Nuits St. Georges, Les Damodes, 1er Cru 2013 A. Verdet

Winner of the prestigious 2008 GJPV award for best young talent in all the Côte de Nuits, Aurélien Verdet is a busy man. Well-schooled from a young age by his father Alain, who is one of the very first vine growers in Burgundy to go organic, Aurélien carries on the philosophy, working his own organic parcel in the vineyards above the village of Arcenant, and farming fruit from other exceptional parcels in the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin. He is quickly establishing a name for himself and raising the profile of his domaine with his confidently crafted wines. His plot in Damodes is just three quarters of an acre planted in the 1960’s. This Premier Cru lies at the top of the slope north of Nuits St Georges and just before Vosne Romanée. Vinification is up to 30 days but his extraction is very gentle : First he does a cold maceration up to 10 days then gentle pumping over of the juice to stimulate fermentation. After 15 days, the caps are punched down.The wine aged in oak barrels from the Tronçais and Vosges forests not exceeding 1/3 new. The Wine Spectator scored this Premier Cru 93 points saying "Intense cherry, raspberry, mineral and licorice flavors make a compelling case for this chewy red. Dense tannins offer support but remain integrated, while the flavors persist on the long aftertaste. Best from 2018 through 2032." On Sale!