Robert Chevillon - Nuits-St.-Georges Les Cailles 2020

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Nuits-Saint-Georges wine is produced in the communes of Nuits-Saint-Georges and Premeaux-Prissey in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Nuits-Saint-Georges may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The name of the appellation is sometimes written simply as Nuits, without the Saint-Georges part. The word "Nuits" has nothing to do with "nighttime" but comes from the Latin for walnuts, Nutium. The production of red wine dominates greatly, with around 97 per cent, and only around three per cent white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Nuits-Saint-Georges.

In 2008 there were 306.33 hectares (757.0 acres) of vineyard surface in production for Nuits-Saint-Georges wine at village and Premier Cru level, and 12,031 hectoliter of wine was produced, of which 11,703 hectoliter red wine and 328 hectoliter white wine. Some 7.03 hectares (17.4 acres) of this area was used for the white wines in 2007. The total amount produced corresponds to just over 1.6 million bottles, of which just over 1.55 million bottles of red wine and a little over 40,000 bottles of white wine.

The AOC regulations allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this not very often practiced. For white wines, both Chardonnay and Pinot blanc are allowed, but most wines are likely to be 100% Chardonnay. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare of red wine and 45 for white wine. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level red wine, 11.0 per cent for village-level white wine and Premier Cru red wine, and 11.5 per cent for Premier Cru white wine.

The Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy has been named after Nuits-Saint-Georges, which is the subregion's largest town, and which used to play an important role in the trading of these wines.

Robert Chevillon Description

The Domaine was started by Symphonien Chevillon in the late 19th century with a small plot (3/4 acres) which he farmed after finishing his daily work for other vignerons. Symphonien's son took over the Domaine upon his father's death and began to acquire small parcels of Nuits St. Georges premier cru. The Domaine is now 31 acres and is managed by Robert Chevillon, great great nephew of Symphonien.

Domaine Chevillon is often said to be the greatest Domaine in Nuits Saint Georges. With a focused core of Pinot fruit, the wines are always balanced, never over-oaked or over-chapitalized. Chevillon's Burgundies cellar well, but in their youth they show elegant berry and earth perfume.

A View from the Cellar: 94 Points

As I noted in the introduction for the domaine, the 2020 les Cailles is quite black fruity in personality this year, but also marvelously sappy and pure at the same time. The bouquet delivers scents of sweet dark berries, sappy black cherries, dark chocolate, gamebird, a hazelnut, a very complex base of soil, balsam bough and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, deep and full, with a sappy core, great transparency and grip, firm, suave and buried tannins and a long, tangy and nascently complex finish. This will be outstanding juice when it is ready to drink! (Drink between 2035-2090)

Wine Advocate: 93-95 Points

Deep and seamless, the 2020 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles mingles aromas of cherry and berry fruit with hints of rose petals, orange rind, sweet spices and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, suave and velvety, with terrific concentration, fine tannins and lively acids, it's the most elegant wine in the range. The 2020 vintage has turned out very well indeed at Domaine Robert Chevillon. With finished alcohols around 13.7% to 13.9%, these are deep and powerful wines that remain nicely balanced, and they're built to age. Indeed, in their vibrant, concentrated style, they remind me somewhat of the domaine's 2016s, something one wouldn't have thought possible on paper. The bad news is that yields were down, the Chevillon brothers having lost the equivalent of one entire harvest over the course of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages. As I've written before, this is one of my favorite addresses in all of Burgundy. Old vines, cultivated soils, moderate yields and long fermentations with entirely destemmed grapes are the order of the day at this address, with the Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes seeing some 20% new oak and the premiers crus 30%. Nuits' Tonnellerie Sirugue is the dominant supplier of barrels. (WK)