Wine on the Radio - June 16, 2003

Cotes de Nuit                                                 Recommendations

 

France's Burgundy is one of the world's most famous wine regions.   It's also location of the Cotes de Nuits where you'll find the finest expression of the Pinot Noir grape, and prices that match.

Pinot Noir is a fickle, difficult and demanding grape . . . very French, oui?   Put that with ever-changing Burgundian weather and you've got a real challenge.

It's one reason vintage year does matter for Burgundy .

The Cotes de Nuits is small in area . . . it only takes a half hour to drive through . . . but big time in wine!

The Pinot Noirs are aromatic and firm.  They're more tart, tannic and earthy than their warmer climate American cousins.  When they're good they're something special.

Each village, or commune, produces its own unique style . . . and producers work small plots of land very traditionally.

Burgundy is complicated, so here's the scoop . . . stick with the best of the large "shippers wines" and branch out from there.

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Here are our Recommendations . . . All Prices Approximate:

Bouchard Pere & Fils 2001 Bourgogne Pinot Noir $15
Fine, fruity bouquet. Pleasant balance between fruit and body. Best enjoyed young

Jadot 2000 Gevery-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques   $70
This superb premier cru is the most intense of Gevrey, with silky, dense black cherry and raspberry fruit flavors and aromas and seductive notes of tobacco and spice ending in a refined, complex finish

Dom. Anne Gros 1998 Clos Vougeot $100
"Deep red. Perfumed aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, licorice, herbs and spicy oak. Supple and layered but quite penetrating; already exudes compelling inner-mouth floral aromas. Finishes with fine, dusty tannins and subtle persistence"
- International Wine Cellar

Jadot 1999 Vosne Romanee   $40
Maison Louis Jadot holds purchase agreements with growers in Vosne and Flagey and produces a classic, elegant Vosne-Romanée of silkiness, finesse and breed, with supple, exotically-scented red berries and spice allied to a firm yet ethereal tannic structure, and a finish of lingering woodsy notes

1998 R. Dubois Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Combottes   $30

2000 Maison Louis Jadot Pinot Noir Bourgogne Rouge $15
An excellent pinot noir with low acidity, exceptional ripeness, and a fleshy, elegant, graceful, silky finish

1999 Jean Boillot Volnay $30

2000 Maison Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges, Rouge $30

2000 Maison Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin $30

2000 R Dubois Nuits St. Georges, Rouge   $20