Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 7 – The Village of Nuits-Saint-Georges


We explore the Geology, Geography and Wines of the Côte de Nuits Villages: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges

It’s the turn of Nuits-Saint-Georges today as we explore the sub-regions and villages of Burgundy. It’s about as close as you can come to visiting them.

In this series, we’ll cover Chassagne-Montrachet, Pugliny-Montrachet, Saint Aubin, Mersault, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Clos-Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin and Chablis.

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There’s a quick refresher on the regions of Burgundy at the end of this post to help you place yourself within Burgundy and France as a whole.

The Reds of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the Côte de Nuits

Although it rests on the southern border of Vosne-Romanée home to a set of incredible Grand Cru vineyards, Nuits-Saint-Georges has no Grand Cru’s of its own. Many would argue that one or two of the Premier Cru vineyards are worthy of an upgrade.

It’s uncanny how many times I’ve had a village Nuits from a good producer with 10-15 years of bottle age and remarked on both the quality and beauty of the wine.

Nuits produces virtually 100% Pinot Noir. There are a couple of sneaky whites, literally, made in Nuits. Henri Gouges makes a Pinot ‘Gouges’, a Blanc mutation of Pinot Noir, and a couple of Chardonnay’s from Domaine de l’Arlot.

The wines of Nuits like any village varying significantly. The sites toward the south tend to be more masculine. The sites to the north closer to Vosne-Romanée tend to be more feminine. They can offer incredible complexity and vitality.

The Village of Nuits-Saint-Georges

In this video we explore the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Exploring the Wines of Nuits-Saint-Georges with Thibault Liger-Belair Complex, bold, and fascinating: That is how Thibault Liger-Belair, winemaker in Nuits-Saint-Georges, explains why he’d choose these three words to describe the appellation. He also shares his tips on how to best enjoy the wines of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Exploring the Wines of Nuits-Saint-Georges with Jérôme Flous, enologist at the Domaine Faiveley.

Detailed Map of Nuits-Saint-Georges

Click on the image to view full size map

The Regions of Burgundy

The best bit of Burgundy is a thin strip running from North to South around 50km in length, to the South East of Paris

It’s split into three main regions, within each of these regions there are villages which have specific single vineyards planted in them to the varieties red varieties: Pinot Noir and Gamay, and the white varieties: Chardonnay and Aligoté, a lesser variety that produces some fun wines at more affordable prices.

The three main regions in the strip South of Dijon are:

  1. Côte D’Or – meaning the Golden Slope, derived from it’s original name, Côte d’Orient, East Slope, within which rest:
    1. Côte-de-Nuits – South of the city of Dijon and North of the town of Beaune famous for it’s Pinot Noir. The best known villages are: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-St-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. 5% of Burgundy production including Chablis.
    2. Côte-du-Beaune – The area around and South of Beaune famous for Chardonnay including the 5 Grand Cru vineyards and many very good Pinot producing vineyards. The best known villages are: Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Mersault, Volnay, Pommard and Saint Aubin. 10% of production including Chablis.
  2. Côte-Chalonaise – Mixing more affordable Chardonnay and Pinot that can be of excellent quality. The villages of Rully, Mercurey and Givry producing their best wines.
  3. Mâconnaise – The least regarded of the main regions, still capable of producing some very good wines. Becoming a shining light for value with the ever increasing prices of Burgundy.

In addition to these, the two regions of Beaujolais, mostly producing Gamay, (at the South end of the Dijon Strip) and Chablis, mostly producing Chardonnay (between the southern part of Champagne and Dijon) are part of the Bourgogne wine region.

Click to view full sized map

 

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