Patrice Rion Nuits-St-Georges Les Terres Blanches Premier Cru Blanc 2018
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Jasper
Morris
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Nuits-Saint-Georges: we immediately think of a red wine. Indeed, Nuits-Saint-Georges white are rare. Soils reserved for Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are limited to particular geological areas. Traditionally, Côte de Nuits winemakers used white pinots.
Blend: 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
There is more Pinot Blanc planted in the vineyard and though it gives an intriguing aroma of white flowers, the juice is typically richer and turns more quickly, so best to keep it as more of a seasoning element. Clear pale yellow, this is an elegant wine but still packs a punch. Good acidity, dancing white fruit at the back, vividly fresh and very long. Fine too, ripe but in balance.
Barrel Sample: 90-93
Other Vintages
2017- Decanter
The domaine currently farms 15 acres focused in the Nuits Saint Georges and Chambolle-Musigny appellations, and works with growers in other 1er Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits. The approach to viticulture in all vineyards is rigorous with vines that are pruned short and bud selection kept very low. The vineyards are farmed without herbicide, preferring to plow and hoe as a way to control weeds.
Patrice and Maxime do not believe that the “maximum” is the “optimum,” particularly when it comes to extracting phenolics, tannins, and color. Instead, you will find wines that maintain the freshness and minerality of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Patrice is known for “very pure, harmonious wines, skilfully vinified,” according to Jasper Morris, MW.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Inhabiting the bottom end of the northern half of the Côte d’Or, Nuits-St-Georges is a busy, market-driven town and home to many of Burgundy’s negociants. It is also the largest town in the Côte d’Or after Beaune and contributes "nuits" to the name of Côte de Nuits (i.e., the northern half of the Côte d’Or).
The appellation itself is divided into two parts, where in the north it directly borders Vosne-Romanée, the southerly end is the commune of Prémeaux. There are no Grands Crus in this village, though it does have a large number of Premiers Crus.
The best Nuits-St-Georges Pinot Noir are layered with cherry, plum, underbrush and sandalwood. The fruit is sweet, the wine energetic, and the finish long and lush.