As for rootstock, older vineyards are likely to be grafted on SO4, but many producers I spoke with are experimenting when planting or replanting. Pierre Gros is trialing 110R and 5C. Nicolas Thevenot observes, “On our thin and porous soils, 5C and 3309 are better than Paulsen. At each planting, we use at least three rootstocks.”
There is little doubt that better vine material has contributed to more consistent and greater ripeness, but climate is the decisive factor. Take the 2021 vintage, for example, which had a difficult cooler season. In a tasting of 2021 Hautes-Côtes, I found the reds tough-going. Even in warmer seasons, not all goes to plan for everyone. In 2023, Claire Naudin was unhappy with the tannin of some of her Hautes-Côtes de Nuits red and blended it with some 2022 to make a Non-Vintage wine. Most producers agree that the date of harvesting tends to be earlier nowadays. There used to be at least a two-week hiatus between finishing the harvest on the Côte d’Or and starting on the Hautes-Côtes, but now most producers move directly from one to the other. Thibault Liger-Belair even harvested Le Clos du Prieuré, a parcel located on a warm, south-facing slope with a gradient of 40%, in the middle of the harvest, which illustrates the scale of change. “The workers need sunglasses in the vines in the summer, as the soil, which is glaringly white, reflects the light. We always get good maturity here.” (The 2023 Le Clos du Prieuré is compact, rich, and spicy.) Thibault adds, “It’s no longer the case now that if you go up 100m [330ft] in altitude, you need to wait a week to harvest. The biggest thing now is the aspect, and Le Clos du Prieuré is south-facing. La Roche in Bevy is the last to ripen.” This vineyard is located at 400m (1,300ft) on cailles and limestone. “It is softly air conditioned by the surrounding wood, which lets it breathe and the temperate is regulated. There is never an issue of overripeness here.” It’s no surprise that many domaines based on the Hautes- Côtes harvest their white grapes by machine, since this helps them hit a certain price/quality ratio. But machine-harvesting Pinot Noir is a different matter. Claire Naudin uses a machine but hand-picks the whole bunches of Pinot Noir she requires. She also points out that it’s difficult to get pickers late in the season. “We might start on August 20 in the Côte d’Or and finish in the Hautes-Côtes in mid-October in dry vintages like 2020 or 2022, when the drought delayed ripening. We had four groups of pickers. We can start with students but finish with retirees.” I was not surprised, however, that Nicolas Thevenot and his sister are considering harvesting the rather special Clos du Vignon by hand: “We know we must hand-harvest to take it to the next level.” Pierre Gros hand-picks everything, drawing attention to the fact that for producers with Hautes-Côtes vineyards at a distance, it’s important to harvest by hand so there is no oxidation in the trailer en route back to the winery. So, now the fruit has arrived at the winery and can be
analyzed, what effect does the Hautes-Côtes have by comparison with the Côte d’Or? In 2023, the marginally cooler temperature gave valuable time to ripen the large crop. This was particularly significant for Pinot Noir, which could reach phenolic maturity without sugar levels rising, and acidity levels falling, as rapidly as they did on the Côte d’Or. While red wines can suffer from overripeness in 2023, the Hautes-Côtes has often turned out fresher Pinot Noir with more red fruit and nicely ripened tannin. Many producers on the Côte d’Or tweaked the acidity in 2023, but this was unnecessary in the Hautes-Côtes. Pierre Gros
acidified his Côte d’Or cuvées in 2023, but not his Hautes-Côtes wines. He comments on the changes in the analysis: “The maturity is better and better. It was medium to low previously but is ripe now, though to some extent there is still some difference in sugar and acidity between the Hautes-Côtes and the Côte. On average, Hautes-Côtes wines have alcohol levels 0.4% lower than those from the Côte, the former now typically 12.5% or even 13% in very ripe vintages. Over the past ten years, they are almost ripe enough never to use the concentrator— until the 2024 vintage. But the acidity is always higher. The pHs are 0.1 to 0.15 lower than on the Côte, and that’s a big difference.” Thibault Marion, who has been making red Hautes-Côtes de Beaune with purchased fruit from Nolay for ten years, remarks, “We find more consistency generally, and in vintages like 2023, the wine retains good balance.” The final pH in his bright and crunchy wine is 3.47, which is not bad for 2023. At Domaine de l’Arlot, Géraldine Godot, who makes Hautes-
Côtes Le Mont from just above the premier cru vineyards, says, “We speak a lot about climate change. Twenty years ago, the Hautes-Côtes wines were less ripe and more acidic, but now we have good ripeness. It is the first appellation where we have something positive to say about climate change.” And that fresh acidity can be a very useful blending component. At Domaine Michel Prunier & Fille, Estelle Prunier blends Chardonnay from a 2ha (5-acre), 40-year-old vineyard planted by her father on the plateau above the west side of Auxey-Duresses. It is added to Chardonnay from a parcel of Bourgogne below Meursault. It’s a good strategy in a warm vintage such as 2023, and Ben Leroux did the same in 2023, adding 8% of Hautes-Côtes from above St-Aubin to his Bourgogne, which also comes from the plain below Meursault. Incidentally, it’s worth looking out for Jean-Philippe Fichet’s vibrant Hautes-Côtes de Beaune made from vines neighboring Estelle’s above Auxey-Duresses. As Nicolas Thevenot reflects, “We have different concerns from those our parents had. Fifteen years ago, they were looking for more sugar and the acidity was never too low. Nor was the temperature of the juice ever too high. In the ’70s and ’80s, the fruit needed chaptalizing. Now, the sugar concentration is much higher and Chardonnay pHs can reach 3.5. Over the past two years, the pHs have become our main preoccupation, and we must cool the tanks. “In 2018 the specific density of Pinot Beurot was 1.098. This was a record at the time, but it was beaten in 2022. For six or seven years now, a density of 1.098 has been commonplace, whereas it used to be exceptional. I feel there was a big change from 2017 to 2018.”
I should mention that Hautes-Côtes regulations permit the inclusion of up to 30% of Pinot Beurot, while Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc may represent 100%. Both Thevenot and Naudin have a single varietal Pinot Blanc. “The Hautes-Côtes terroir is particularly suited to Pinot
Beurot. It fully expresses its powerful aromas while maintaining good finesse,” says Nicolas, whose grandfather planted a few rows of Pinot Beurot in the ’70s to blend with Chardonnay. “He was one of the first to plant Chardonnay in Marey-lès-Fussey, but he didn’t know if it would ripen, so he was advised to plant some Pinot Beurot, too, as it ripens faster than Chardonnay.” Pinot Beurot, which is planted on three plots facing due south in Marey-lès-Fussey, is the first grape variety Thevenot harvests.
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 115
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