Domaine De L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Blanc Cuvée La Gerbotte 2016
Domaine De L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Blanc Cuvee La Gerbotte 2016 has plenty of tropical notes on the nose: dried mango, peach skin and fresh almond all nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight viscosity on the entry, nicely judged acidity with peach and orange peel towards the sensual finish. This will be very seductive.
- Country: France
- Region: Burgundy
- Subregion: Côte De Nuits, Nuits Saint Georges
- Vintage: 2016
- Colour: White
- Grape Variety: Chardonnay
- ABV: 13%
- Bottle Size: 75cl
- Closure: Natural cork
- Style: Bright, white Burgundy
- Drink With: Sole goujons
La Gerbotte comes from the younger Chardonnay vines in the Clos De L'Arlot vineyard, planted between 1998 and 2000. It could easily claim the appellation Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru, but instead Domaine De L'Arlot has chosen to classify Cuvée La Gerbotte under the appellation Nuits Saint Georges Village to allow time for the vine roots to reach down deep into the subsoil and for the wine to fully express all of the elegance and fullness of this great terroir. Lying further from the other vines of the Clos De L'Arlot on a limestone slab covered by thin topsoil, the micro-climate is not quite as sunny here and this lends a slightly cooler feel to the wine.
Once the grapes have been pressed the juice is gravity fed into oak casks, no more than 10% of which are new. The complex transformation then begins: the yeasts which are naturally present in the grape juice transform the sugar into alcohol. By working with indigenous yeasts, fermentation is long (3 months or more) and delicate, but it is one of the important stages which enable Domaine De L'Arlot to best reveal the influence of their terroirs in their wines.
From Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages:
Scented but not savoury. Good fresh acidity and crisp and fun. Big and bold. Quite exciting for the money and I could happily enjoy this at a resto in Nuits. Good Value. 16+ Points
About the grower
Domaine De L'Arlot was created by Jean-Pierre De Smet as recently as 1987, with financing from the insurance company AXA. Jean-Pierre was a disciple of Jacques Seysses at Domaine Dujac and he made wines at Domaine De L'Arlot in a similar vein. In fact, for a number of years both estates shared the same source of oak and jointly seasoned it before having a cooper make into barrels for them. De Smet retired in 2007, but the wines continue to be made in the same careful, long-lived manner overseen by the talented and passionate managing director Christian Seely.
As at Dujac, the grapes at Domaine De L'Arlot are not destemmed before fermentation and as a result the red wines can appear a little lighter in colour than those from other producers because the stalks absorb some of the pigment during fermentation. What the stems take in colour, they repay by creating greater complexity, elegant fragrance and silkier tannins. Domaine De L'Arlot wines have a purity, freshness and vibrancy to balance their structure and concentration of fruit.
One seldomly encountered treat that Domaine De L'Arlot specialises in producing is a white Nuits-Saint-Georges, made from an equally unusual blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Beurot (the local name for Pinot Gris). Although quite rare, this is a wine not to be missed when the opportunity arises. However, the same is true of any wine from this exceptional domaine!