2008 Haegelen-Jayer Nuits-St.-Georges Les Damodes

Domaine Haegelen-Jayer is a 10-acre estate in Clos de Vougeot. It is owned and operated by Alfred Haegelen and his wife Madeleine, a niece of the legendary winemaker and family patriarch Henri Jayer. The domain owns Grand Cru parcels in Clos de Vougeot and Echezeaux, and Premier Crus in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Clive Coates has written that Haegelen’s wines “are full without being robust and are rich and concentrated…This is a good source.”

Les Damodes is a 21.5 acre Premier Cru 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 290 meters with some relatively steep inclines. The soil is limestone, gravel and sand. Some 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.