Life is too short to drink bad wine

While lots of people have queued up to buy the 2015 vintage from Burgundy the vintages before that are all very good provided you stick to the great producers. This premier cru called "Clos des Argillieres" from Nuits Saint Georges is just a brilliant example of a full bodied Burgundy with a smooth finish. This Clos is situated on the top of the hill just across the road from Rion premises in Premaux. The 50+ year old vines grow on poor brown soil on top of pink limestone. The plot is just 1,8 hectare (or two football pitches) and gives a yearly production of 7500 bottles. The grapes are hand harvested and scrupulously sorted  before fermented in open stainless steel tanks. Maturation is done in oak barrels, out of which 50% is new, for 18 months. The colour is dark red with hints of purple. Blackberries on the nose along with blackcurrants and blackberries. Classy notes vanilla and some liquorice as well. Very attractive. Full-bodied and beautiful balanced taste ...

OUR VINEYARD The estate currently farms 6 ha. Focused on Nuits Saint Georges and Chambolle-Musigny appellations, we only produce red wines from the Pinot Noir grape variety, although 1.30 ha in Nuits produce a white wine from chardonnay (90%) and pinot blanc (10%). p> Our approach to viticulture is rigorous. The vines are pruned short and bud selection is very strict. Leaf-canopy surface is optimized for greater photosynthetic activity, yields are limited, and disease and pest control is carefully managed. All this allows us to farm naturally, even if we are not certified organic. With our soils, we do not use weedkillers, preferring the plow (and sometimes the hoe!) to control weeds. But as excessive plowing can be bad for the soil and the vine, during the winter we sow a natural grass which helps to avoid erosion, and encourages soil fauna. We are very careful to avoid soil compaction problems, so we use very lightweight tractors for spraying and hedging. In additio...

Rion has quite a nice selection of Burgundies and this one is yet another of my favourites. Deep red colour with purple rim. Lots of attractive dark and sweet berries , with hints of chocolate, coffee and some pepper. A big solid wine with soft and elegant  tannins and lots of fruit. A great wine. Nuits St.George 2011 Clos des Argillieres Patrice Rion Ca 43€

A bit of flyfcuking in Burgundy the other day. All Pinot Noir of course and all produced by one of my favourite producers, Patrice Rion. We started off with the basic Chambolle Musigny 2009 which we would probably regret, but as the others were expected to have more body and substance we felt it was the right thing to do. Chambolle Musigny 2009   was just a delightful experience with a super elegant nose filled with red berries, smoke and some pepper. The taste was just pure velvet with a wonderful length and balance. Just a superb basic Chambolle that is drinking beautifully right now. A bit of cherries on the taste as well. Nuits St George 1er cru Clos des Argillieres 2007 , a totally different ball game with more ripe fruit, more meaty flavours on the nose, also much more dark fruit than the previous one.A bit like ripe dark cherries as well. More body than the Chambolle and less acidity, but a big Burgundy although with less finesse and elegancy than the Chambolle. N...

This is a lovely basic Nuits Saint Georges from 2009 that is drinking well right now. Medium red colour. Attractive smell of red fruit and wet forrest. Perfect balanced wine with a fresh acidity and some tannins of the smooth kind. Lots of red fruit and a medium + finish. A very smooth and seductive wine. Nuits Saint George 2009 Vieilles Vignes Patrice Rion ca 22€

This was one of the absolutely best Burgundies during the tasting. Delicious elegant flavors of cherries, chocolate and liquerice. A super balanced velvety long taste that begs for the glass to be refilled. Great stuff. Just buy…. Nuits St George "Clos de la Marechale" J F Mugnier Ca 70€

Boxing day and a depressive outcome of the football matches so why not just dig into bit of detailed wine drinking…? So we concentrated our efforts on Nuits St George and Gevrey Chambertin in Burgundy… Clos de Argillieres a bit more clay dominated while the soil in Lavaux St Jacques is more red clay soil. Both Pinot noir of course and both produced by Patrice Rion. Both medium red colour, with perhaps the Gevrey Chambertin slightly darker. The nose very different with the Clos des Argillieres more dominated by dark fruit and pomme granite while the Lavaux Saint Jacques is dominated by red fruit and wet wool. On the taste the Nuits St George is powerful with a lovely balanced and a nice minerality. The Gevrey Chambertin got more body and softness to it (perhaps because its two years older) with a lovely smooth finish. The 2009 has more tannins although they are very elegant and soft. Both delicious wines, the Gevrey Chambertin is drinking well right now whil...

I am a big fan of Patrice Rion and his velvety Burgundies. Daniel Rion can also make wine but in a different style. This Nuits St. George has marked acidity and tannins that are both both balancing on a knife-edge, but without falling down on either side. A truly wonderful and complex taste with a very long fine-tuned aftertaste. Ripe raspberries, cherries and chocolate on the nose. A great wine in a high price range. Nuits St George 2009 "les Vignes Rondes 1er cru Daniel Rion A truly wonderful and complex red Burgundy

Still at "Terres a vins" in Strasbourg and this is just a very delicate Nuits St George. Medium purple color and a lovely nose of dark fruite, chocolate and sweet cherries. The taste is super balanced with lovely acidity and firm seductive tannins. A great red Burgundy from 2009! Nuits Saint George 2009 Philippe Pacalet What a change from all that white....

This is a fine village wine from Jacques-Frederic Mugnier. Light red colour and a nice aroma of earthy redcurrants and some herbs. The taste is elegant with a light to medium body. The aftertaste is balanced with a slight acidity and taste of cherries. A very fine and pure wine. Nuits Saint George 2004 " Close des Fourches",  Jacques Frederic Mugnier A lighter style of Nuits St George

There are no Grand crus in Nuits St George, but who needs that when you can have wines like this Premier cru from Domaine de la Vougeraie? Les Damodes is the parcel north in Nuits St George bordering Vosne Romanee and the wine is in fact more like a Vosne than a Nuits St George which can be sometimes be more coarse. Brilliant bouquet of dark cherries, burnt chocolate and vanilla. So elegant and aromatic that we were all in a shock. The taste was equally beautiful with a wonderful seductive and lovely balance. Nuits St.George 2005 "Les Damodes" Domaine de la Vougeraie High price ca 50£

Found this bottle at the local supermarket in Antibes. Potel is a very reliable red wine producer in Burgundy and Nuits St George is very good appelation. The price is 20€ and 2010 is a very good vintage. So the wine should be splendid..! And it was. Slick dark fruit with lots of acidity so typical for Potel. Firm smooth tannins and a decent long aftertaste. Goes with white meat and veal. Nuits St George 2010, Nicolas Potel Difficult to go wrong here...

Wine # 6 end of Blindtasting Sirdalen 2011 As a reward for a demanding blindtasting at high altitude we picked this one out of the wine fridge. Complex bouquet of berries from the wood, humus and oak. A solid Burgundy with lots of fruit and soft tannins (still). Not a wimpy wine that's for sure. Close to peak now just 10 years old.... Thanks to the host for a wonderful tasting... Nuits St George 2001 1 er cru "Les Pruliers" by Henri Gouges just enjoyment 45€ or 530 NOK

Clos de Argillieres is in the south of Nuits St George (towards Beaune). As the name indicates there is plenty of shale leading to wines which have less flesh than for example Clos St Marc. The wine has a medium dark red colour. Lovely smell of strawberries and more earth like tones. Great delicate mouthful, packed with fruit and a wonderful long complex taste. Somewhat more "pushy" and firmer than "Clos St Marc". Overall quality is wonderful and silky. This is more like art than winemaking... Nuits St George "Clos des Argillieres" 2006, Patrice Rion, incredible wine...High price 40€ Geology: Little white oolite in the upper part but otherwise the rock is dense pinkish Premeaux marble with about 50 to 80 cm of earth above with plenty of clay. 

Clos St Marc is a tiny plot (1 hectare) just next to Clos des Argillieres and is now the monopoly of Patrice Rion. The Clos St Marc has normally more body and fruit than the Clos des Argillieres due to less clay and more calcium and silica. Clos Saint Marc ha a beautiful medium red colour. Lovely red berries like strawberries and raspberries. A very long and elegant taste, wonderfully balanced and silky. Absolutely heavenly stuff! Nuits St George 1er cru "Clos Saint Marc" 2007, just perfect... High price 40€

Off to Antibes for Easter holiday. Two cases of wines purchased from Patrice Rion in Burgundy in order to reduce the stress factor. First off was the Nuits St George Vielles Vignes (22€) from 2008, the year my favourite English football club was promoted to the Premier League after no less than 26 years in the wilderness. Pale medium red colour with lots of red berries and a beautiful balanced taste. Lovely stuff and perfect with pale meat. Then on Sunday it was the FA Cup semi final with Stoke in it for the first time since 1972. Wine of the day was Chambolle Musigny 2008 (24€),a seductive beautifully raspberry/strawberry sensed wine,  great stuff stuff for special occasions and for those who appreciate the finesse of life. And what a combination: the ugly duckling of Premier league was in fact a beautiful swan just like the Chambolle Musigny which in the demanding promotion year of 2008 turned out be be excellent, delicate and wonderfully balanced. Five star wine...

Came across this 2001 Premier Cru red Burgundy, for some reason the price of the 2001 is 30% lower than the actual 2007 that can be found in the shop. Henri Gouges is an unknown producer to me as well as the premier cru plot "Les Pruliers". The plot is around 7 hectares big which is one of the biggest in Nuits St George. According to Jasper Morris Gouges is one of the best producers as well. Anyway, the nose was typical Burgundy with dark berries, flowers and a touch of oak. Quite a solid long taste with perhaps a bit acidic aftertaste (at least if compared to Patrice Rion). A Burgundy that is crying for food and not to be drunk alone. Nuits St George 1er cru "les Pruliers" 2001 (Henri Gouges), P, good but not brilliant Medium price range 380 for 2001, later years at high price range 550.  ::: BIENVENUE SUR LE SITE DE LA MAISON GOUGES :::

Can this guy do nothing wrong ? I have now tried nearly all of his different Burgundy wines and I must say the quality is consistently very good and always with a seductive silky side to it. So also for this Nuits St George "Vielles Vignes" that I bought when visiting him this summer. A very attractive dark red Nuits with cherries and black berries on the nose. The taste is big with more tannins than for ex the Chambolle. The overall harmony is as always there, packed with fruit and ripe tannins perfectly integrated into a smooth mouthful. Nuits St George wines can often be more tannic, this is one though, is just right. Nuits St George "Vielles Vignes" 2006, Patrice Rion, silky tannins this time

Not many white wines are made in Nuits St George, but Patrice Rion has access to a small plot where he grows Chardonnay and some Pinot Blanc. We bought 12 half bottles when visiting Rion last Friday, perfect pre dinner drink in the hot hot weather. Lovely green yellow colour and a beuatiful smell of lime and minerals. The taste is not so "fat" as other white Burgundies, but again dominated by lime and minerals and a long aftertaste. Hmmm life is good. Thanks to the Rions for this unusual combination! Nuits-Saint-Georges "les Terres Blanches" 2007 - Patrice Rion 25€ (and 50€  u know where)