BOURGOGNE HAUTES-CÔTES DE NUITS

BOURGOGNE
HAUTES-CÔTES DE NUITS 2020

click on one of the vintages below for further information

2020 2021 2022 2023

Grape variety

100% Chardonnay.

Tasting notes

Colour: A beautiful, strong golden colour.
Nose: Very expressive, almost exuberant and very seductive, with woody notes and hints of vanilla. A trace of honey, white flowers and citrus notes.
Palate: Delicate and perfumed, well-balanced and round. Its meatiness and woodiness come from the time spent maturing in oak casks; this also gives the wine better ageing qualities than many other white burgundies under the "village" appellation.

Wine and food pairing

It will be the perfect companion to carp roe (tarama), steamed fish, and crustaceans. Its vivacious nature equips it to accompany the Burgundian specialties of ham with parsley (jambon persillé) and snails (escargots). Fully mature, the wine goes very with the delicacy goose liver with salt (foie gras au sel) and French cheeses such as Roquefort, Aisy cendré, mature Comté, Chaource.

Serving temperature

Ideal served at a temperature of around 12°C (54 °F).

Ageing potential

This wine can be drunk now or laid down for around 3 to 5 years.

Origin

Regional appellation of the Hautes Côtes vineyard district (dept. of Côte-d’Or). Officially recognised since 1961, this appellation covers 16 communes of the Hautes Côtes district in Burgundy, plus the more elevated areas of 4 communes in the Côte de Nuits.

At one time apparently doomed to disappear these vineyards have undergone a patient, courageous, and ultimately successful restoration. Overlooking the slopes of Gevrey-Chambertin and extending as far as the wood of Corton, the Hautes Côtes de Nuits have a wild beauty. Little villages nested in the forest fringes lie waiting to be discovered. The vineyards cover all these slopes which enjoy favourable exposures and proudly preserve their proof of nobility going back to Vergy and the abbey of Saint-Vivant.

The vineyards are located at heights of between 300 and 400 metres and occupy the sides of valleys which cut into the Jurassic limestone plateau to the west of the « Côte ». The underlying rock is the same as that of the Côte but the overburden is thin or non-existent. The soils are formed by a mixture of eroded limestone and marly subsoil.

Vinification and maturing

Vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks followed by maturing in tank and in oak barrels for a part of the cuvée (40%) for 8 months, including 15% new oak. Blending and light filtration before bottling.

Vintage : 2020

It was an early vintage, with another very mild winter and therefore an early start to the growth cycle.

A rainy, cool May did not slow the vines down, and temperatures quickly rose again. The summer was one of the hottest we have experienced.

The vines reacted in very different ways depending on the sector and it was necessary to monitor the grapes’ phenolic maturity right up to the harvests, since in some cases the berries suffered significant water stress, resulting in delays in ripening and lower yields.

Harvesting began on 24 August and ended on 16 September. Some sectors required patience: it was important not to harvest too quickly. The grapes were in an excellent state of health, but thorough sorting was necessary to separate berries that were still pink and yet side by side with ripe grapes.

Ultimately, yields were particularly reduced for the reds. The character of the 2020 vintage will gradually be revealed as it undergoes barrel-ageing, but we can already appreciate it for its balance, promising colours, concentration and generous aromatic expression.

BOURGOGNE HAUTES-CÔTES DE NUITS 2020