Gregory Gouges reported that production overall in 2016 was 16 hl/ha, roughly half of what the estate aims for each year. The vineyards south of Nuits suffered the most. The two flagship vineyards, Vaucrains and Les Saint-Georges, yielded but 10 and 11 hl/ha, respectively. The wine from two vineyards, Chaignots (50% of a normal crop) and Chênes Carteaux (10% of a normal crop) was declassified into the village Nuits in order to keep the village wine quantity sufficient (it is necessary to insure a sufficient quantity of village wine for commercial reasons, such as supply to restaurants).
There was a little mildew, but the estate continued to work without chemical treatments, and in the end, only about 2-3% was lost to mildew.
Harvest took place between 3 and 7 October, finishing before the rain. There was almost no triage — the harvesters were instructed not to take bunches that were not good, and in the end, only about 2-3% was eliminated. The estate uses chaptalization only in years where there is insufficient maturity or there is some dilution due to large yield, neither of which was the case in 2016. Pigeage and remontage (punching down and pumping over) were like normal, but fermentation temperatures were a little lower than usual because of the lower masses. As usual here, whole clusters were not used.
Malolactic fermentations began in December; the reds finished in June, but the whites were later — finishing just a little before my visit at the end of October.
Bottling will probably begin in early 2018.
2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
This wine is fresh and pure with crushed dark and red berry fruit and a texture of steel and silk. Delicious. (86-91)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges
As mentioned above, this wine includes wine from premiers crus Chaignots and Chênes Carteaux, and it performs like a premier cru. It has a perfumed, dark fruit nose. The mouth is silky with expressive dark fruits and good length. It is a very approachable wine. (90-94)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porêts Saint-Georges
The Clos des Porêts features blueberry fruit and minerality in a medium-light body that is dense and smooth, although the tannins are more evident here than in the preceding wines. (91-94)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers
Here, there are smoky overtones to the fruit. The wine is pure and deep and the tannins are less marked than in the Clos des Porêts. (91-95)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
The Vaucrains is stony with red fruits and, as usual, more structure and minerality than in the preceding wines. (92-95)
2016 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges
Last, the superb Les Saint-Georges, a wine that is dense and pure with the creaminess of texture typical of the vineyard. The wine is deep with dark fruits, minerality, and lightness on the palate. (93-97)
2015 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
ThE 2015 Vaucrains is creamy in texture and a bit smoky with riper fruit than the 2016 version, but still with minerality and stoniness characteristic of the vineyard. 94/A
2014 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers
The comparison with the 2015 Vaucrains was typical for the two vintages. The Vaucrains is the greater vineyard and one easily sees the terroir (e.g., stoniness and minerality) even though there are markers of the vintage present, too (e.g., creaminess of texture). This 2014 Pruliers is more classic Bourguignon with purity and salinity to go with its dark fruit. It’s more my style, as much as I admire the 2015 Vaucrains. 93+/A