2021 Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos des Forêts Saint Georges, Burgundy

Complex nose of red berries, savory and wet earth with just a hint of candied citrus peel. Quite a bold and seriously structured wine with excellent depth for the challenging vintage, but nothing even remotely approaching a hard edge. This will need some time to give its best, but the balance is there at the simultaneously crisp and velvety finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best from 2025.

95 points jamessuckling.com

The second of two great monopole vineyards at the core of this domaine, this is also one of the great terroirs of Nuits, made clear by its position so close to Les Saint-Georges (and its name which reflects this proximity). At 7.2 hectares, Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges is by far the largest single parcel in the l’Arlot stable and produces the estate’s most profound red wine.

Running the entire width of the Côte from the forest to the RN74, Forêts contains three distinct terroirs which l’Arlot picks and vinifies separately. From top to bottom, these three soil types include a band of white oolitic limestone with very little topsoil; a fracture in the middle of the vineyard, where pink Prémeaux limestone takes over; then ‘younger’ Ladoix limestone and more clay at the bottom of the slope. A portion of the youngest vines were previously harvested for the now-defunct Petits Plets cuvée. Now over 30 years old, these vines have come of age and so form a part of this cuvée.