Nuits Saint Georges 2019

Domaine Henri Gouges is one of the most famous wineries in the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. The Gouges family has owned vineyards in this region for many generations, but they took over the winery in 1919. In the 1920s, Henri Gouges, along with the Marquis d'Angerville, were some of the fiercest anti-cheating fighters in the Burgundy wine industry. In the 1930s, he took part in the survey of the vineyards of Burgundy and the development of the Cru classification on the instructions of the French Institute of National Origin and Quality. He was a member of this organization from the very beginning. Today the winery is run by the cousins ​​Pierre and Christian Gouges, the grandchildren of the first owner of the winery, but the next generation is gradually joining the work. No compromises are allowed here - Henri Gouges wines are created for long-term aging, and if they seem unconvincing in their youth - tant pis, there is nothing to be done. Two historical aspects should be noted. Firstly, Henri Gouge, the first owner of the winery, was the mayor of the commune of Nui-Saint-Georges at the time the decision was made to classify the vineyards. He advocated that the Grand Cru class not be awarded to local vineyards. This despite the fact that his vineyard Les St-Georges had the best chance of doing so. Secondly, it was during his time, due to a mutation, that some of the Pinot vines belonging to him began to give not a red, but a white grape called Pinot Gouges, which is today grown in the vineyard of Les Perrières of the winery. Other winemakers also received mutated bushes. The estate consists of 14.5 hectares - six vineyards of the 1er Cru class of the Nuits-St-Georges appellation. All harvested grapes are cleared from the ridges. Vinification takes place in cement vats and lasts approximately 15 days, depending on the conditions of the particular harvest year. After maceration, the wine is poured into small oak barrels, about a quarter of which are renewed annually. Before bottling, the wine is lightly filtered and clarified with egg white. The production volumes are small, so the demand always exceeds the supply, which makes it increasingly difficult to find wines from this winery.

Pinot Noir has very aromatic profile, very fresh acidity and low level of quaite soft tannins. The nature of Pinot Noir wine is its flavors of red berries and cherry (red sour cherries in lighter wines and cooked black cherries in bold examples). This wine matures very exating, developing notes of berry jam, violets, leather, moss and mushrooms.

There isn't a single Grand Cru vineyard in this appellation, named in honour of the Côte de Nuits region, but there are several notable Premier Cru ones. Nuits-Saint-Georges red wines will be very suitable for those interested in the price/quality ratio. The wines are rich, spicy and very stylish.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) can be confusing because of the multiplicity of its appellations - all the small vineyards are divided between multiple producers so it can often be difficult to understand this diversity. However, it is the exact reason why the wines of Burgundy are considered to be the finest in the world. A common topic of discussion, when talking about Burgundy, is the concept of "terroir" - a unique combination of soil and climate conditions that affects the taste of wine in the appellations, making it unique to each village. Winemakers mainly use the capricious Pinot Noir and the classical Chardonnay to create true masterpieces, while Gamay and Aligote are used to make wines of a bit simpler style. Particular attention should be paid to the hierarchy of wines. First there are the regional and village wines, a step higher - the Premier Cru wines and the outstanding Grand Cru - at the top. Due the complex and inconsistent weather that can notably impact wine quality especially in bad harvest years, a very important factor here is the so called millesime - the harvest year of the grapes the particular wine is produced of, because each of these years has its own unique taste. Purchasing Burgundy wines is not easy because there are many details that should be taken into consideration - the class of the vineyard, the assessment of the manufacturer, the age of the vines, the quality of the wine as well as the millesime and, of course, the potential of ageing. The sellers play a big role here - they must be truly passionate about wine and able to offer only the best quality producers with a good reputation. That is exactly the way "Noble Wine" works!