Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Rouge 750 ML

Opaque. Ripe but fresh aromas are comprised mostly by black cherry and pungent earth scents that lead to rich and relatively full-bodied flavors that are dense, serious and moderately austere while offering unusually good depth and persistence. This will need a few years of keeping but it’s actually quite impressive for its level.

Producer Information
Domaine Henri Gouges is a highly regarded producer in the Burgundy commune of Nuits-Saint-Georges with holdings in a number of its premier cru vineyards. It makes mostly red wine from Pinot Noir, the dominant variety of the region. Though holding no land in grand cru sites, the premier crus of the domaine and the wider Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation are considered to be some of the finest in the Côte de Nuits, the most renowned being Les Saint-Georges. The domaine was founded in 1919 by Henri Gouges and continues to be owned and operated by the family, which dates its history back several generations earlier than the eponymous estate. Gouges was a prominent figure, who made several notable contributions to the region. He was among the first producers to eschew the Burgundy négociant system that was often viewed as corrupt. Instead, in the 1920s, Gouges championed estate bottling, an uncommon practice at the time. In the 1930s, during the earliest designation of Burgundy appellations, Gouges successfully campaigned against naming any Nuits-Saint-Georges vineyards as grand crus when he was both mayor of the village and an appointed member of the INAO (France’s national appellations body). The modern vineyard holdings of Domaine Henri Gouges cover 14.5 hectares (36 acres) including parcels in seven premier cru-designated sites. Almost all the wines made are varietally Pinot Noir, however a limited amount of white wines is also produced. A Pinot Blanc is made under the broad Bourgogne Blanc appellation, while the premier cru Clos des Porrets-Saint-Georges is one of the rare sites where both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are allowed to be grown. It is actually a small, enclave monopole within the larger Les Porrets-Saint-George Premier Cru vineyard. The other white is from the Les Perrières vineyard, where Gouges makes a white wine from mutated Pinot Noir. This “white” Pinot Noir can be given a range of titles, from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Musigny to Pinot Gouges. Pinot Gouges – another of Henri Gouges’ lasting legacies – is a cloned type of this mutation discovered and propagated by Gouges himself.