Nuits-Saint-Georges Cuvée La Gerbotte Blanc, Domaine De L'Arlot, 2017

Domaine De L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Blanc Cuvee La Gerbotte 2011 develops aromas of citrus and white-fleshed fruit, mingled with aromas of fresh almonds and honey. It has a lively, agile structure in the mouth and reflects the precise, crystalline expression of its terroir. A charming and generous wine with a certain fleshiness counterbalanced by the freshness of this vintage, the overall effect is crisp and delicious.

La Gerbotte comes from the younger Chardonnay vines in the Clos De L'Arlot vineyard, planted between 1998 and 2000. It could easily claim the appellation Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru, but instead Domaine De L'Arlot has chosen to classify Cuvée La Gerbotte under the appellation Nuits Saint Georges Village to allow time for the vine roots to reach down deep into the subsoil and for the wine to fully express all of the elegance and fullness of this great terroir. Lying further from the other vines of the Clos De L'Arlot on a limestone slab covered by thin topsoil, the micro-climate is not quite as sunny here and this lends a slightly cooler feel to the wine.

Once the grapes have been pressed the juice is gravity fed into oak casks, no more than 20% of which are new. The complex transformation then begins: the yeasts which are naturally present in the grape juice transform the sugar into alcohol. By working with indigenous yeasts, fermentation is long (3 months or more) and delicate, but it is one of the important stages which enable Domaine De L'Arlot to best reveal the influence of their terroirs in their wines.

• ❖ ABV: 13.5%