Nuits St-Georges Premier Cru

This vineyard sits across the road from the house, with quite deep (two metres) topsoil over marne. Very typically Nuits, there’s plenty of black fruit and sweet spice on the nose, while the palate offers red and black cherry, and some floral touches. Weighty, dense and concentrated with a rocky, limestone texture to the tannins; it’s deep, dense, complex and age-worthy. Drink 2023-2030.

Patrice explains that the hard work they did at the start of the year in pruning short and carrying out a severe de-budding, as well as a little green harvesting on younger vines, paid dividends in terms of avoiding excessive yields and consequent dilution. The dry and warm conditions towards the end of the season allowed them the luxury of choosing when to harvest, in fact beginning on 9th September. Patrice compares the vintage to 1979 and 1989, highlighting the wines’ impeccable balance and freshness (the latter he prefers over power) as particular strengths. Our notes indicate whether the wines are domaine or négoce bottlings.

Etienne Grivot has emerged as a star name in Vosne Romanée and neighbouring Nuits over the last few vintages. This is a superb cuvée of village Nuits, fine and fresh with abundant energy and a subtle range of red and black fruit flavours. Impressively persistent.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)

Nuits St Georges is renowned for its rich, weighty wines, the most stylish of which come from the Vosne-Romanee side of the appellation. Amongst these Aux Lavieres is a well thought of lieu-dit beneath premier cru Les Murgers.

Brilliant purple with a magical intensity of fruit, an absolute explosion of dense raspberry notes, great fruit weight on the palate, with energy and well integrated acidity. Exceptional length. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Despite this being a very late season, Patrice compares 2013 to the fruit of early vintages such as 2007 and 2011, but with more stuffing. It also reminds him of 1980, a particularly successful vintage chez Rion. The 2013 crop is a small one though, a touch more than 2012 but less than 2011. They employed two sorting tables, and since the grapes which reached the vats were all healthy, they used less sulphur during vinification.
 

The resurgence begun by the trio of Erwan Faiveley, Bernard Hervé and winemaker Jérôme Flous, who arrived in 2007, is very apparent in this brilliant series of 2011 wines. They began the harvest on 31 August and picked for 9 days. There are some new wines this year from a contract for the whole production of an estate in Chambolle-Musigny and the Faiveley white wines from totally healthy grapes are particularly successful in 2011, perhaps the best we have seen from the new regime.

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This was the first domaine vineyard, purchased by Joseph Faiveley in the mid 19th century. Dense dark purple, with very explosive fruit, it is sensual at first then sturdy, long and fine with a crunchy depth of flavour.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

Fine bright mid purple with a lovely mix of flowers and red fruit on the nose. The concentrated crunchy fruit is reminiscent of the 1993 vintage at the same stage.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer

A triumph from the first sight of its brilliant bright purple colour. Ripe blackberries and plums make up a sumptuous mid-palate exuding all the warmth of the vintage. Waves of flavour continue right through to the very persistent finish. Drink 2012-2020.

Beautiful bright purple in colour and with a really attractive nose of oak and seamlessly integrated fruit, this wine has a lovely middle ground of dark fruit. A superb village wine.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

This has been one of the most exciting cellars in the whole of Burgundy for the last few vintages, a fact which is beginning to be reflected in the pricing. The significant reduction in crop this year, which Etienne Grivot ascribes more to the extreme winter cold than poor flowering, is also a factor. Etienne has been working hard to refine the tannins in his wines, and has surely succeeded in 2010, by producing wines of great energy but with suave, sophisticated finishes. These are brilliant wines that unfortunately, are in short supply.

A Premier Cru which is clearly from the Vosne side of Nuits-St Georges. A pretty pale purple, with real purity to the nose, more floral than plummy. Some intensity rather than density. Then the concentration of fruit builds, and the acidity is nicely folded in to the body of the wine. 
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Wine Director

Despite the reduced crop in Beaune and Savigny in particular, Nicolas Potel and Sylvain Debord have put together a beautiful range in 2013. The vintage reminds Nicolas a little bit of 2002. They began picking on 26th September, opted for minimal extraction during vinification, and used less in the way of whole bunch fermentation, except for the Premiers Crus in the Côte de Nuits.

Really well concentrated, this earthy Nuits-St Georges Les St Georges 1er Cru from Thibault Liger-Belair blends truffle notes with an abundance of plummy fruit to create an ultra rich style.

Until 31st August 2017 this product is discounted by up to 30%. Prices shown include discount; no further discount will be applied at checkout.

2011 was a relatively easy year in the vineyards for Thibault, as there were no problems with health. The main decision was the date to pick (from 5th September) which he chose by leaf colour as an indication of the end of the vine cycle. He employed very gentle vinification this year to keep the fruit fresh. Thibault has been moving towards and elegant style, a little bit away from the plumpness of his early wines. He manages this through shrewd judgement on the use of stems and particular attention to the type and toasting of wood to be used. He is especially proud of his ‘tartare’ barrels with minimum toasting.

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Mingling plums and prunes with weight and depth, this wine is initially restrained but it is all there. A huge volume of flavour develops on the palate, revealing a wealth of fruit and some tannins. This is perfectly in balance for the long term, and marks a big step forward for Thibault. Jasper Morris MW,Berrys' Burgundy Director

An amazing intensity on the nose of this classy wine is immediately appealing, with lifted aromatics and a good density of fruit within. Bright red fruit expresses itself wonderfully, with hints of a little tangerine note and fresh acidity.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director This domaine continues to deliver exceptionally high quality wines and is surely now one of the brightest jewels in the crown of Vosne-Romanée. The harvest began on 31st August in 2011 and that is the earliest ever at this domaine. Etienne Grivot was happy to pick at 12 to 12.5%, seeing no value in waiting and losing acidity. The wines have a dramatic tension to them in youth and will certainly age exceptionally well.

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Just 12hl/ha were produced in 2010, one third of the normal crop. Fortunately, the wine that has been made is majestically concentrated, with a lovely full purple colour, exceptionally rich mouth filling dark red fruit, fresh but ripe tannins and outstanding persistence. This is really brilliant wine!
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

There is a marvellous sense of energy in Thibault Liger-Belair’s 2010 wines, perhaps his finest vintage to date. This is a vintage where the wines express the characters of their terroirs very well. Thibault decided on a longer than usual vinification but with very little active extraction and fewer stems than in 2009. Where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton, Chambolle-Musigny) his team manages the vineyard work after the initial pruning.

Dense, bright purple and offering a powerful nose with dark red fruit and some chocolate notes, the tremendous wine has a structure based on ripe tannins backed up by fresh acidity. A little more time in the barrel will see this wine come up trumps.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

2010 is year three of the ‘new’ Faiveley style and they have again delivered an excellent set of wines. They picked from 20th September to 29th, beginning with Côte d’Or whites. The new regime has concentrated on an overhaul of winemaking principles, leading to a refinement of style. Next up will be a renovation of their Côte Chalonnaise cellars. They have also been expanding significantly into the Côte de Beaune, especially for white wines.

Les Porêts was the first vineyard the Faiveleys ever bought. This wine has fair depth of colour, quite gentle and graceful, with medium weight but impressively long. Unusually for the house style, some whole bunches (15%) have been used to lighten the density of central Nuits-St Georges and confirm this as a stylish wine. Medium, deep, red fruit, and very persistent.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

The new era at Faiveley is now into its sixth vintage and the house style, which allows the fruit to express itself in a very seductive manner while enhancing the individual qualities of each terroir, has been safely established. Now the management is concentrating on reinforcing their supplybase with some crafty contracts and vineyard purchases in both Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. We may be able to offer more cuvées in the future, and though opportunities are clearly limited by the 2012 vintage circumstances, we have been well looked after this year.

 

Burgundy 2012 En Primeur - Staff Favourite
Bright red and black fruit, rich and velvety on nose. Delightful black fruit on the palate, rich and pure, but with some fine, grippy tannins keeping it all in check. Yet another triumph from the talented Pierre Vincent of Domaine de la Vougeraie.
Chris Pollington, Fine Wine

The Clos comprises three hectares in all, but half is being replanted. The rest are 40-year-old vines. There is deep red fruit on the nose which blossoms gloriously in the glass and continues on the palate, leaving a rosy glow behind. A spectacular debut vintage.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

This superb domaine grows in reputation and also in size: this year sees the first vintage of Nuits-St Georges, Clos de Thorey. Look out for even further additions in the next two years. Winemaker Pierre Vincent’s style is for lighter colours and very sensual wines and he has done a cracking job again in 2012; a vintage which supported the plentiful use of whole bunch fermentation. The domaine is certified organic and fully biodynamic.

This Nuits-St Georges Lavires from Jean Grivot has a heavenly nose, with a little Vosne-ish perfume sitting on a bedrock of Nuits. There is perfectly integrated oak, making this a really classy wine with beautiful aromatics all the way through.

Sporting a noble, imperial purple colour, this wine stands out in every department. It is classic Nuits-St Georges in the depth of dark fruit, broad-shouldered, powerful rather than flamboyant; yet with a superbly fresh, almost saline, finish. Drink 2024-2034.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

While delighted with the health and quality of his grapes, Thibault felt that it was necessary to adopt a light hand with extraction this year, as phenolic ripeness was only just in place. Sugar levels were correct, acidity in the end just what was needed, so his wines have the typical energy of 2015. There are a few more whole bunches than usual. As always, the wines take longer in this cellar to come round but we were impressed with the potential.

Only four barrels were made this year, when more than a dozen could be expected. This is the vineyard just across the road from the house, with quite deep (two metres) topsoil over marne. It’s deep, powerful and very typically Nuits-St Georges. It’s intense; Maxime offered cerise bigareau , which could be maraschino, and is a good call, but there is cherry stone too. Serious, but not too long-term. Drink 2024-2032.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Patrice Rion and his wife Michèle began their own small domaine in 1990 with just two wines, Bourgogne Rouge, Les Bons Bâtons and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras, while Patrice was still working as winemaker with his family at Domaine Daniel Rion. In 2000 Patrice left the family business to develop his own estate further. Today most of the vineyards are in Nuits-St Georges and Chambolle-Musigny. Recent vintages have seen the increasing involvement of Patrice’s son Maxime. The Rion cellar is a bit emptier this year, partially because of the frost but also, more significantly, because their arrangement in Chambolle for Villages, Fuées, Amoureuses and Bonnes Mares has terminated, and 2015 was the last vintage of those lovely wines. Maxime Rion initially found the 2016s a little “monolithic” after fermentation, but they have discovered their terroir in barrel. The vintage shows more red fruit than black, with the fruit of frosted vineyards having more colour. The long, cool end of season reminds him of 1996 but, whereas that vintage is only starting to drink now, the 2016s will open up earlier. The estate also has a new wine, a Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits from the Dames Huguettes vineyard. It’s made from bought-in fruit, but chosen from an especially well-sited and tended vineyard.

Goodness, this is impressive. Of course, this is a great terroir, which, combined with the vintage, has created a very connected, virile wine. Think of the DNA helix (or, more classically as Thibault proposed, the knot garden at Versailles), with pinpoint vivid fruit, beautifully sprung tannins and shimmering acidity comprising the strands. Drink 2024-2034.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

In 2001 Thibault took over an old family property in Nuits-St Georges, reclaiming the vines which had been contracted out to various share-croppers. The family jewels ( his branch) consist of Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot and Nuits-St Georges Les St Georges, to which he has added further vineyards and a few cuvées made from purchased grapes. The vineyards are certified organic and farmed biodynamically, with horses used to plough the vineyards where possible. The oak regime is not to exceed 50 percent new barrels but also not to use any barrels more than three years old. Thibault has also developed several single-vineyard bottlings of Moulin-à-Vent (Beaujolais). In summer 2017 Thibault opened a new, environmentally friendly cuverie which harnesses geothermal and solar energy and recycles rainwater. Thibault Liger-Belair is a busy man. He has his fascinating project in Moulin-à- Vent (find his Cru Beaujolais wines on page 55) as well as overseeing the forestry and manufacture of the barrels for all his wines, and experimenting with very light toasting. Overall, he is quietly satisfied with this year’s results. He continues to work with varying levels of whole bunches and is trialling a refinement which involves removing the thick, central stalk of bunches, to leave mini-bunches. He was especially badly hit by frost in the Hautes Côtes and Chambolle but elsewhere this is a relatively happy cellar.

Thibault included just 30 percent whole bunches this year, which allowed him to work the fruit a little harder, extracting more colour and flavour from the grapes. That is not to say that the wine is extracted; indeed, there is a real finesse and elegance to this which one might not typically associate with Nuits. The flavours are subtle and delicate, with suggestions of rose petals and violets and a touch of cassis. Drink 2023-2033.

Thibault continues to keep himself busy, having bought more vineyards in Moulinà-Vent. In the Côte d’Or he waited until 13th September to pick, feeling that the skins were not ripe until that point. He describes the vintage as transparent, where each vineyard’s identity is clearly visible, and one where those with large yields will not be able to hide. In the Beaujolais, hail was again a significant factor, reducing the average yield for those wines he made to an eye-watering 8hl/ha. The damage was so bad that it cost more to pick the grapes than he will make on the wines, but he felt a duty to harvest and vinify the fruit. With careful use of the vibrating sorting table, he was able to carefully select only the clean fruit and has made exceptional wines.

A ludicrously small yield, but it is really good this year. Fine, bright, deep pink and purple with very heady fruit and a vast mouthful of energy, much livelier than in some of the earlier vintages. Strongly recommended. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The vintage began here on 6th October, once again being short on quantity but with good qualitative potential. Thibault feels that the 2013s can take a long barrel ageing, perhaps up to 24 months. He is using fewer lees, but finer, in order to avoid too many reductive problems.