2010 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits-St.-Georges Aux Murgers

Sylvain Cathiard is a 10-acre estate in Romanee-Saint-Vivant, in Burgundy’s Cote de Nuits. Sylvain himself is a third-generation Burgundian winemaker who set up his own domaine nearly 20 years ago before returning to run the family’s domaine after his father’s retirement. He now works with his son Sebastian. Their flagship wines are Vosne-Romanee Premier Crus Les Malconsorts, En Orveau, Les Reignots and Les Suchots, and Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Crus Aux Thorey and Les Murgers. Cathiard and his wines are beloved by many wine writers, including Clive Coates, who says “there is a touch of genius here in the winemaking, resulting in bottles of exceptional purity and fragrance: Pinot Noir at its most elegant.”

Aux Mergers is a 12.2-acre vineyard in the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation, in Burgundy’s Cote-de-Nuits. It is near the northern boundary of Nuits-Saints-Georges, at an average elevation of 270 meters. The soil is limestone, quite a bit of gravel and some sand. Wine writers note that the wines from these northern Nuits-Saint-Georges vineyards have a hint of Vosne about them, since they are so close to the Vosne-Romanee appellation. Because there are no Grand Cru vineyards in Nuits-Saints-Georges, the appellation’s considerable reputation rests on its excellent Premier Crus.

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.