Log in or create an account now and be a part of the world's largest wine site Research, rate and review wines; buy online; receive personalized recommendations.
Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Les Pruliers(2004)
- Winery:
- Domaine Henri Gouges
- Varietal:
- Pinot Noir
- Region:
- France > Burgundy > Côte de Nuits > Nuits St. Georges
- Type:
- Red Wine
- User Tags:
- old vines, normal, acidic, cellar, classic, wine punch, typicity, structure, racy, fruit
Starting at
$36.55 USD
$36.55 USD
- Burghound
- Issue 21, Jan 01, 2006
- 88/100
-
May 2008
- I met this trip with both Pierre and Christian Gouges (cousins, not brothers as is commonly assumed); Christian is responsible for the winemaking and Pierre tends the vines. They describe 2004 as difficult. May and June caused problems because of oidium and mildew and August was no picnic because of rain and limited luminosity. September was incredible though, perhaps even miraculous with warm to almost hot days but cool evenings which helped to retain acidity (acidity is respired at night). Despite a great September, it did not clear up all the problems and we had a massive sorting job to do and read more...here in Nuits, we didn't suffer any hail damage the way much of the rest of the Côte did. Sugars were much better than anyone would have expected at around 12.5% and we chaptalized less than .5%. The skins were about their normal thickness and the juice to dry extract ratio was about normal as well, which means that we did not do a saignée (a bleeding off of a certain percentage of the unfermented juice to try and rebalance and concentrate the must). We did a more or less typical vinification at 15 to 18 days of fermentation with moderate punching down. For us, 2004 is a classic vintage and for comparison purposes, it's like a racy 2000 that offers much better transparency than 2003. The present plan is to bottle the '04s in February and March, probably without fining or filtration - the '03s were bottled this way. I also discussed the aging potential of the '03s now that they are in bottle and Pierre raised an interesting point, nothing that it's an open question as to whether the wines will go quickly to secondary aromas but keep their structure, a bit like the 1990s have. (Robert Haas/Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; Selection Becky Wasserman/Le Serbet, O.W. Loeb, Anthony Sarjeant, Howard Ripley, Seckford Wines, Avery's, Berry Brothers & Rudd and Heyman, Barwell and Rudd, UK). Note: a 2 ha parcel with a mix of 80% 75 year old vines and the remainder in 15 to 20 year old vines Despite some noticeable reduction, the aromatic intensity and complexity the old vines deliver is impressive with perfumed red fruits, earth, iron and spice notes that are followed by rich and broadly muscular full-bodied flavors underpinned by chewy tannins and a long and sappy finish. This will require some cellar time to be at its best. (hide)
Was this review helpful?
