Tasted in Curtil-Vergy with Axelle Juillard (Machard de Gramont), 04 December 2023.

Domaine Bertrand Machard de Gramont
13 Rue de Vergy
21700 Nuits-Saint-Georges
Tel: +33 3 80 61 16 96
www.bertrand-macharddegramont.fr
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Axelle on 2023:
“I had the impression that the vines looked much better here in the Hautes Côtes than a lot of the Côte d’Or – I think it’s a vintage that will bring lots of personality but less homogeneity than 2022. I took my time, so I could do most by gravity, but for just a few weeks now, all the wines are in barrel.”

Axelle on 2022:
“Yes we had an okay volume in the vintage – double that of 2021 but that was a catastrophe! Our tanks weren’t filled but we are happy. I think the wines may be still only borderline ripe as there is such crunchy fruit and tension – we wouldn’t expect that from the hot year. We had rain, of course, but not the deluge and damage of some parts of the Cote de Nuits for instance.”

The wines…

A delicious range of wines – well done Axelle.

2022 Bourgogne Les Grands Chaillots
A shy but silky red nose. A nicely fluid, mouth-watering wine. Modestly juicy, immodestly delicious. A pretty finishing shape and a slowly fading flavour.

2022 Nuits St.Georges Les Terrasses de Vallerots
‘2 hectares and really it’s a unique parcel – it wasn’t planted with vines before, so never chemically treated.’ The vines here are now 20-years-old.
A hint of spice – and more open breadth of red fruit. More structural, with a mm of cushion for the architecture. Incisive, pure fruit with a floral accent – Ooh that’s so delicious – a simply excellent wine.

2022 Nuits St.Georges Hautes Pruliers
Very steep and often no more than 10cm of soil. From the part that touches Pruliers, vines from 1964. Higher alcohol -14%.
Here there’s an impressive extra depth of aroma – darker fruited energy too! More concentration again, a suggestion of grain from the tannin – so broad and concentrated finishing. More wine than the Vallerots – a little less airy but just another beauty again.

2022 Nuits St.Georges Aux Allots
From the bottom of Aux Chaignots, next to Grandes Vignes in northern Nuits, touching on Vosne, bought in 1969. 0.92 hectares of multiple vine ages, averaging 50 but up to 100 years old – includes the oldest vines of the domaine – the first plot bought by Axelle’s parents.
Another shy nose – it’s cold in here today – but the oh-so silky red fruit is clear. Extra width, still with a cushioned depth of flavour. The finish with a floral flourish and is quite attractively broad too.

2022 Vosne-Romanée
0.60 hectares over 4 parcels owned here – 3 of which in this wine so 0.45ha; Champs Boudin, Aux Ormes below, the Bas Mazières heading towards the Clos de Vougeot.
A more vertical nose – some width but there are more highs and lows here. More direct and red-fruited, widening with intensity and of flavour and fine not hard acidity – acid cherries – slowly fading with super width. Different yet the same in terms of how delicious 😊

2022 Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux
0.15 ha vinified apart since 2015. Very fine red soil, little in the way of clay. 20-year-old vines – as they didn’t like the plants when bought the parcel. ‘One big barrel for the elevage, my father wasn’t impressed with the idea, but I love to vinify this small parcel and get my hands dirty doing so.’
Slightly vertical again but the depth here is more concentrated and shows a little darker fruit. Much more width on the palate with a tiny grain of tannin – a hint of creamy accent from the barrel – one of the two was new – finishing very long. Different again and certainly more profound than the previous wine. ‘Better’ wine but not more delicious wine.