Bourgogne Côte d'Or Pinot Noir AOC 2023

A Pinot Noir that puts its fruit at the forefront while bringing spice underneath. In the glass, transparent ruby red; on the nose, fragrant and open: wild strawberries, raspberries and a few cherries, along with the floral note of peonies. The spicy side of the Vosne-Romanée parcels comes through with brown spices, but stays in the background.

The grapes come from three sites: one south of Vosne-Romanée, one close to the Clos de Vougeot, a third near Chambolle-Musigny. Arnaud Sirugue and Sophie Noëllat have run twelve hectares in Vosne-Romanée since 2023, reaching up to the Grands Échézeaux grand cru. She is the sixth generation of Domaine Michel Noëllat, he the fifth generation of Domaine Robert Sirugue; in 2023, the new cellar beneath Domaine Anne Gros was also completed, from which the two now work.

Pure Pinot Noir, dry, 13.0% vol. The proportion of whole clusters was about 30%, a technique Arnaud Sirugue and Sophie Noëllat deliberately use in warm years to preserve freshness and refine the tannins. The wine was aged 12 to 15 months in mostly multiple-use pièces, with a very low proportion of new oak.

The wine gains depth and spice, coming across as more serious than the nose suggests: hints of tar and grape skins, along with freshness, precision and juiciness. The texture is fine, the overall impression elegant. Young, but already with lovely presence and enjoyable to drink.

An entry-level wine in which the house's signature style is already clearly legible: "Precision and finesse," as Sophie Noëllat describes the philosophy. No dogma, but classic barrel ageing without any excess of wood.