Joli Vin imports

Domaine Aurélien Verdet - Arcenant (Hautes Côtes de Nuits)

Aurélien Verdet has been well-schooled from a young age; his father Alain, one of the very first vine growers in Burgundy to go organic in 1971, has passed on to his son the valuable lessons of raising vines in balance with nature. Aurélien, eager to carry on the philosophy, is quickly establishing a name for himself and raising the profile of his tiny domaine with his confidently crafted wines earning the attention of important merchants,  importers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic.

When Aurélien is not working in the cellar of noted Nuits Saint Georges producer and mentor, David Duband, he is tending to his own scattered parcels throughout the communes of the Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits Saint Georges. Obviously, no one told Aurélien about the official 35 hour work week.

One wouldn’t imagine fruit coming from such varied sources, even if all from within the Côte de Nuits, finding such uniform themes of expression. But that such is the case, and remarkably so, is evidence that this young winemaker knows well what he is doing in the field and in the cellar. Aurélien is adamant to point out, as I ply him for details, searching for the common threads in his winemaking technique, that nothing is done by rote. Everything, he reminds me on several occasions, is done by feel, by taste, by intuition, by the phases of the moon and as the wines from each parcel and from each vintage demand.

As I taste through the range of wines, from his Hautes Côtes de Nuits to his village wines and lofty 1er Cru bottlings, allowing for the differences in place of origin, the same themes repeat: wines that tend toward vibrant fruit, cherry, red and black, plushness and approachability while lacking nothing in balance, elegance and terroir. There is simply nothing not to love about these wines and the innate skill of this young, confident and talented winemaker. Joli Vin is enormously pleased to introduce these wines into northern California for the very first time.

Viticulture & Vinification

Of his 3.5 hectares, Aurélien keeps yields in the vineyard low, dropping fruit during the summer and resulting in a final harvest ranging from 35 – 40 hl/ha.

A cold pre-fermentation of 5-6 days for all the cuvées is followed by temperature controlled fermentations in stainless steel, lasting approximately 15 days and includes daily pigeage and remontage.

No more than 30% new wood for any of Aurélien’s cuvées are employed in the ageing, which for the 2006 vintage, was approximately 14 months.

Timing of vineyard and cellar operations are governed by the phases of the moon: for example, a waning moon for pruning the vines in order to support the natural movement of sap back to the base of the plant and toward its roots and racking of wines when the gravitational forces of the lunar cycle favor a more unagitated period for the wine that is being clarified.