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 domaine with his confidently crafted wines earning the attention of merchants,  importers and critics at home and abroad

Winner of the prestigious 2008 GJPV award (Groupe des Jeunes Professionnels de la Vigne) for best young talent in all the Côte de Nuits, Aurélien is a busy man. He works his own organic parcel in the vineyards above the village of Arcenant, from which comes his Hautes Côtes de Nuits bottling, Le Prieuré, in addition to farming fruit from many exceptional parcels between the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, from which he has earned extended contracts with landowners. In 2009 he completed work on his own winemaking facility in Arcenant.

While the mark of the best Burgundy producers is in allowing the individual expression of each parcel to shine through in each unique parcel, the undeniable stamp of this talented young vigneron is evident throughout the range of his bottlings. 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 and by the character of each parcel and each vintage.

Tasting through the range of wines it is difficult to find fault. From his Hautes Côtes de Nuits to his village wines and 1er Cru bottlings, allowing for the differences of origin, similar themes repeat: vibrant fruit, cherry, red and black, alongside earthy notes and expressions of terroir, tension between highs and lows, brightness next to structure and length. On the palate, silky, plush and approachable even in their youth and demonstrating remarkable balance, elegance and finesse. There is simply nothing not to love about these wines and the innate skill of this confident, talented young winemaker and imagine the work he will do in the years to come.

Viticulture & Vinification

Totaling 12 hectares between his Hautes Côte de Nuits parcel and those scattered along the Côte, 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 one third new barrels are used in any of Aurélien’s cuvées. Ageing ranging from approximately 14-16 months in barrel before being racked back to tank prior to bottling.

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.