Regional Roundtables CÔTE DE NUITS

Regional Roundtables

CÔTE DE NUITS

• Region makes up northern part of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or or “slope of gold” • Soil is mixture of clay and limestone, or marl • Pinot Noir! Some Chardonnay also grown • Patchwork of multiple vineyards and classifications: Bourgogne Rouge / Côte de Nuits-Villages / Villages / Premier Cru (1er Cru) / Grand Cru • Most prestigious communes from north to south: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey St.- Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echézeaux, Nuits St. Georges • General style is elegant, finessed, lighter-bodied but good concentration • In addition to specific site, vintage and especially producer are very important •

1) Coillot Marsannay Rouge ’10 – Marsannay, France • Marsannay commune is furthest north in Côte de Nuits; appellation status in 1987 • Highly varied soil types: Bajocian and Bathonian limestone, loess, silt, clay, gravel • Lighter bodied, less structured, more fresh and lean; also great rosés • Coillot focuses on natural, sustainable farming with very low yields and late harvesting

2) Duband Côte de Nuits-Villages ’09 – Côte de Nuits, France • Côte de Nuits-Villages is an appellation for mostly red wines from communes of Fixin, Brochon, Corgoloin, Comblanchien, Premeaux-Prissey • A more basic (less specific) appellation; vines often on flatter land, richer soil • Côte de Nuits-Villages can be a source of great value: look for high-quality producers • David Duband is a relatively new producer (1st vintage in 1991) gaining acclaim quickly with an elegant, pure style • 100% of the fruit for this bottling is from Brochon, just north of Gevrey Chambertin

3) Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes ’10 – Gevrey-Chambertin, France • Gevrey-Chambertin considered the sturdiest, most “masculine” of Côte de Nuits • Varying soil composition, but mostly brown limestone and marl • Nine contiguous Grand Crus: Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Charmes- Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin

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• Vieilles Vignes = old vines; provide lower yields, more concentration and complexity • Marc Roy is a tiny domaine — just 4ha — currently directed by Alexandrine Roy; her focus is on “making the wine in the vineyards” more than in the cellar

4) Bryczek Morey St.-Denis Villages ’09 – Morey St.-Denis, France • Morey St.-Denis generally considered “in between” style of Gevrey (structured, firm) and Chambolle (elegant, finessed) • Varying soil composition, but mostly brown limestone and marl • Four of its own Grand Crus: Clos-de-la-Roche, Clos-Saint-Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos-de-Tart; Morey shares the Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru with Chambolle-Musigny • Christophe Bryczek, third generation and current winemaker in his early 30s, has taken quality to a much higher level (and greater recognition) in last few vintages

5) Lignier-Michelot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes ’09 – Chambolle-Musigny, France • Chambolle-Musigny known for the most elegant, “feminine” wines in the Côte de Nuits • Considerably more limestone and less clay in the soil • Two Grand Crus: Le Musigny (which can also make whites from Chardonnay!) and Bonnes-Mares (shared with Morey St.-Denis) • Fourth-generation Virgile Lignier took over estate in 1992 and began estate-bottling as well as focusing strongly on work in the vineyards • Vines for this bottling are 50 years old

6) Gérard Mugneret Bourgogne Rouge ’10 – Burgundy, France • Bourgogne Rouge can come from anywhere in Burgundy… for producers based in the Côte d’Or, it’s often “declassified” wine from one or more specific communes • This bottling from vineyards in Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny (high QPR!) • Vosne-Romanée considered to give the richest, most seductively spiced and “aristocratic” wines in the Côte de Nuits • Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echézeaux often referred to as one commune, since the latter has only two Grand Crus (Echézeaux and Grands-Echézeaux), and the rest of its wines are labeled as Vosne-Romanée • Six Grand Crus in Vosne-Romanée: Richebourg, La Tâche, La Romanée, Romanée- Conti, Romanée-St.-Vincent, La Grande Rue • Gérard Mugneret (Mugneret sisters’ cousin) style is accessible yet age-worthy, very “Vosne”