The Côte de Nuits In Your Glass(es)

Wines from the Côte de Nuits are easy to pin down. Reds dominate. They are full of black fruit (apart from those of Chambolle), they are finessed (except when the provenance is Nuits-St-Georges) and as Grand Crus they are distinguished (unless they come from lower third of Clos Vougeot). In comparison to Côte de Beaune wines, those from Nuits show firmer tannins and possess greater density, and may require more time in bottle. They are worthy of, even in need of, cellaring…but only a few. Clear as mud?

Tour with me from north to south through this blessed strip of earth to find out what each village delivers to your glass.

Photo courtesy of Neil Faz via Flickr/cc

Marsannay

Marsannay is the only Burgundian village granted a rosé appellation. There’s also white, but Marsannay’s main focus is red. The wines are frank, meaning rough around the edges. The color is copious and the aromas are packed with earth and game. Drink most within a few years of vintage.

Pour: Domaine Collotte 2009 Marsannay Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

Dense and layered nose: forest floor, boysenberry and super-ripe black plum. Chunky tannins, marked acidity and lingering finish.

Photo courtesy of musigny via Flickr/cc

Fixin

A sleeper appellation, Fixin produces masculine reds. Whites are made but are even further off the radar screen. These reds are “working class” compared to the “white collar” wines one town south in Gevrey-Chambertin. They show lots of bravado (solid body with broad tannin) and “cologne” (sweaty flannel and creosote).

Pour: Domaine Pierre Gelin 2009 Fixin

Blackberry and mulberry flavors bump against roasted wild boar accented with lavender. Medium-bodied, the tannins are strapping and the acidity is boisterous.

Photo courtesy of Pascal Labranche via Flickr/cc

Gevrey-Chambertin

THIS is Grand Cru central, with more Grand Crus than any other village in Burgundy. Gevrey combines the best of the Côte de Nuits’ most finessed appellations with the greatest flavor intensity of the most pungent ones. There’s a wine profile and price point for everyone, as long as you want red. No white wine here!

Pour: Denis Bachelet 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

Quintessential. Black cherry, mushroom and tobacco leaf with coca inflections. The tannins are suave, the acidity is vivacious and the texture is succulent.

Photo courtesy of Michal Osmenda via Flickr/cc

Morey-St-Denis

Morey dances in the curtains while neighbors Gevrey and Chambolle take center stage. Still, Morey’s roster boasts more Grand Crus than Chambolle. The wines most resemble Gevrey yet are firmer with greater acidic backbone and grippier tannins. There is also a clear emphasis on earth and minerality. Look for fruit elsewhere.

Pour: Domaine Forey 2008 Morey-St-Denis

Mineral, gamey, intense, focused. Everything that embodies Morey.

And pour: Domaine Dujac 2008 Morey-St-Denis Monts-Luisants Blanc Premier Cru

My favorite and a rare Morey Blanc. Dujac also makes a village level wine, but splurge for the Premier Cru. It’s a mid-weight Chardonnay replete with pit fruits, grapefruit pith, tarragon and generous minerality delicately balanced with new oak.

Photo courtesy of Vineyard Adventures via Flickr/cc

Chambolle-Musigny

In Chambolle, the fruit character is decidedly red and the personality is unmistakably feminine and bewitching. Tannins turn silky and acidity integrates entirely into the background. Chambolle-Musigny can break hearts!

Pour: Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat 2008 Chambolle-Musigny

Impressively pure aromas of morello cherry and lingonberry delight the nose. The restrained core offers supple tannins and mid-palate creaminess while finishing moderately long.

Photo courtesy of e_calamar via Flickr/cc

Vougeot

Only reds from the Clos Vougeot may be Grand Cru, and the clos is, effectively, the appellation. The issue is that authorities won’t dissect this walled-in vineyard. In a region where the subtle temperature difference afforded by a ditch changes the AOC, how can 50 contiguous hectares be classified as Grand Cru? Vougeot wines resemble Gevrey’s with bacon and roasted nut accents.

Pour: Domaine René Engel 2004 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

Tobacco and crushed leaves accompany forest fruits and mushroom and lead to a long finish. Compact and palate-coating, the fine tannin and buoyant acidity keep this muscular and weighty wine bright.

Photo courtesy of Michal Osmenda via Flickr/cc

Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echézeaux

Like ballet dancers, the wines of Vosne-Romanée are lithe, sensual and purposeful. Interestingly, Vosne-Romanée possesses a spiciness that is not wood-derived. Next door, Flagey-Echézeaux houses two Grand Crus that show more forceful structure than Vosne wines.

Pour: Domaine Michel Gros 2008 Vosne-Romanée

Raspberry, roses and licorice prevail. Finely integrated high acidity is accompanied by succulent tannins and a fairly long finish.

Photo courtesy of Gosiway via Flickr/cc

Nuits-St-Georges and Prémeaux

Nuits-St-Georges poses plenty of juxtapositions. Glorious wines claim their roots here, yet near-swill is made, too. The wines resemble those of Gevrey yet show more funk and more rigorous tannins. Nuits-St-Georges wines are usually drunk young; if you have a Premier Cru, set it aside for a while.

Pour: Henri Gouges 2006 Nuits-St-Georges

Massively earthy and lightly rustic with iron undertones, this is textbook Nuits-St-Georges. For a village wine, this offers impressive balance and the first hints of maturity.

Photo courtesy of ijulien via Flickr/cc

Check back in a few weeks to see what the villages of the Côte de Beaune deliver to your glass(es).

Want To Learn More?

Curious about wines from the Cote de Nuits? Check out this recent article by Christy Canterbury MW about the different wines from this fascinating region!

Slideshow View

Comments

nansea999

319715 1

French wines are difficutl for me because the labels never indicate the varietal. i anxiously read your article, only to realize it was as useless as all the labels. All it said was red, fruit and tannans no mentions of the grapes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if your newsletter is supposed to be informative: it is not.
Nancy

Aug 09, 2012 at 12:41 PM
Christy-
Canterbury-
MW

Hand of Snooth

1060100 41,254

Hi Nancy,

Sorry for that omission, but red Burgundy is always made exclusively with Pinot Noir. I hope you found the rest of the several hundred words helpful :-)

Aug 09, 2012 at 12:47 PM
mrooney16

1025588 3

Are there any whites in these villages that are worth looking at?

Thanks!
Maureen

Aug 09, 2012 at 2:59 PM
Christy-
Canterbury-
MW

Hand of Snooth

1060100 41,254

Hi Maureen,

Not too many. In the northern part of the Côte d'Or most of the wine production is red. A few steps south, in the Côte de Beaune, however, you can feast on many wonderful Chardonnay! I did, however, mention the crystalline Morey-St-Denis Blancs of Domaine Dujac in this piece. They're pricey but quite wonderful.

Here's my last piece on the Côte de Beaune: http://www.snooth.com/articles/bull... . My parallel piece on the Côte de Beaune in Your Glass(es) will be out very soon.

Santé!

Aug 09, 2012 at 4:43 PM
zinfandel1

Hand of Snooth

154660 690

As I am just beginning to get into Burgundy wines, what do you suggest as far as reds that are affordable and still give a good representattion of each of the areas you covered?

Aug 09, 2012 at 9:31 PM
Christy-
Canterbury-
MW

Hand of Snooth

1060100 41,254

Hey Zinfandel1,

"Affordable" is the key word here. Can you define a range of numbers? To talk straight, prices start at $25 for Côte de Nuits village wines. If that's too juicy a number, there's other great red Burg...we'll just slip to a different area! Let me know!

Aug 09, 2012 at 9:59 PM
zinfandel1

Hand of Snooth

154660 690

Good Morning
I'm looking in the $25-$50 Range. Hopefully that will give me some sense of the region as far as taste.

Aug 10, 2012 at 7:18 AM
topherg3

921880 74

That's why I love French wines, because the label only tells you the place from where it comes. You have to do some research as to what varitals are excepted in each AOC. We as Americans want it as simple as possible. If it's Pinot Noir then put that on the label. But the problem with that is, one Pinot Noir from the next is going to taste different. That's the whole point of Burgundy. Each village and each little tiny plot of vineyard has it's own destinct characteristics that only are found there. I just got back from Beaune and the guide told me when someone comes and orders a Pinot Noir, we ask which one we have thousands. Doing alittle research about each region is not too much to ask I think.

Aug 10, 2012 at 8:31 AM
LoveVinum8-
6

502734 10

Thank you for this informative article.
Are the differences in tannins, aroma and flavour mainly due to the various soils or is the weather also so different between the various villages / appelations?
Any comment on the recent wine scandal in Burgundy and whether all of the forged bottles have been removed?

Aug 10, 2012 at 9:23 AM
Christy-
Canterbury-
MW

Hand of Snooth

1060100 41,254

Zinfandel1,

The Fixin and Morey I mention in the article are good places to start. Charles Audoin makes great Marsannays in that price range, and Frédéric Esmonin's Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur is not to be missed. I hope you enjoy them...and many others!

Aug 10, 2012 at 9:48 AM
Christy-
Canterbury-
MW

Hand of Snooth

1060100 41,254

LoveVinum8,

The differences are mostly due to soils and exposure. The weather is fairly homogenous within the Côte de Nuits, but there can be surprising differences between the Côte de Nuits and Beaune depending on the year. And, of course, weather events like hail can affect part one of a village and not the other.

I'm not sure sure which scandal you are referring to, but I'm guessing you're referencing the Rudy Kurniawan one. (Background: Rudy faked bottles of great wines, including a lot of Burgundy.) Unfortunately, many of those wines are still "out there" (after all they've been bought by many different people over many years), and many people don't know whether or not they have fake bottles. The good news is that this affects largely only the most coveted bottlings and older vintages. There's plenty of bona fide Burgundy out there!

Aug 10, 2012 at 9:58 AM
SM

1097030 209

Hi Ms.Canterbury,
I did enjoy your article Cote de Nuits as its simple to understand and informative, with the whole of Bourgogne being intricate and intertwining articles that break it down village by village.

Eagerly looking forward to your Cote De Beaune in Your Glasses article!

Cheers!

Sol

Aug 10, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Michael-
Altman

1127050 92

Loved your snap shot view of the Cote de Nuits. But there as many exceptions as there are rules and individual vignerons play the greatest roles. One of my favourites is Domaine Rene Leclerc in Gevrey Chambertin with Rene's son Francois now running the show. Looking forward to your next piece.
Michael

Aug 13, 2012 at 6:49 PM