Domaine Henri Gouges

Vintage 2013, 
Proud to be from Burgundy !The climatic extremes of this year, which nonetheless provided us with a dry sunny summer, allowed us to obtain excellent maturation. Even though the grape harvest was rather late and wet, it was absolutely fabulous for the pleasure and finesse it gave to the Pinot Noir, bringing out the aromas and complexity of this variety, which is deeply rooted in our ‘terroir’ and impregnated with the harshness of our climate. At the end of the day, the exceptional conditions of this vintage have led to aromas that are full of charm and tenderness. The intensity is revealed by the appetising colours and the aromatic emanations that will be progressively tamed by time to yield an absolutely delicious wine.

In the cellars, the 2012 vintage is in the process of being bottled. The 2012 vintage is promising, with high quality and an exceptional mineral flavor at the finish. A pleasurable Pinot, a typical Pinot of the ‘terroir’, packed with sugars and promise.

Domaine Henri Gouges is, in many minds, the top grower of Nuits Saint-Georges.

The Gouges family has been vineyard proprietors in Nuits for generations and proprietors of the current domaine since 1919. Henri Gouges, along with the Marquis d' Angerville from Volnay, was at the forefront of battles against fraud in Burgundy in the 1920's. In the 1930's Monsieur Gouges was one of the people charged with the job of delineating the crus in Burgundy for the Institut Nationale d' Appellation d'Origine, and he was a member of that regulatory body at its outset. Today, Henri Gouges' two grandsons, Christian and Pierre, carry on the traditions of the family, which has been estate-bottling for fifty years. The vineyard is entirely planted in low-yielding pinots snf the average age of the vines is between 30 and 40 years, except for the Chaignots, where the vineyard is between 10-15 years.

The average age of the vines is between 30 and 40 years except for the Chaignots, where the vineyard is between 10-15 years.

Pierre and Chrtistian have been among the first domaine to plant a special variety of grass between the vines which has a dual benefit - that of controlling erosion, and of encouraging the roots of the vines to growdeeper into the soil.

The harvest is entirely destemmed and vinification takes place in lined cement vats for approximately fifteen days, depending on the vintage. After cuvaison the wine is transferred to small Limousin or Allier oak barrels, of which approximately one-quarter are renewed each year. The wines are fined with egg whites and given a light filtration before bottling. Since 1930, 80 - 90% of the crop has been estate-bottled.

Bourgogne  An aroma and taste which are both strong and concentrated for these wines originating from two parcels (0.5 hectares). The first is located on limestone or calcareous soil at the edge of the plateau, whereas the second is on more clay-limestone soil, oriented eastwards. From the association of these two sites come intense and expressive wines.

Nuits village Here again, these are wines born from association between some parcels (about 1.70 hectares altogether) situated south of the village of Nuits, and one other, located at the top of the slope named "Jacquinot", ideally placed above the premiers crus. Of good constitution, these wines illustrate wonderfully the Nuits character, being both long-lived and strong.

Nuits premier Cru
“Les Chaignots” Welcome to the only vineyard of the domain situated on the northern side of the Nuiton vineyard. With a surface area of a half-hectare, it is situated on alluvial soil. Its wines are highly original, and similar in style to the vosne-romanée. Indeed they display great finesse and an elegant beauty... What the professionals call "feminine traits".

Nuits premier Cru “Les Pruliers” The 1.8 hectares of this parcel have the benefit of an ideal location and exposure to the sun in the heart of the Nuiton vineyard. Both youthful (15 years), and mature (70 years for the oldest), these vineyards give body to wines with aromas of wild fruit, venison,   heavily tinged with minerals.

Nuits premier Cru
“Clos des Porrets Saint-Georges”. This Premier Cru - exclusive to the Gouges domain with its 3.5 hectare vineyard - perfectly expresses the full character of Nuitonne Côte wines and their alignment of vines hanging onto the sloping hills : very subtle wines, developing beautiful aromatic qualities.

Nuits premier Cru 
“Les Vaucrains”
Little soil, but outcropping rocks, that is what most marks the character of this parcel of one hectare called the Vaucrains. Situated on a slope top, on calcareous or clay-calcareous soil, it gives wines that are structured at an early age, later developing smoked, truffle and woody aromas - this is called the "empyromatic" taste.

Nuits premier Cru
“Les Chênes Carteaux”
This parcel of the Chênes Coteaux was planted half a century ago. Superbly placed at the edge of some woods, at the top of a slope, where gravel and other small stones are plentiful, the vine will draw nourishment from deep in the earth and give to the wines a superb finesse, and great tenderness.

Nuits premier Cru
“Les Saint-Georges”
Balanced, powerful, long-lived, but also complexity, even distinction... The qualifications of fine wines magnificently illustrate the beauty of wines from this parcel, a very good clay-calcareous example of the slopes surrounding Nuits. This first cru unquestionably possesses the calibre of a fine wine.

Bourgogne pinot blanc
Here the vine finds its inspiration in the red clay soils of the Hautes Côtes. The result ? Pleasant wines, with a certain degree of strength with good minerality, ample and fleshy...

Nuits premier Cru 
“Clos des Porrets Saint-Georges” white 
The white grapes from the Clos des Porrets are produced on the slopes, south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, on deep soil which yields a more expressive, full-blooded and long-tasting wine. Another peculiarity of this premier cru : its modest production.

Nuits premier Cru
“Perrières” blanc
One of the most disconcerting wines of the domain ! On stony and shallow ground, from vines over sixty years old, Mother Nature and man's intervention together bring forth a nectar with an aroma of moist stones, nearly smoked, evolving towards the citrus fruits, peach, pineapple, pear...