2012 Hospices de Nuits Nuits St. Georges Les St Georges Cuvée Les Sires De Vergy

Hospices de Nuit is a charitable foundation established in 1692 in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Like its much larger cousin the Hospices de Beaune foundation and wine auction, Hospices de Nuit holds an annual charitable wine auction. King Louis XIV, the Sun King, had several small charitable hospitals consolidated to make the Hospices de Nuit. The Hospices de Nuit auction is held each year two weeks before Easter and the wines come from 22 acres owned by the foundation. The vineyards are mostly Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru and village parcels. For several centuries grapes grown on the 22 acres were sold off in bulk. But starting in 1961 Hospices de Nuits held its own auction. Though the Hospices de Nuit event is much lower profile that the Hospices de Beaune auction, Clive Coates has written that Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges “is a fine estate.” Unlike at Hospices de Beaune, this charitable domain has its own team of viticulteurs.

Les Saint-Georges is a 18.7-acre Premier Cru vineyard in Nuits-Saints-Georges, in Burgundy’s Cote de Nuits. It is in the southern part of of the appellation. Because there are no Grand Cru vineyards in Nuits-Saints-Georges, the appellation’s considerable reputation rests on its excellent Premier Crus. Burgundy writer Clive Coates calls this vineyard part of the “greatest climat in Nuits-Saint-Georges.” The vineyard is 245 – 260 meters in elevation with an excellent stony, soil that drains well. Coates calls Les Saint-Georges “the best wine of the commune. It is simply the most complete, the most complex, and the most profound.”

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.