Nuits-Saint-Georges
1er Cru Les Terres Blanches 2019
Nuits-Saint-Georges is one of those magical names that visitors recite like a rosary. Known the whole world over, Nuits-Saint-Georges has the original profile of a genuine wine village, but on the scale of a small town.
Origin
The Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation has only 6.79 ha of white premier cru. A rarity!
The plot "Les Terres Blanches" located at the edge of the forest of the Mountain on the village of Premeaux-Prissey offers the most famous chardonnays of the appellation. Exposed south, the soil is predominantly limestone, it is light and very filtering. Dotted with small white gravel, it gives its name to the climate.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot blanc
Soils: mostly limestone, light and very filtering.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.083 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 26 hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 41 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 17 September 2019.
The grapes were handpicked.
At the winery: the whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 17 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. A proportion of 100% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was bentonite fined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in April 2021.
Number of bottles: 288.
Vintage
A legendary vintages?
According to Grégory Patriat, this second harvest at the Ursulines winery will go down as a legendary vintage just like 1969, 1979, 1999, 2009, and 2019, because the concentration in the wines is very high indeed. Years with drought and low yields are always great vintages in Burgundy. We had some new premier crus come online last year, with three in Chambolle-Musigny, one in Gevrey-Chambertin, and one in Nuits-Saint-Georges; Le Clos des Argillères. Furthermore, we revived our tradition of producing white wines in villages better known for their reds, with a white Fixin.
Ageing potential: 7 years and more.
Tasting notes
The colour is lightly golden. The rich nose will seduce you with its honeyed aromas, of white flowers associated with citrus notes. On the palate, the wine is very salty, typical of Pinot Blanc, and quite firm. A very nice wine to keep!
