Higher altitude Hautes Cotes vineyards ripen later than the main slopes below, adding the significant risk of weather conditions deteriorating towards the end of the growing season. Getting fine Pinot Noir raw materials is a challenge, therefore, even for so resourceful a winemaker as Claire Naudin, who has made this into one of the appellation’s most consistent and innovative performers. White wine production is split between Chardonnay and Aligote, the latter yielding a superior Vieilles Vignes bottling. Red wines, from various sites straddling the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits divide, are deftly worked, showing medium extract and spicy fruit and already offer great drinking at 2-5 years old. A very fine Echézeaux completes the line up.
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