autun, to the Saint-Denis chapter in Vergy; a barony to which Nuits was attached. It is said to have belonged to a Saint-Georges brotherhood founded by the Barbier de Peulle family in 1470. At the end of last century, Nuits was authorised to join its name to the name of the famous "Saint-Georges" vintage.

Exposure east. Altitude is about 245-260 metres. Surface area is 7 ha 52. All berries destemmed at this domaine.

My tasting note: A deep crimson colour. Very intense notes of black fruit preserve, prunes, with some subtle hints of red fruit, musk and some animal notes. Loads of rich concentration, with ripe velvety tannin and bright acidity giving this a very powerful structure. A wine still very primary and will take another 5 - 6 years to unfold its fullest potential, with a long life ahead. A great wine in the making.


2006 Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Maréchale, Domaine J-F Mugnier
The Clos de la Maréchale (monopole) has a surface of 9 hectares, 76 ares. It is the largest monopole in the Côte d'Or. The average age of the vines in 2009 is about 45 years old.

The geological stratum on which the Clos de la Maréchale is situated plunges well below the surface of the soil further south, marking the end of the Côte de Nuits, only to reappear in Le Montrachet between Puligny and Chassagne. This would explain the qualities of power and longevity in the wine.

On the first of November 2003, Domaine J-F Mugnier increased from 4 to 14 hectares. The Clos de la Maréchale, under the sole ownership of the Mugnier family since 1902, reverted to the Domaine when the farming contract with Faiveley ended after 53 years.

My tasting note: Beautiful bright ruby. A stylish wine, with elegance and harmony. Notes of red fruit, white musk, with nuances of spice and just beginning to take on some animal notes. A class act with a very long finish. Probably not a wine for the very long haul, but very delicious now and for the next 6 - 8 years.

Could we conclude much?  I would say not much apart from that the wines are Nuits are often overlooked in favour of other wines from Côte de Nuits.  So much can influence the quality and our enjoyment: the ambiance, the vintage, the climat, and above all the winemaker.  And I didn't even find out whether it was a fruit or root day in the biodynamic calendar!

And finally we finished with a preview of our friends' new wine from their New Zealand winery: a bottling of just 37 rows of their oldest vines planted in the best site.  It is not ready for commercial release yet but for sure, it will turn heads when it does reach the shelves (and the palate)!  Hopefully, not too soon as it will benefit from some cellaring.

Shun De Cuisine and Wine Evening

8 May 2010: Last night, a group of us went to Charisme Pavillon (restaurant name in French!), a private kitchen in Wanchai that specialises in ShunDe cuisine. As usual, each person brought along a wine or two of their choice. We started with a New Zealand Deutz sparkling wine made in the traditional method. A good effort but a relatively simple wine. Then we tried the Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Rare, which had structure, roundness and plenty of complexity. 35% Pinot Noir and 65% Chardonnay, with minimum of 3 years of ageing. Layers of honey, roasted hazelnuts and brioche, interlaced with ripe pears, almost Poire William like, figs, candied fruits, marcipan, nougat, mineral and floral/rose. Good level of acidity and a long finish. A perfect match with the "special recipe spare ribs", given its unusual flavour and the slight oiliness from the deep frying. Equally interesting was the 2006 Trélans by Domaine Alain Chabanon, a certified organic domaine, which is transitioning to biodynamic viticulture. A complex but elegant wine made from 45% Chenin Blanc and 55% Vermentino, with 30 months of ageing including 12 months in barrels. A very interesting nose of herbal, pot pourri, chamomile, honey, almonds. I thought it was almost fino-like on the nose. Less on acidity but incredibly well-structured. Its 14% of alcohol strength was well-disguised by the complexity and skilful winemaking. As if made for Oriental food, it went very well with the lotus root and pork patties, which were really yummy at the restaurant.

Then we tried 3 red burgundies in succession. The first was a 1996 Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes by Alain Hudelot-Noellat. For me, perhaps the wine had already passed its peak. It was much less vivacious than the other two wines and on the palate, it tasted rather thin and less interesting. The 2000 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots by Sylvain Cathiard was delicioius, drinking at peak now, with a nose of red fruit, earthy and spicy character, like cinnamon and cloves, well-integrated tannins. A soft elegant wine, rather low profile. The 2006 Echézeaux by Gros Frère et Soeur was not really ready for drinking yet. It was still evolving in our glasses despite having been decanted an hour before. A powerful wine, of medium-deep ruby core, with a firm structure, bolstered by fine-grained tannins and great concentration of red and black fruit character initially, raspberries, strawberries and even blueberries. Then the nose evolved to reveal sandalwood, herbal, medicinal and spicy notes. One could drink it now but it would certainly benefit from another 3 - 4 years of ageing in bottle to reveal its true colours. By this stage, I had lost interest in matching food with wine, but I did feel like a second helping of those special recipe spare ribs and hence ordered some more! (Probably because the Shun De Pan-Fried Chicken was rather disappointing!)

The house special fried rice was tasty, but not spectacular. It tasted like the usual "Yangchow Fried Rice" with the addition of soya sauce and a lot more barbecued pork and other ingredients!
When we opened the 2007 Villa Maria Reserve Pinot Noir, it became clear that it was a little unfair of us to try it just after the powerful 2006 Echézeaux. New Zealand David facing the French Goliaths! It was fruity and had some complexity but the finish was rather short and frankly less interesting. It did improve a little while we continued the meal and started planning our next get-together!

All in all, a very enjoyable evening and I look forward to going back to the restaurant to try other dishes especially those ones which required advanced ordering, such as an "Eight Treasure Duck".