Translation missing: en.Domaine Henri Gouges + Château de Béru + Luciano Sandrone + Burgundy Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm: Domaine Henri Gouges + Château de Béru + Luciano Sandrone + Burgundy Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm
Domaine Henri Gouges
For nearly a century now, generations after generation have taken turns to highlight the wines of the spectacular Nuits-Saint-Georges village in Burgundy. The man himself - Henri Gouges bought the first plots of land that are now part of the estate back in 1920 following a decrease in prices after the war. The vineyards were replanted in 1940 by Marcel and Michel Gouges, then followed a steady process of modernisation in the cellar and winemaking over the next few decades. Now in the past 15 years, the estate has been farming organically, supporting biodiversity, the development of rootstocks and microorganisms and the interplay of all these factors.
Domaine Henri Gouges are located exclusively in the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges, farming 14 hectares of vines, in which there are 10 different appellations: 7 Premier Crus (6 red and 1 white) and a family monopole: the Clos des Porrets Saint Georges. Nuits-Saint-Georges is a village that is known for producing some of the more powerful Pinots in Burgundy; however, this Domaine produce are much more elegant expression. Pinot Noir is their specialty and the “Pinot Gouges”, a white Pinot discovered by Henry Gouges himself. The vines are approximately 50 years old and are cultivated organically as well. All grapes are picked by hand and winemaking done by gravity and extraction through infusion. The grapes are lightly pressed and end up ageing in oak barrels (10-30% new) for a period 10-18 months. The results are wines that are fine, silky and soft but without losing their strength and capacity to age.
We don't have a whole lot of these wines to go around unfortunately, so if you are keen on an historic estate known for producing some of the best Pinot in Nuits-Saint-Georges, get in quick. We have the village-level Nuits-Saint-Georges which is an excellent introduction to the estate and their house style. We also have some of the 'Clos des Porrets' which is a monopole Premier Cru vineyard, a very unique expression. We also have a couple bottles of 'Les Chaignots' and 'Les Pruliers' which are both Premier Cru sites, the former being the more subtle and elegant expression while the latter is the more intense and robust wine with a long cellaring potential. Finally, we have a bottle of the king of the village, 'Les Saint-Georges' which is currently a Premier Cru for which an application has been made to have it elevated to Grand Cru status. This is an extremely rare wine and would fit the cellar of any Burgundy lover. We only have a few bottles of each of these to go around so don't hesitate or you might miss out on one of the best producers from Nuits-Saint-Georges! - Aaron C.Château de Béru
Château de Béru are an historic estate tracing their history all the way back to the 12th century to the winemaking activity of the Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny. Fortification of the village of Béru in the 12th/13th century on the top of a hill on the border between Burgundy and Champagne whose wall now forms part of the closure of 'Clos Béru.' Fast forward over half a millenia and the first hand-harvest of this monopole vineyard is conducted in 2005 with organic certification since 2006 and biodynamic since 2010.
"Years of practice have made it possible to reach a balance and develop a real understanding of our terroirs and of the succession of vintages."
Château de Béru utilise a range of techniques to translate terroir to the glass including: pruning in a double-split Guyot-Poussard, respecting the sap flow, to ensure the sustainability of the plant, biodynamic practices such as herbal preparations, herbal teas and essential oils strengthen the link between wines and their terroirs, and foliage cover management to keep the vines in balance to reduce disease pressure.
In the cellar, they adopt the approach of wanting to "accompany the spirit of a vintage." This approach (the best approach to making wine) sees vinification without any additives, on the lees and no racking. Since 2014, some vintages have even been bottled without sulphur. The wine is aged in old oak in a range of sizes and spends two winters on their lees to gain maturity and stability.
We have a nice range of wines with a little bit of age, putting them in a great drinking spot right now but will still definitely reward cellaring for those that like the more developed Chablis wines. We have the 2021 'Terroirs de Béru' which is a fantastic starting point in this producer's portfolio and is made of a blend of the different parcels this estate owns on the Béru hill. We also have the 2020 vintages of 'Montserre' and 'Côte aux Prêtres' which are both bottled without sulphites - the former vineyard has the highest altitude at the top of the appellation and is exposed to winds from all sides, whereas the latter vineyard is placed in a dome facing west on a gentle slope with moderate winds. The 2020 'Orangerie' is protected from the wind and facing South, the Clos de l'Orangerie enjoys a special micro-climate which makes this garden a jewel in its setting. Finally, we have the 2019 'Clos Béru' monopole which is vineyard located 300 m above sea level, planted around the castle on an outcrop of pure Kimmeridgian limestone bedrock and surrounded by an enclosed wall several hundred years old. We also have 2 of the son Athenais' negociant bottlings of bought fruit: a Bourgogne Aligote and Cotes d'Auxerre rouge. This is estate holds a unique position in style amongst the top producers of Chablis and anyone looking to keep on top of the best produces in the region. - Aaron C.Luciano Sandrone
Luciano Sandrone is one of the best producers in Barolo with humble origins; starting out as a 'garagiste', making wine from their garage in the 70s and has flourished into the 21st century with heart, commitment and presence of mind. The Sandrone family were born and raised in Langhe and now work a total of 27 hectares spread between Langa and Roero.
"We love intense, yet fragrant and harmonic wines, which can converse on equal terms with those who love them, not from a position of dominance."
This is the guiding principle behind all work in the vineyard and in the cellar - to produce wines that are unique to their time and place and enter a dialectical relationship with the drinker. Sandrone work with some of the best vineyards in Barolo and have learned the details of every individual vine in these sites as they have worked with them over the decades. All work in the vineyard is conducted sparingly and with specific purpose as they understand that the vines do not like too much excess - over-fed land, exaggerate work, excessive winds and exuberant moisture. These are challenges that they have mastered working with over the years and give expression to the wines. To Sandrone, the cellar is the "household" of the wine. They believe that each vineyard has its own path and form of expression that it needs to realise, the job in the cellar is to accompany it with sensitivity towards this end result. Time is the king here, only time can bring harmony to these wines - there are no shortcuts in the winery that will help each wine reach its potential.
We have 4 different wines from this incredible Barolo producer, all of which I had the pleasure of tasting with the winemaker Barbara a few weeks ago. The '21 Barbera d'Alba is an exceptional easy-drinking wine that does not sacrifice complexity for drinkability. A great combination of red and darker fruits and a juicy body make this the perfect table wine for this winter. The '21 'Valmaggiore Nebbiolo d'Alba' is also an exceptional wine that really stood out to me as it is a genuinely unique expression of Nebbiolo, with a glacial red fruit character with some herbal and earthy elements and was not trying to simply be a "baby Barolo" as many try to be. The two Barolo bottling that we have are from the exceptional - possibly even vintage of this century so far, 2019. 'Le Vigne' is a blend of 4 different parcels within Barolo: the vineyards of Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Villero in Castiglione Falletto, Vignane in Barolo and Merli in Novello draw a perfect diagonal through the area, each of which includes different terrains: light and sandy, more compact and deep, at various altitudes and exposures. Finally 'Aleste' which is the flagship wine and my personal favourite which is sourced from the Cannubi hill in Barolo. This is a wine of exceptional finesse, details and perfume with a fantastic underlying earthiness to it that will emerge more with cellaring. These are extraordinary wines that should be sought after by anyone that loves age-worthy reds. - Aaron C.Burgundy Tasting
3pm-6pm
*All purchases on the day go in the draw to win a magnum of Domaine William Fevre Chablis 2019*
Don't forget that this Saturday we have an incredible Burgundy lineup on-pour for you all. Wines from Chablis, Cote d'Or and Macon. Drinking through this lineup will take you on a journey in style as influenced by terroir - from the leaner, citrus and flint-dominant wines of Chablis, then the slightly more textural with a balanced bouquet of citrus, stone fruits and some woody goodness of the Cote d'Or and then finally the more robust and riper wines of Macon, that still maintain freshness and detail. These are the wines that we'll be pouring:
Domaine William Fevre Chablis 2020
Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon Village 2022
Xavier Monnot Bourgogne Blanc 2021
Jean-Marc Bouley Bourgogne Cote d'Or Rouge 2021
Armand Heitz Bourgogne Rouge 2021
Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge 2021
I won't be working but I'll still make sure to drop into the store just to taste these! See you there. - Aaron C.