Sommelier Profile
Nuitton-Beaunoy Bourgogne Rouge 2021
Burgundy (Bourgogne AOC), France
In the glass, this 2021 presents a clear, luminous ruby of medium depth, entirely consistent with the vintage's naturally moderate pigmentation. On the palate, the wine is lithe and elegant, with finely grained tannins and a lively, cool-climate acidity that frames flavors of sour cherry, pomegranate, and a touch of dried herbs beautifully. The mid-palate shows admirable depth for a regional Bourgogne, with a savoury, almost Chambolle-esque earthiness and graphite note emerging with air. The finish is clean, persistent, and refreshingly mineral — a hallmark of this unusually precise vintage.
Burgundy (Bourgogne AOC), France
The Bourgogne AOC serves as the broad appellation umbrella of Burgundy, drawing fruit from across the Côte d'Or and surrounding villages. The 2021 growing season was marked by a challenging spring frost followed by a cool, late summer that demanded exacting vineyard management, ultimately rewarding patient growers with wines of remarkable freshness and precision. The limestone-rich soils and continental climate of the region impart that signature mineral tension and terroir transparency for which Burgundy is revered worldwide.
Pinot Noir 100%
Pinot Noir, Burgundy's noble red grape, is a thin-skinned, temperamental variety that acts as a near-perfect mirror of its terroir, delivering translucent ruby hues, silky tannins, and an expressive spectrum of red fruit and earth. In the hands of a négociant-éleveur such as Nuitton-Beaunoy, fruit sourced from across the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune is blended to showcase the grape's elegance rather than power.
Grapes are sourced from parcels on Kimmeridgian limestone and clay soils, harvested by hand with careful selection given the frost-reduced yields of 2021. Vinification typically follows traditional Burgundian protocol: cold maceration, open-top fermentation with gentle pigeage, and ageing in a proportion of French oak barriques — a share of which are new — for 12 to 15 months before bottling unfined and lightly filtered. The frost-shortened crop concentrated flavors naturally, requiring minimal intervention in the cellar.
The nose opens with bright primary red fruit and floral lift, evolving gracefully through secondary earthy and sous-bois nuances, with just a hint of spiced oak integration on the third pass.
The 2021 vintage, while trying in the vineyard due to catastrophic April frosts that reduced yields across Burgundy by 30–50%, produced wines of exceptional concentration and aromatic purity — many critics consider it a hidden gem of the decade. Nuitton-Beaunoy, a well-regarded Beaune-based négociant with roots in the Côte d'Or, delivers reliable, terroir-driven wines at an accessible price point. This bottle pairs superbly with duck confit, mushroom risotto, roasted beet salad with goat's cheese, or a simple plateau de fromages affinés.