Côtes de Nuits-Villages
Au Clou 2017
This is the wine King Henri IV had in mind to go with the Sunday chicken he wished every family in France to enjoy. It is as accessible as it is amiable, honest and straightforward in taste.
Origin
This recent appellation, introduced in 1964, covers 163 ha of which 157 ha produce red wines. In the northern part of the appellation, some of the terroirs in the villages of Brochon and Fixin are able to bear this appellation, but it is in the southern part, beginning in Corgoloin (the frontier between the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits) that most of the vineyards are located. The climate is located on a slight slope and is not very far from the best known "Clos des Langres" and the quarries of the village.
The hillsides, including ”Au Clou”, are cut into the Upper Bathonian limestone and have an even, gentle slope. “Au Clou” is a large plot of vines that may have been surrounded by walls in the past, the word "clou", meaning "clos" in the XIV, XV and XI centuries.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: the Upper Bathonian limestone
Orientation: South-East
Surface area under vine: 0.30 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 50 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 9 September 2017.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were 100% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration of 24 days of which 3 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 6 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 10 months with no racking using a proportion of 40% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling in August 2018, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 2,024.
Vintage
2017, finesse
The growing cycle was thrown off-kilter by a very cold winter, late spring frost, then optimal conditions for rapid flowering, sporadic hail, and summer drought. Harvesting began in early September in the sun, and after several lean years, the vines finally produced abundant grapes, although with significant differences in maturity between whites and reds and from one region to another, which called for strict sorting.
Ageing potential: from 5 to 8 years
Tasting notes
This wine, which has the gleaming crimson highlights of the Pinot grape, veers sometimes towards an bright cherry hue. Its aromas run a classic spectrum through raspberry and pepper notes with a floral touch. A fine wine on the palate, with roundness and a fruity character.
