2003 Domaine Bertagna Clos St. Denis

Domaine Bertagna is a 52-acre estate in the Cotes de Nuits. It was established in the 1950s by Claude Bertagna but since 1982 it has been owned by the Gunther Reh family, a German family of wine entrepreneurs and estate owners. Today the estate produces wine from 18 appellations, including five Grand Crus. The domain itself is in Vougeot. It has Grand Cru parcels in Clos Saint-Denis, Clos de Vougeot, Corton-Charlemagne, Corton Les Grandes Lolieres, and Chambertin. There are also numerous Premier Crus, including the monopole Clos de la Perriere in Vougeot.

Clos St.-Denis is a 16-acre Grand Cru vineyard in the Morey St.-Denis appellation in Northern Burgundy. In fact the village of Morey St.-Denis gets part of its name from this vineyard. In 1927 the village voted to add St.-Denis to Morey. Like its neighboring Grand Cru vineyards, Clos St.-Denis is rocky, well-drained, and composed largely of limestone and pebbles. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that three of “the greatest Burgundies I have ever tasted” came from this vineyard. (They were produced by Dujac, Ponsot and Georges Lignier.) The largest landholders are Georges Lignier, with 3.7 acres; Dujac, with 3.68 acres; and Drouhin, with 1.8 acres.

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.