Wine Advisor
Jean Grivot, Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Nuits St. Georges Aux Boudots seems to bring together elements of both preceding wines, namely the floral notes, red-toned fruit and silky tannins of the Pruliers, with the volume and richness of the Roncières. All the elements are beautifully balanced in this decidedly harmonious Nuits. Slight elements of greenness run through the fruit, but they are not dominant.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright red. Pungent red berries and minerals on the nose, lifted by a floral note and a hint of pepper. Silky and fine-grained but juicy too; more pliant and extroverted--less wound up--in the mid-palate than the Beaux Monts. Finishes tactile and saline, with noteworthy balance and length. This really spreads out and glistens on the aftertaste. Grivot describes 2011 as a very precise vintage of charm. It was a normal growing season but with all key events occurring three weeks earlier than average. The foliage was finished at the end of August and there was little to gain by waiting to harvest. You could get higher sugars through concentration but that also brought heaviness and a loss of freshness. It was an error to pick later.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good bright medium red. Sexy aromas of dark raspberry, minerals and cumin; this was 12.5% potential alcohol chaptalized to 13% yet shows an intriguing coolness on the nose. A silky, sweet midweight with lovely intensity and inner-mouth perfume. Finishes classically dry, with firm, dusty tannins and lingering notes of black cherry, licorice and minerals.
About the Producer
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle (Patrick Bize's sister) took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The Grivot family believes in generational change and in 2017, Étienne and Marielle’s daughter, Mathilde, took over for her parents. Mathilde brings a fresh approach while maintaining the longtime traditions of the Grivot family. The recently renovated winery and cellar is in Vosne-Romanée where most of the Grivot vineyards are located. The domaine has been assembled over several generations to its current size of 15.5 hectares and includes holdings in three grand crus: Clos de Vougeot, Echézeaux, and Richebourg. Mathilde believes in getting quality first thanks to meticulous vineyard work throughout the year. The result of this hard work is healthy, ripe (both phenolic and sugar levels) and depth of concentration and flavor of the fruit. Today, the vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification,” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir. The grapes are entirely destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The fermentation starts naturally, with a little punching down before this fermentation begins. There is no more pigeage after fermentation begins, “I don’t like to mix the physical (punching down) with the spiritual (fermentation),” said Étienne. After fermentation, the wines are pumped over once a day before aging in barrel for 15 months. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 25% for the villages appellations, 30-40% for the premier crus and 40-45% percent for the grands crus.
