2015 Domaine de L’Arlot, Bourgogne Côte de Nuits Village “Clos du Chapeau” Red Burgundy, France.
My pre Christmas treat from my Sardinian winemaker and ex-wine sales rep Giuseppi Cossu was a blind tasting of this beautiful fresh, perfectly aged and elegant Clos du Chapeau by Domaine de L’Arlot from a distinctive monopole vineyard with a big rock outcropping that looks like a hat, hence the name. A bit humiliating was my poor guessing, but that aside, this was a brilliant performance and I was blown away by how youthful this wine was in the glass, mostly certainly down to the amount of whole cluster and stem inclusion, I really did see or find any age showing here, remarkable, especially considering that Giuseppi had just received it from a wine shop in New Year the day before! This 2015 Clos du Chapeau is jewel quality ruby red in the glass and pretty in aromatics with red fruits, rose petals and subtle earthy notes which nicely lead to a firm but silken palate of black cherry, strawberry and tangy red currant fruits, accented by touches of wild herb, tea spice, mineral, gentle wood and forrest floor. The oak is sublimely matched and not at all overt here, allowing the purity of place and vintage to shine completely. This domaine, which actually dates back to the 1800s, when I first got into the wine business just before the 2000s began, was known for their gripping powerful, stemmy wines, which took ages to come together and while stylistically they have changed a bit, it looks as they have found a real sweet spot. The current vintages of Clos du Chapeau, which is set on sloping clay and limestone soils, see most all de-stemmed Pinot Noir grapes and stainless maceration and primary fermentations with close to 11 months in barrel, with 30% new oak, though this ’15 feels less.
The famous Nuits Saint Georges Domaine de L’Arlot was, as importer Skurnik notes, co-owned by Jean-Pierre de Smet, who spent eight years alongside Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac before taking over L’Arlot in 1986, and was one of the hottest Nuit Saint Georges estates in the 1990s, that’s when I first discovered them, with their 1998 releases. Today, this property consists of 14 hectares planted to mostly Pinot Noir, obliviously being almost exclusively in the NSG appellation, but with 5% planted to Chardonnay for their ultra-rare white wines, which I’ve not even seen or tried. Now Géraldine Godot runs the show hereat Domaine de L’Arlot and as I learned from my friend Giuseppi Cossu, who used to sell these wines, and Jasper Morris the domaine has three unique monopoles, Clos du Chapeau in Comblanchien, as seen here, Clos de l’Arlot, where the domaine is based, and Clos des Forêts St-Georges, which was pretty legendary when I first got to know the wines. In 1991, as Morris explains, L’Arlot was able to buy a small slice of Grand Cru Romanée St-Vivant and then the following year some of the famed 1er Cru Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots, giving it even more prime vines, with both of those being exceptional and highly sought after rarities. The Burgundy-born Géraldine Godot, who took over here in 2014, has a Master’s degree in cellular biology and is an oenologist of the Jules-Guyot Institute in Dijon has employed a minimalistic approach here, but originally brought back more whole cluster and stems at first, though now has reduced that again. This 2015, a ripe year, shows her deft touch and I was impressed how the acidity and brightness have endured in the bottle over almost ten years, this is a beauty. I must again say thank you to Giuseppi for his inspired choice, in this bottle, and sharing it with me, and I must also give a shout out to Cella Restaurant for indulging us with our impromptu wine exploration and providing a meal to remember always.
($65 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive