Red Still Wine | France | Burgundy | Nuits-Saint-Georges | 75cl
£440.00
Size: 75cl
Closure Type: Cork
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Sub-Region: Nuits-Saint-Georges
Wine Style: Full Bodied
Grape: Pinot Noir
"Though the Domaine Bertrand Ambroise has 18th century antecedents it is very much the current incumbent, Bertrand Ambroise, in charge since 1987, who has driven the business forwards. The domaine, which is under conversion to organic farming, now covers 17 hectares and is complemented by a thriving negociant business. The style of wine is for dark coloured, powerful wines from fully ripe grapes, complemented by plenty of new oak. The reds are centred on Nuits St Georges but there is also Clos de Vougeot and Corton, while the whites range from St Aubin to Corton-Charlemagne.
Bertrand Ambroise's are not wines for the faint-hearted. The reds are neither fined nor filtered and are matured in barriques of which 75-100% are new. They are opaque in colour and on the palate are full-bodied and intense with copious amounts of chewy black fruits. His Corton Charlemagne is enormously concentrated but needs time to show at its best." Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Bertrand Ambroise’s son, François, is now in charge of the wine making at this fine estate based in the village of Premeaux in the southern half of the Nuits Saint Georges appellation. Together with his sister, Ludivine, he has refined the style, retaining all the bold flavours and generous structure with which Bertrand made his reputation in the 1980s and 1990s whilst bringing additional freshness and elegance.
All the fruit is destemmed, extraction is more gentle and the proportion of new oak has been reduced. In 2023 the harvest ran from 12th September with a generous crop of healthy, ripe fruit resulting in a magnificent range of rich, generous wines.
Vaucrains is the finest premier cru of the appellation and, in many people’s opinion, deserving of grand cru status. This is dense and backward with brooding, blackcurrant fruit, firm but ripe tannins, a tight-knit texture and an impressive, persistent aftertaste. Needs time but will be magnificent. Drink 2030-2037.
Jasper Morris: 92-94 points
"100% new wood in 228 litre barrels, to be kept for 18 months unracked. 3 barrels made. Here the fruit from this great vineyard outcompetes the new wood effect easily. There is a surge of quality red fruit with a little orange zest, this is a wine which will go the distance. Drink from 2030-2037." Tasted Nov 2024.
