Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits "Cuvée Maëlie" 2022

Régionale. Cuvée Maëlie, named for Guillaume’s daughter. Pinot Noir from 1.04 ha at Concœur, vines planted in 1966. Guyot simple, rows east to west, clay-limestone and silt, about 45 hl/ha. Fifteen months in barrel, about a tenth new.

Concœur is a hamlet of the Nuits-Saint-Georges commune on the plateau directly above Vosne-Romanée, about 150 meters higher than the village. In Burgundy that height is both a climate and a rank. The slope below is where the grands crus sit; the plateau above is Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes. A degree cooler across the season, buds that break later, fruit picked a few days after the crus and holding its acid. The result is a 12.5% red Burgundy from sixty-year-old vines, with the same grower, the same cellar and the same hand as the Vosne.

Fully de-stemmed with two thirds of the berries kept whole, a week cold before fermentation starts on its own, warmed slowly with few punch-downs. Aged fifteen months in barrel on the fine lees under CO₂, sulfur added late, racked once before bottling.