Grape Varieties: Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes: This comes from just over a hectare of vines aged between 50 and 75 years old, planted in the lieux-dits of Planchots and Connardises. The selection of Pinot is particularly fine here, giving an intense, floral wine with spicy raspberry and redcurrant fruit, juicy tannins and a spicy oak finish.
Food Pairing: Beef, Veal, Game (deer, venison) and Poultry.
About this wine producer: Denis Carre began with nothing, he was not born into a wine family. But when he reached his teenage years and harvested grapes for the first time in his native Burgundy, he knew what he wanted to do. Founded his estate in 1975 by purchasing a small collection of vineyards and building a modest winery in Meloisey, a village in the Hautes Cotes de Beaune. After four decades, the old family house is now surrounded by a wonderful winery and underground ageing cellars. Nowadays the estate has acquired tiny holdings in Meursault, Pommard, Auxey-Duresses, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Saint Romain and Beaune - thirteen hectares in total spread out over nearly seventy parcels producing 12 wines from 8 appellations. In 2008, Denis`s children Gaetane and Martial joined the estate on a full-time basis. In 2013, the family completed a full renovation and expansion of their winery. Today, Martial is in charge of the farming and winemaking, while Gaetane manages the business affairs; Denis and his wife Bernadette are still active in the vines and cellar. "Technically on paper," Gaetane jokes, "my parents are retired. But they are the best employees we have: they`re always available and they work for free! The Domaine produces around 100.000 bottles annually.
For orders below €100,00 delivery charge €10,00 within city limits
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climates of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.