2022 Domaine de l’Arlot Clos du Chapeau Cote de Nuits-Villages, Burgundy

Bright red berry aromas, including a touch of cranberries, but there’s nothing in the least unripe about this in spite a hint of tomato leaves on the nose. Beautiful smooth texture and underplayed power on the medium-bodied palate. I love the earthy and savory complexity in the surprisingly long, silky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

92 points jamessuckling.com

In bottle. Mid crimson colour. The bouquet shows a little more fruit ripeness than Le Mont. Not so much detail. Quite firm on the palate, with a more rigid structure, a fair volume of fruit, but on the discreet side today.

89 points Jasper Morris MW insideburgundy.com

This wine comes from another monopole, a single 1.6-hectare site in Comblanchien called Clos du Chapeau. Along with the village of Corgoloin, this southern part of the Côte de Nuits is on the rise, thanks to growers like Camille Thiriet, the soon-to-retire Didier Fornerol and the upcoming changes to the Côte de Nuits-Villages appellation laws. So, although this wine has typically flown under the radar, smart buyers are now snapping it up. Clos du Chapeau is a hat-shaped plot (hence the name) where the soil has plenty of limestone gravel eroded from the hills above. The vines were planted between 1987 and 1991. As always, this is a great-value wine full of floral, bright, sweet, juicy fruit. In fact, in the context of today’s Burgundy pricing, the word “value” does not do this wine justice. I probably shouldn’t write this, but I have little doubt that if this carried a more famous appellation on the label, it would certainly receive higher scores! Those looking for quality Burgundy at more-than-fair pricing should not hesitate. 

Domaine de l’Arlot Clos du Chapeau Côte de Nuits-Villages is a beautifully expressive and quietly serious Pinot Noir from one of Burgundy’s most thoughtful biodynamic estates. While Côte de Nuits-Villages might sound modest compared to the grander village and premier cru designations, this wine consistently overdelivers, offering a glimpse into the purity and finesse that define Domaine de l’Arlot’s style.

Clos du Chapeau is a monopole vineyard—a site exclusively owned and farmed by the domaine—located in Comblanchien, just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges. The vineyard’s clay-limestone soils and gentle slopes give the wine freshness, aromatic lift, and a fine mineral edge, while the biodynamic farming and meticulous vineyard management ensure precision and vitality in the fruit.

Winemaking is gentle and traditional. The grapes are hand harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in French oak barrels, mostly used, to maintain fruit clarity. The wine is bottled with minimal filtration to preserve texture and aromatic purity.

In the glass, Clos du Chapeau offers fragrant notes of red cherry, raspberry, dried rose, crushed herbs, and a hint of earthy spice. The palate is supple and silky with a medium body, fine tannins, and a long, quietly structured finish. It’s a wine that is both charming and contemplative—easy to enjoy now, but capable of developing subtle complexity over five to eight years in the cellar.

This is an ideal Pinot Noir for Burgundy lovers looking for elegance without the grand cru price tag. Perfect with duck breast, roast chicken, or wild mushroom dishes, Domaine de l’Arlot Clos du Chapeau is a hidden gem with real pedigree.