Big News From Nuits-Saint-Georges!

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Eden Mylunsch

Eden Mylunsch
At last week's Runion du syndicat viticole in Nuits-Saint-Georges last week they voted on petitioning the INAO to add les Saint-Georges, Les Vaucrains, and Les Cailles to the list of Grand Cru vineyards. Apparently, back in 1938 Henri Gouges was on the board that decided which vineyards would be nominated for Grand Cru status, and since he owned a large percentage of each of these vintages he didn't want the other local wine people to feel as if he were taking too much glory so he didn't submit these for the Grand Cru status (d'Angerville did likewise, thus the lack of Grand Cru vineyards in Volnay).

Here's a photo of the vignerons pondering the feasibility of such an action:

NSG_guys-1.jpg
(does anyone recognize any of these guys?)

Also discussed was Le ban des vendanges. Originally scheduled for September 3rd, the weather hasn't exactly been cooperating so they've moved it to September 25th. This causes some problems with the local chamber of commerce because Le marathon des grands crus passera-t-il is scheduled to be held right around then and it's a real drag trying to harvest grapes when there are a lot of runners traipsing through the vineyard. The syndicat is going to confer with their fellow syndicats in Gevrey, and Chambolle to come up with a route that will give the pickers enough room to do their work. Cars will also be banned from the roads in the area, so if you're planning to visit during harvest, bring a bicycle.

There was also something about hunting being allowed in certain parts of NSG for local residents only, as well as something about a Salon des vins that'll raise money for the town's old people, but my translation skills aren't quite up to figuring out exactly what either of those are about.

-Eden (my homework this week was to translate this from the NSG newspaper and I just thought I'd share)
 
It's tough with this picture, but it looks like Pierre Gouges in the second row on the aisle dressed in black. No one else that I recognize (i.e., no one from R. Chevillon, Forey, Faiveley, Chauvenet, Michelot, etc.).

It's very difficult, this vintage, especially for those of us trying to make appointments to visit because of the delayed time and the way the calendar works out with Hospices de Beaune visitors coming a week earlier than usual, plus the two holidays in November with an unofficial other one for le Pont.

From what I hear, Cte de Nuits producers of quality will be delaying to the end of the month, at least.
 
FWIW, Herve Bazin in his book "La ROmane-Conti" (Eden - also in French) mentions that Henri Gouges didn't want to put Les Saint Georges up for Grand Cru status because it would mean to choosing between his children.
 
Looking at the picture again, I think it may be Olivier Leriche of Domaine de l'Arlot next to Gouges, but again the picture is poor (and I have poor facial recognition).

The story everyone in Burgundy repeats/confirms about Les St-Georges is that Henri Gouges did not want to propose Les Saint Georges as a grand cru because it would leave out others who did not have any holdings in the vineyard -- quite similar to what Eden relates.

No less an authority on grand cru wines than Aubert de Villaine has said to me that he thinks the vineyard is of grand cru quality.

As for weather in Burgundy, they're harvesting now on the Cte de Beaune. Fair amount of rot and mildew (at least one uncofirmed report of a well-known estate having their crop declassified because the vines were so severely affected), but it sounds as though there will be some good wine, although great inequality for the vintage and a lot of work will be required. Cte de Nuits should start shortly. 10-day forecast is for decent weather, no rain which, according to one famous estate in Vosne, could give a high acid vintage similar to 1996.
 
(And I thought I read somewhere that French men don't get fat :))

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
(at least one uncofirmed report of a well-known estate having their crop declassified because the vines were so severely affected)
Click to expand...

I learned about this, too. Maltraitee from what I hear. Their vineyards are brown. I'm puzzled how they could've let that happened. It sounds disastrous. And I also heard up north in Morey a grand cru has suffered a similar fate.
 
There are 11 proprietors at Nuits-St-Georges. They have been told to expect at least 15 years of wait until a decision comes down.
 
originally posted by Alex Bernardo:
(And I thought I read somewhere that French men don't get fat :))

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
(at least one uncofirmed report of a well-known estate having their crop declassified because the vines were so severely affected)
Click to expand...

I learned about this, too. Maltraitee from what I hear. Their vineyards are brown. I'm puzzled how they could've let that happened. It sounds disastrous. And I also heard up north in Morey a grand cru has suffered a similar fate.
Click to expand...

Well, if it rained as much there as it did at our place further south in early summer with rainfalls virtually every day it was nearly impossible to have leaves and berries covered, at least if you don't work with sistemics. I've even heard of vineyards where systemics where applicated and still they lost a lot of crop to peronospora.

Difficult vintage, uneven ripening, good fruit if heavy triage is assured, high acid vintage - sounds quite familiar...
 
originally posted by Alex Bernardo:
(And I thought I read somewhere that French men don't get fat :))

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
(at least one uncofirmed report of a well-known estate having their crop declassified because the vines were so severely affected)
Click to expand...

I learned about this, too. Maltraitee from what I hear. Their vineyards are brown. I'm puzzled how they could've let that happened. It sounds disastrous. And I also heard up north in Morey a grand cru has suffered a similar fate.
Click to expand...
I visited the Cte de Beaune estate on Monday. They have no Savigny village, but they do have other wines -- albeit only about 50% of a normal crop, which isn't that far off what other estates are reporting. I'll be at the Morey estate next week, but I'll betcha they got a crop in 2008 -- the comment was reported right before the weather turned and allowed 2008 to come around, after all.
 
originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
At least in NSG they didn't have to deal with tornados...

-Eden (do you have a US importer?)
Click to expand...
Hi Eden,
it looks as if most of the vignerons on the picture would easily resist any hurricane with both feet heavy on the ground...
But more seriously, let's hope they won't have to deal with such stuff in the future, either. It's like winning the lotery, but in a negative kind of way. We shouldn't complain however since roofs can be repared and nobody got hurt. But it hurts to see majestic Olive trees that have resisted hundreds of years of storms, heats and frosts being cracked like match sticks within seconds.
To answer your question, samples have been taken to the SF Bay area, but so far we're not yet distributed in the US.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Alex Bernardo:
(And I thought I read somewhere that French men don't get fat :))

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
(at least one uncofirmed report of a well-known estate having their crop declassified because the vines were so severely affected)
Click to expand...

I learned about this, too. Maltraitee from what I hear. Their vineyards are brown. I'm puzzled how they could've let that happened. It sounds disastrous. And I also heard up north in Morey a grand cru has suffered a similar fate.
Click to expand...
I visited the Cte de Beaune estate on Monday. They have no Savigny village, but they do have other wines -- albeit only about 50% of a normal crop, which isn't that far off what other estates are reporting. I'll be at the Morey estate next week, but I'll betcha they got a crop in 2008 -- the comment was reported right before the weather turned and allowed 2008 to come around, after all.
Click to expand...
The Morey estate got a crop in 2008 and is highly optimistic about the quality.
 
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