Varietal: Pinot Noir
From: Burgundy, France
Taste: Aromas of vibrant red fruit immediately greet the olfactory senses, accompanied by earthy underbrush and a note of black tea. On the palate, the wine is fresh and lively, with a juicy middle and compact tannins that integrate quite nicely on the palate. A subtle, lingering finish pulls everything together; and all the succulent flavors of wild strawberry, fresh raspberry, & pomegranate meet those earthy forest undertones with finesse.
Pairing: As long as you go for a balance that incorporates an earthy element, you'll be golden here. Mushrooms, grilled fare, rabbit, risotto, pasta, veal, stroganoff, squash dishes... you get the point. Check out this recipe by Sarah Digregorio for Instant-Pot Milk-Braised Pork (Maiale al Latte) for some NYT Cooking inspiration.
About. This wine comes from the estate’s original five-hectare plot in the “Les Hoz” lieu-dit, whose south-facing vines are in the hamlet of Melin, in Auxey-Duresses. Although Les Hoz is located at the bottom of the slope, the parcel is called “Hoz” as a synonym for Hauts, which means high or elevated (i.e. Hautes Côtes de Beaune). Our Burgundy Atlas doesn’t have a super satisfying explanation of why this might be…perhaps it’s because that vineyard marks the entrance of the upper part of Auxey-Duresses? (Sometimes Burgundy is a puzzle.)
Agnès Paquet’s “Les Hoz” vineyard is comprised of a mix of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Half of the Pinot Noir was planted in the 1950s and half was planted in 2000. These two plots are vinified separately.
The grapes were harvested in small, 12 kg crates to preserve the grapes as much as possible prior to fermentation in small concrete vats. As the wine fermented for a period of 20 days, with punch-downs are done exclusively by foot starting towards the middle of fermentation to maintain the delicacy of the blend. The wine then aged for a year in neutral barrels, before being racked to sit in concrete vats for two months in preparation for bottling.
