Description
Domaine Nicolas Rossignol, Bourgogne Rouge
This morning, Rion’s plush Pinot Noir from the Côte de Nuits provided sound evidence that overperforming Bourgogne Rouge is one of the most vital categories in French wine. Now, we’re heading south to the Côte de Beaune, where Nicolas Rossignol’s Bourgogne is proof positive that the best of this classification deserves to not only be on your table, but also in your cellar.
This is serious Burgundy; it isn’t just great for its appellation, it’s great on its own terms. Gone is the sleek opulence of Rion. In its place is brawny, mineral-submerged fruit married to a rigorously terroir-driven structure, courtesy of special vineyard sources on the outskirts of Volnay and Pommard. We often say that the real measure of a producer is the quality of their entry-level cuvée, and rarely is that as true as it is today. To top it all off, this is a limited opportunity to experience a true superstar of the Côte de Beaune, as Nicolas’ Pinot Noirs are typically snatched up by international collectors and Michelin-starred programs upon release. Normally you’d have to drop a wad of cash to experience a Rossignol creation—not today. Vive la Bourgogne Rouge!
Compile a short list of the most important names in Côte de Beaune red winemaking, and Nicolas Rossignol would be at the very top. Over the past 25 years, he’s established himself as a master of Volnay and Pommard, a talent equal to local legends like Marquis d’Angerville and Michel Lafarge. Nicolas took over the family estate in 1994, at the ripe old age of 20. Originally, the holdings he served as the fifth-generation steward for were bottled under the family estate name Rossignol-Jeanniard. Now, after garnering international acclaim for his magic touch, they’re bottled entirely under his own name. And what a collection it is; Nicolas farms a lineup of elite Volnay and Pommard 1er Crus that’d put most négociants to shame. Moreover, his overwhelming focus is on Pinot Noir, so if you want to understand the magisterial beauty of great Côte de Beaune reds, this is the address to know.
We could ask for no better interpreter, then, of the plots that make up Nicolas’ Bourgogne Rouge bottling. Nicolas farms multiple sites in the plain just below the village-ranked Volnay and Pommard climats, where the soils of well-drained clay and limestone are intermixed with alluvial topsoil. As a result, the wines from here sing with the high-toned grace of the famous villages above, with a bit more openness and generosity for earlier drinking. Nicolas’ warmer sites closer to Volnay provide darker, softer fruit and floral tones, while the Pommard-adjacent sites imbue the finished wine with that village’s famous “masculine” structure. This is further enhanced by slow aging in French barrels and bottling without fining or filtration.
With a wine as serious as Nicolas’ 2019 Bourgogne Rouge, we recommend a good hour-long decant if you’re going to drink now. After that, the nose pulls you in with wafts of dark fruit married to mineral power: black cherry pit, crushed black raspberry, purple plum skin, violets, nutmeg, freshly turned soil, iron, pulverized rock, mushroomy earth, and pencil lead. The palate is compact and powerful, almost tense, as it turns toward the more mineral and earthy tones. They’re backed by violets and blackberries, and all of it’s enveloped by firm yet filigreed tannin. If you’re going to enjoy it right away, it definitely calls for some heartier, more rustic fare. But I strongly suggest squirreling a small stash away, as it’ll really start unfolding in two or three years’ time. It’s not often you get to experience years of Burgundy pleasure without even spending $50, but here we are! Load up!
