Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits St. Georges Clos des Porrets Premier Cru, Burgundy, France, 2014

Overview of the Wine
The creation of Domaine Henri Gouges was the culmination of 400 years of family grape farmers, and it is, in many minds, the top domaine in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Henri formed the domaine in 1920 but was soon discouraged with selling the fruit to négociants. He envisioned a better quality wine, and by 1933, he was producing, bottling, and selling directly. He, along with the Marquis d’Angerville from Volnay, was at the forefront of battles against fraud in Burgundy in the 1920s. In the 1930s, Monsieur Gouges was one of the people charged with the job of delineating the crus in Burgundy for the Institut National d’Appellation d’Origine, and he was a member of that regulatory body at its outset.

Since the beginning, the domaine has remained an undivided family property. In 1967 Henri’s two sons, Michel and Marcel, succeeded him and added to the holdings of the estate. Each of them handed leadership over to one of their sons to bring the domaine to the next stage. Pierre and Christian began the modernization of the vineyards and the winery, which they have now turned over to Pierre’s son, Gregory, and his cousin, Antoine. While the house style has evolved, the main focus is the better reflection of the terroir in the fruit through organic viticulture. They believe that healthy vines produce quality fruit and thus more expressive terroir-driven wines.

Grape / Blend
Pinot Noir

Origin
Cote de Nuits, Cote d'Or, Burgundy, France

Winemaker Notes
The wines express an elegant finesse after only a few years in bottle.

93 Points - Burghound
Once again reduction dominates. By contrast there is a really lovely freshness and vibrancy to the intense and focused middle weight plus flavors that culminate in a powerful, rustic and beautifully persistent finish. This is a classic Nuits that is going to require close to a decade to be approachable and should reward 12 to 15 years of cellaring.

91 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, the 2014 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets-Saint-Georges from Henri Gouges has a pretty and winsome bouquet with pure red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, elegant and stylish, the oak neatly integrated but giving the aromatics lift. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, a fine line of acidity, very cohesive, but then…ugh…it just cuts away so swiftly that you are left feeling severely shortchanged by the absence of aftertaste. Maybe that will develop with bottle age? This was heading toward a much higher score until that. Tasted September 2017.

Product size: 750ml