Domaine de l'Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Rouge "Clos des Forets" 1er Cru 2021
(Burgundy, France) - [JS 95] [VM 93-95] [TA 94] [DM 92] [JM 91-94]
Regular price $180.00 Sale price $169.97 Save $10.03
Jean-Pierre de Smet defined the winemaking style at Domaine de L’Arlot with his philosophy that “the more one knows, the less one interferes.” In 2002, he brought biodynamic farming to the domaine and even cured the wood that would eventually be made into the estate’s barrels. Jean-Pierre retired in 2007 turning over the estate to Olivier Leriche, who followed the same philosophy and believed that every decision has to “respect the soil, respect the plants, and ensure that both are in harmony with the environment.”
About this Wine:
'Clos des Forêts' is a single estate vineyard, known as 'monopole' in French, is home to vines of approximately 45 years old. This unique terroir covers 7.2 hectares, and is composed of multi-layered soils with clay, limestone and gravel.
The grapes are hand picked, twice sorted (once on the vine, then at the crush pad after being picked). All transfers are made via gravity flow. By avoiding the use of pumps, the integrity of the grapes are better preserved. Domaine de l'Arlot takes a very hands off approach to winemaking.
This wine is aged in roughly 45% New French Oak for 16 to 18 months.
Ratings & Reviews
95 Points - James Suckling:
"Complex nose of red berries, savory and wet earth with just a hint of candied citrus peel. Quite a bold and seriously structured wine with excellent depth for the challenging vintage, but nothing even remotely approaching a hard edge. This will need some time to give its best, but the balance is there at the simultaneously crisp and velvety finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best from 2025." (Jun 2023)
93-95 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2021 Nuits Saint-Georges Clos des Forets Saint Georges 1er Cru is more expressive than the Clos de l'Arlot on the nose: vivid scents of raspberry, cranberry, sous-bois and just a very slight steeliness. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, almost angular tannins, fresh and very tensile, quite saline to the extent where I fully agree that any stem addition would have been superfluous. Persistent and graceful on the finish, this is superb." - Neal Martin (Jan 2023)
94 Points - Tim Atkin:
"There is a lovely depth of color here, and the perfume is enticing with its boysenberry fruit and chalky minerality. The palate has a lovely depth of ripeness, precise and fine tannins and elegant, refreshing length. This is one of the prettiest Clos des Fôrets St-Georges I have ever tasted."
92 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"This substantial wine has a ripe plummy fruit on the initial attack adorned with notes of smoke, earth, spice and an almost savoury animal complexity. The texture is dense and tannic, with plenty of substance and a lingering, complex finish. The massive cuvée represents half of the surface area of the domaine—7.2 hectares, right next to premier cru Les St-Georges—and it is usually vinified in six different cuvées and blended later in order to account for variation in ripeness. In 2021, however, there were only enough grapes for three." - Charles Curtis MW (Oct 2022)
91-94 Points - Jasper Morris' Inside Burgundy:
"Dense red to crimson. The bouquet is a little more closed than Les Suchots, but with a suggestion of a fair intensity of fruit to follow. Prettily floral, cherry and raspberry too, this is rather stylish, still with a little biscuit note from the barrel, like many of these wines in their youth. Without being in the style of the blockbuster vintages, there is still good energy here for the future. Drink from 2027-2033." (Nov 2022)