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Red Wine

Domaine Pierre Thibert Nuits St. Georges 2017

Appellation
Nuits St Georges
Region
Côte de Nuits
Vintage
2017
6 In Stock
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$69.00
 
SKU: ETHB04R-17
Overview

Black fruits layered on a complex background of coffee and spice, with fine tannins already melting in. Structured but still fluid, a great texture. Complete through the mid-palate with a long finish on cherry fruit and structure.

Winemaker
Vintage

BURGUNDY 2017 VINTAGE

If 2016 tested the faith and resolve of wine makers in Burgundy, 2017 has to be seen as recompense, and as a miracle of sorts. While the rest of wine-growing Europe suffered crippling late-spring frosts in 2017, Burgundy for the most part (for once!) survived.

A mild winter and an accelerated spring left the Burgundy vineyards in a vulnerable position when, in the second half of April, temperatures across France barely rose above freezing for two weeks.

Three hard-frost nights pretty much did in Right Bank Chablis once again. But as the rest of Burgundy survived the first week, the growers found the will to fight back. And on the night of April 27th, a year and a day after the 2016 frost that took 80% of the 2016 harvest, a severe frost was forecast for the length of the Cote d’Or.

It’s now a part of local legend how, on the following morning, we awoke in a thick cloud of smoke.  In the early hours, from north to south, the vignerons had mobilized to set alight dampened bales of hay, sending up a cloud cover to filter the first burning rays of dawn. And it worked.

The air was thick, and driving was tricky. A customer at the butcher shop in Meursault jokingly asked for a smoked chicken. And, of course, the authorities were up in arms over the pollution risks.  But the crop was saved, and there has been ever since a spirit of cooperation and solidarity not often seen in farming communities.

After the freeze, May brought in an extended period of warm dry weather.  No mildew or oidium to speak of, no thunderstorms or hail.  Sunny periods, but no lack of rain.  And the vines went in to flower at a very-normal first week of June. Pretty much ideal.

July had a couple of heat spikes, and a hailstorm hit the fancy vineyards in Morey St Denis on the 10th. But nothing worse. August was warm; the lead up to the harvest at the end of the month, hot and dry.

The first grapes were picked in the Cote de Beaune in the last few days of August.  And most everyone was out picking in the first week of September.

There was (as there often is in Burgundy) serious disagreement in 2017 about when to pick. Do you pick early to preserve the acid-sugar balance and freshness?  Or do you hang in there and wait for a little rain to kick-start a stalled photosynthesis, and thereby achieve the holy grail of phenolic maturity?

It’s hard to say who was right.  There are very good wines coming from both camps. But there are iffy wines too.  And that’s the key to understanding 2017.

Picked early, the best wines, both red and white, are fresh, fruit-driven and floral with long minerality.  The iffy wines seem not have adjusted for the solid levels of tartaric acid which left them tart rather than bright, dry and tannic rather than juicy.

Picking late did not seem to have an effect on the balance between alcohol and acidity.  But then, there was no ‘over maturity’ in 2017.  The extra phenolic maturity seems to mean more density and riper tannins, with no sign of flabbiness.

The whites shine, particularly in hard-done Chablis (where there is better balance even than the marvelous 2014s).  In the rest of Burgundy, the whites have the tension of 2014 but the open flattery of 2015.

The reds are juicy and crisp and open, and the regional appellations will be ready to drink soon. More serious appellations will be considered ‘typical’, in the best sense of the word: classic wines from a vintage that Burgundians will love. They are likely to be lost in the hub-bub that the 2018s will bring.  But the yields were good in 2017, so you will be able to find them for a while.  And you’ll do well to seek them out.

Appellation

NUITS-SAINT GEORGES

COTE DE NUITS

Nuits-Saint-Georges gives its name to the Cotes de Nuits, the northernmost part of the Cote d'Or and a rival to Beaune as a center of the business of wine in Burgundy. It is a lively wine sitting on either side of the base of the beautiful Vallerots combe and the Meuzin river. Its patron saint, Georges, gives his name to the most famous vineyard of the appellation, which in turn became part of the hyphenated town name in the 19th century. The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Burgundy's most famous wine-brotherhood, was founded here in 1934.

Produced in the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges and Premeaux-Prissey, appellation Nuits-Saint Georges includes 41 premiers crus.

Wines

The appellation Nuits-Saint Georges is really two distinct zones, divided by the town itself on either side of the Meuzin valley. The northern part extends as far as the border of Vosne-Romanée, and the southern section lies partly in Nuits-Saint-Georges and partly in the commune of Premeaux. The wines from the vineyards of Premeaux are considered to be lighter than the rest in the southern section. The richest and most highly prized of the vineyards to the south of town are the premiers crus that come up to the village (including 'Les Saint Georges' itself) To the north, the premiers crus lie in a band that stretches to the borders with Vosne-Romanee, and show a lot of the finesse associated with the wines of Vosne. Color should be brilliant crimson with a bouquet of roses and liquorice. You get that Cotes de Nuits black cherry in youth with strawberry and blackcurrant in the mix, and the usual Pinot Noir secondary aromas with age. The southern wines are more muscular and full-bodied, while the wines on the Vosne side show more restraint and elegance. There are some rare whites which reputedly are dense, floral, biscuity and honeyed.

Terroirs

The soils in the northern sector derive from pebbly alluvium washed down from the slopes above, or, in the low-lying parts, silty deposits from the river Meuzin. In the southern sector the alluvia at the base of the slope originate in the combe of Vallerots where there are deep marly-limestone soils, while at the top of the slope, the rock is almost at the surface. Exposures are mostly to the east or south-east.

Color

Almost all red wines - Pinot Noir

White wines - Chardonnay

Production surface area

1 hectare (ha) = 2.4 acres

Reds : 299.03 ha (including 141.62 ha Premier Cru)

Whites : 7.30 ha (including 4.30 ha Premier Cru)

Food

Powerful and structures, this is the wine that gives the Côte de Nuits its reputation as full-bodied and sturdy. It goes with any full flavored meat. Game, especially, is often mentioned with mature wines from Nuits. Locals will serve it with river fish in red wine sauces. Soft-centered cheeses in the style of Époisses, Langres or Soumaintrain are the classic combo.

Appellations

On the label, the appellations 'Nuits-Saint Georges' and 'Nuits-Saint Georges 1er Cru' may be followed by the name of a specific vineyard, known as a climat.

The following climats are classified as premier cru:

Aux Argillas

Aux Boudots

Aux Bousselots

Aux Chaignots

Aux Champs Perdrix

Aux Cras

Aux Murgers

Aux Perdrix

Aux Thorey

Aux Vignerondes

Chaines Carteaux

Château Gris

Clos Arlot

Clos de la Maréchale

Clos des Argillières

Clos des Corvées

Clos des Corvées Pagets

Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges

Clos des Grandes Vignes

Clos des Porrets-Saint-Georges

Clos Saint-Marc

En la Perrière Noblot

La Richemone

Les Argillières

Les Cailles

Les Chaboeufs

Les Crots

Les Damodes

Les Didiers

Les Hauts Pruliers

Les Perrières

Les Porrets-Saint-Georges

Les Poulettes

Les Procès

Les Pruliers

Les Saints-Georges

Les Terres Blanches

Les Vallerots

Les Vaucrains

Roncière

Rue de Chaux

The following climats are village wines from a single vineyard, known as a lieu-dit.

Au Bas de Combe

Au Chouillet

Aux Allots

Aux Athées

Aux Barrières

Aux Croix Rouges

Aux Herbues

Aux Lavières

Aux Pertuis Maréchaux

Aux Saints-Jacques

Aux Saints-Juliens

Aux Tuyaux

Belle Croix

En la Perrière Noblot

La Charmotte

La Petite Charmotte

Le Coteau des Bois

Les Argillats

Les Brûlées

Les Chaliots

Les Charbonnières

Les Charmois

Les Damodes

Les Fleurières

Les Hauts Poirets

Les Hauts Pruliers

Les Longecourts

Les Maladières

Les Plateaux

Les Poisets

Les Topon

s

Les Vallerots

Plantes au Baron

Tribourg

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$69.00
 
SKU: ETHB04R-17
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