Domaine Henri Gouges 'Les Saint George' Nuits Saint-George Pinot Noir Burgundy Cote de Nuit 2017

Producer note: Grégory Gouges described the 2017 growing season as one where "other than a bit of mildew, it was far, far simpler than its 2016 counterpart. The maturities progressively rose and we were able to prepare for the harvest in a more organized fashion than the last several vintages. We chose to begin picking on the 7th of September and brought relatively clean fruit that required very little sorting. The maturities were good if not high as most wines came in between 12 and 12.5%. Yields, thankfully given how low they were in 2016, came in right at 40 hl/ha, which is notably higher than our usual 30 to 35 hl/ha. The extractions were slow to come though I'm not entirely certain why. Consistent with that in a way, the new wines seemed a bit lacking in flesh but as the élevage has progressed, they have really put on weight. They are also relatively tender wines and in our view they have arrived at the bottling stage earlier than normal. They should appeal most to those who don't necessarily want to cellar their wines for 15 years before they're ready." Readers are not seeing things as there really are several new wines in the range. Gouges explained that they found a parcel in the prestigious Les Dames Huguettes and decided to purchase it. The parcel of Les Procès is typically declassified into the Nuits villages but was vinified separately in 2007. The other two wines are experiments of sorts, particularly as it relates to using whole clusters. Gouges noted that if they like the results, it's possible that they may adopt what they learn for other wines. (Vineyard Brands, www.vineyardbrands.com, AL, USA; O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, Howard Ripley, www.howardripley.com, Avery's Wine Merchants, www.averys.com, Flint Wines, www.flintwines.com, Tanners Wine, www.tanners-wines.co.uk, Bibendum Wine Ltd., www.bibendum-wine.co.uk, Laytons, www.laytons.co.uk, Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, Charles Taylor Wines, www.charlestaylorwines.com and Private Cellar Ltd., www.privatecellar.co.uk, all UK; Wein & Vin, www.weinvin.com, Singapore; Domaine Wine Cellars, www.domaine.com.tw, Taiwan; Pearl of Burgundy, www.pearlofburgundy.com, Hong Kong and Macau).