Prieure Roch Clos des Argillieres 2019 750mL

Clos des Argillières is Prieuré Roch's second premier cru in Nuits-Saint-Georges, a small, steep clos beside its Clos des Corvées. The 2019 comes from a low-yielding year that gave ripe, velvety reds without heaviness.

About This Wine

The clos covers 0.69 hectares in Prémeaux-Prissey, at the southern end of the appellation, and is counted among the 41 premiers crus of Nuits-Saint-Georges. It climbs so sharply that the top rows touch the rock. The vines are about 65 years old and were already organic when the domaine took them on in 2009. In 2019 April frost, a drawn-out flowering and two summer heatwaves cut yields hard, to about 1.2 million hectolitres across Burgundy. Rain in mid-August let the grapes finish ripening, and picking came in September.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Dark cherry, raspberry and violet, with clove, earth and a hint of cocoa.
• Palate: Full and velvety, with warm fruit, soft, thickly textured tannin and a line of freshness.
• Finish: Persistent, closing on spice, dark fruit and a savoury, earthy note.

Serving & Food

Open it an hour before dinner and serve around 16°C in a Burgundy glass. It is approachable now after air and should be at its most complete from 2027 to the late 2030s. It suits duck confit and lentils, lamb shoulder with garlic, or Hainanese-style roast pork.

How to Enjoy

Fans of a fleshy, generous style of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and a premier cru that shows well young.

Product Details

About the Domaine

Philippe Pacalet ran the vineyards and cellar at Prieuré Roch through the 1990s, before setting up on his own in Beaune. By then the domaine's methods were already fixed: whole bunches, native yeasts, organic farming and as little intervention as possible.

Those methods have not changed under Yannick Champ, who now leads the team. Grapes go into wooden vats with all their stems and are still punched down by foot. The domaine uses no synthetic products in vineyard or cellar and keeps sulphur to an absolute minimum.