Domaine de L Arlot Cote de Nuits-Villages Clos du Chapeau 2023
The Wine
93 Pts James Suckling 'This restrained wine has lovely savory aromas of spices and dried flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and bright acidity, giving flavors of red cherries, terra cotta, citrus peel and bark. Lovely purity and tension. Drink or hold.'
88 Pts Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy 'A slighter lighter crimson red. A little oak on the nose alongside the attractive red berries, slightly more elegant than the Hautes Cotes, and more persistent. Attractive. In bottle. Drink from 2026-2028.'
The Details
Variety - Pinot Noir
Country - France
Region - Burgundy
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Domaine de l'Arlot has long been cherished by Burgundy lovers for the sheer beauty of its wines, but under the stewardship of Géraldine Godot the estate has ascended to an entirely new level, sitting now, by some standards, alongside DRC, Rousseau, and Roumier at the very summit of the Côte de Nuits. Taking nothing away from the great work of her predecessors—Jean-Pierre de Smet, Olivier Leriche, and Jacques Devauges—we agree entirely with Neal Martin, who has written that Géraldine Godot is “possibly making [Domaine l’Arlot’s] best wines ever.”
This l’Arlot style is one of purity, perfume, and seduction—yet still with enough stuffing to age very well. This is why we buy Burgundy: to be able to drink wines like these.
Domaine de l’Arlot, with its hillside vineyards and 19th-century gardens, has what many consider to be the most beautiful estate in Burgundy. Since the late 1980s, this producer has also been responsible for some of the prettiest red Burgundies going around. The perfume, silkiness and flickering clarity of these wines are born of the l'Arlot vineyards and the Prémeaux terroir in general. Prémeaux has always stood apart from the rest of Nuits-Saint-Georges and made wines that are altogether finer and more elegant than those produced further North, around the town itself. L’Arlot brings the finesse of this terroir to the fore with their approach to wine growing and élevage. Biodynamic farming; perfect, well-sorted fruit; gentle extraction; and whole bunch use, all play their part. Every step, from vineyard to bottle, is tailored to underline purity and finesse.
In the cellar, Godot refuses to follow any recipes, instead adapting her winemaking to the season. In 2020, for example, she used between 50 and 70% whole bunches across the red cuvées. The warm, dry season produced stems that were riper, and Godot felt the ferments would benefit from the inclusion of whole bunches. She was right. In 2021, a much cooler, wetter season, there were no whole bunches added at all. So, no recipe, only careful consideration of the personality of each terroir, in each season, and then thoughtful, precise handling in the cellar. Of course, adaption is the name of the game these days in Burgundy. Godot is a highly thoughtful, sensitive and intelligent winemaker, and the quality of her current releases only underscores why this iconic Domaine is now rated so highly.
