2023 Dm des Perdrix Nuits St Georges, Burgundy

Domaine des Perdrix has an enviable home address in Premeaux Prissey, at the southern end of Nuits Saint Georges, and has been owned by the Devillard family since 1996. The family also has Château de Chamirey in Mercurey and Domaine de la Ferté in Givry, but Perdrix is very much their Côte de Nuits estate. Its prized holdings include the Premier Cru monopole Aux Perdrix, and that serious Nuits Saint Georges pedigree filters down beautifully into the village wine.

The 2023 vintage produced generous, fragrant Burgundy with good ripeness, and this has the structure we expect from Nuits without becoming stern. The appellation’s limestone and clay soils tend to give reds with more muscle and savoury depth than some of their neighbours, yet there is lovely perfume here too. It is a proper step up from the domaine’s Bourgogne Rouge we looked at recently, with greater concentration, tannin and potential in the cellar.

Deep ruby, with Morello cherry, wild raspberry and red plum followed by violet and blood orange. Black tea, clove and a touch of liquorice emerge with air, along with darker notes of earth and crushed stone. The palate is medium bodied but firmly built, its core of cherry and raspberry carried by fresh acidity and fine, chalky tannins. Orange peel and savoury spice tighten the middle before a persistent, earthy finish.

Duck breast with lentils and roasted beetroot would be superb, alongside pork and shiitake dumplings, quail with chestnuts, miso glazed eggplant or grilled ocean trout with mushrooms and soy. Our pick is the duck, served pink with plenty of those earthy lentils to play against the darker side of Nuits.

Cellaring: Drink from 2027 to 2038.

≈