FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

Côte de Nuits

BURGUNDY CÔTEDENUITS

The CôteD’Or – or golden slopes – so-called because of the quality of wine produced, and the resultant land value – has producedwine uninterrupted since the 12th century. Cistercian and Benedictinemonksmade the original plantings with land held by the churchuntil the Revolution. Burgundywas always France’s richest Duchy – inpart because of its productive prowess for agriculture and viticulture. Pinot Noir, the Côte deNuits’ only permitted red grape, flourishes here despite being the most northerly of theworld’s traditional great wine regions. The terroir here ismore suited to red thanwhite grapes. The region’s whitewines are counterintuitivelymade further south in the Côte de Beaune and theMâconnais. The vineyards are protected fromprevailing westerlyweather by a 450mridge – and hilly land to thewest where theHautes-Côtes de Nuits vineyards lie. Themarlstone outcrops near the soil surface increases the amount of lime-richmud and clay in the topsoil via erosion. Another key aspect is the Côte’s east- facing nature – themorning sunwarms the soils, and the vines start photosynthesis sooner with the clearermorning light, while avoiding direct afternoon sun. The Côte deNuits runs north from Prémeaux-Prisseywhich sells its wines under the name of its neighbouring villageNuits St. Georges, through toMarsannay just south of Dijon. The villages north of Gevrey: Brochon, Fixin (‘fee-san’ with a silent ‘N’) andMarsannay were once called the Côte deDijon. Fixinhas five excellent 1er Crus at equally excellent prices. At the end of the 19thCentury, thewines were some of the region’smost expensive – perhaps due toDijon’s proximity. These days however it is GrandCrus fromGevrey and Vosne that produce the region’smost age and investment-worthywines. Chambolle-Musigny in betweenNuits andGevrey is known for its seductive, alluring and perfumedwines though

only kilometres from itsmore “powerful” neighbours – the reason again is the soil type and exposure. The nature of Burgundy’s patchwork vineyard and plot ownershipmeans thatmany growersmake only a barrel of their GrandCru – 25 cases – while Lafite-Rothschild inBordeaux make 16,000! Freakweather patterns like frost, hail and drought, frequent in the 2010s candestroywhole vineyard plots which can seriously affect eachDomaine – whomay have only had that one-barrel potential in the first place! In amarketing-inspired re-naming, Gevrey’s town council proposed in 1847 adding theirmost famous vineyard’s name – Chambertin – to the town’s name, a sign of wine’s growing exportmarkets among mercantile andmiddle classes in Europe’s capitals. The rest followed: Aloxe appended Corton in 1862, VosnewithRomanée in 1866. Wine had come to define these Côte deNuits villages, suchwas its economic importance. This wasn’t always the case: Nuits derives from Nutium- Latin for walnut. If you are ever lucky enough to taste here inNovember as we do

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WINE CATALOGUE