Maxime Cheurlin Noëllat Nuits Saint Georges 1er. Cru Les Vaucrains 2021

Les Vaucrains is a Premier Cru on the southern edge of Nuits-Saint-Georges in Burgundy, sitting high on the slope just below the treeline, and it is one of the village's firmer, longer-lived sites. Maxime Cheurlin Noëllat farms the Pinot Noir here on stony limestone and clay soils that are poor and well drained, conditions that keep yields low and concentrate the fruit while feeding the wine's mineral grip. The Cote de Nuits is cool and continental, and the steep aspect with its swing between warm days and cold nights ripens the grapes slowly, building structure and savoury depth rather than soft fruit. The wine is raised in oak barrels, which lend gentle tannin and spice through slow oxygen exchange and frame a naturally structured Nuits style. The colour is deep ruby. The nose shows dark cherry and red berries, turned earth, oak spice and a note of leather, with liquorice underneath. The palate is medium to full bodied with bright acidity, firm tannins and a long, savoury, mineral finish that needs time. Serve at 16 to 17C and decant an hour ahead. It suits beef, game and mushrooms.