2015 NUITS ST GEORGES, ‘Les Plateaux’. Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret is in the village of Vosne-Romanée and owned and run by Vincent and Anne Mongeard. The Domaine comprises over 30 hectares of vineyards in 35 different appellations, ranging from Villages level to Grand Cru.

They practice sustainable viticulture, or “la lutte raisonnée” as the French vignerons say, which in effect is to organic practices if not formally accredited. They also season their own wood on the premises (a selection of both Nièvre and Tronçais oak) before being assembled into barrels by a local cooper.

The emphasis of the Domaine’s style is one of elegance and purity, with a defined expression of their diverse vineyard origins. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Plateaux comes from a small 0.5 hectare vineyard parcel next to the Premier Crus of Rue de Chaux and Les Crots, with an average age of 50 years. It was hand harvested, destemmed, cold soaked for 2 days, and aged in 30% new oak for around 14 months. The resulting wine is elegant and precise, with bold red cherry fruit flavours, a touch of earthiness, and hints of tertiary mushroom emerging.

2015 was a very warm and even growing season, with a scorchingly hot July alleviated by a cooler August with some welcome light rain, leading to an early harvest. It produced rich and ripe wines with bold fruit flavours and plenty of texture and flavour, but not overblown or jammy as was feared in July. This is a deceptively good red Burgundy vintage (some even say potentially one of the finest) and now entering its 9^th year is really beginning to show its paces.

You can drink now but can equally age for another in 3-5 years. This is another serious and authentic red Burgundy. No need to decant and enjoy in large sized Burgundy glasses with plenty of “swirl room”!