2005 Nicolas Potel Beaune Greves

Maison Nicolas Potel is a negociant started in Burgundy in the late 1990s by Nicolas Potel, son of the legendary winemaker Gerard Potel, who founded Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Volnay. After Gerard’s death in 1997 Nicolas started the negociant business, but a falling out with his business partners in 2009 forced him out of the business that still bears his name. The company is now owned and operated by the brothers Louis and Armand Cottin of Maison Laboure-Roi, a nearly two-hundred year old Burgundy negociant. Nicolas Potel has had no connection with Maison Nicolas Potel since 2009. The Maison offers a large portfolio of Grand Cru, Premier Cru and other Burgundies.

Les Greves is a 75-acre Premier Cru vineyard in the central part of the Beaune appellation, in Burgundy's Cote de Beaune. Though Beaune has no Grand Cru vineyards, it has 44 vineyards that are either partly or completely Premier Cru. Clive Coates has written that in the central section of the Beaune appellation is “where you will find the finest examples of premier cru in Beaune.”

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.