| Region of production: | Côte de Nuits |
| Winery Location: | Nuits-Saint-Georges |
| Year Established: | 1987 |
Vineyard Holdings
13.85 ha
- Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru: 0.25 ha Pinot Noir, 35-year-old vines
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de l’Arlot Premier Cru (monopole): 2 ha each Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, 0.08 ha Pinot Beurot, planted in 1941-1956, 1995, and 2000
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges Premier Cru (monopole): 7.08 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1953 and 1985
- Vosne-Romanée Suchots Premier Cru: 0.86 ha Pinot Noir, 55-year-old vines
- Côte de Nuits Villages “Clos du Chapeau”: 1.37 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1987; 0.25 ha Chardonnay, planted in 2006
Top Wines Produced
- Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru#
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de l’Arlot Premier Cru (monopole): white and red
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges Premier Cru (monopole)
- Vosne-Romanée Suchots Premier Cru
- Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Petits Plets” Premier Cru: from the young vines in Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges
- Nuits-Saint-Georges “Le Petit Arlot” red: from the young vines in Clos de l’Arlot
- Nuits-Saint-Georges “La Gerbotte” white: from the young vines in Clos de l’Arlot
- Côte de Nuits Villages “Clos du Chapeau” red
- Côte de Nuits Villages “Les Lurets” white: from the white vines in Clos du Chapeau
Inaugural Vintages
- Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru (1991)
- Vosne-Romanée Suchots Premier Cru (1992)
- Côte de Nuits Villages “Les Lurets” (2011)
Average Total Production
- N/A
Summary
Domaine de l’Arlot was created in 1987 when the insurance company AXA purchased Jules Belin’s holdings. These holdings included the monopolies of Clos de l’Arlot and Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges, and the beautiful 18th-century building and its extensive park and grounds. The domaine hired Jean-Pierre de Smet, a friend and protégé of Jacques Seysses, to run the domaine and renovate the vineyards. In 1991, the domaine purchased a small holding in Romanée-Saint-Vivant and in 1992 they purchased vines in Vosne-Romanée Suchots. The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2000 and biodynamically since 2003. Since Jean-Pierre de Smet retired in 2006; Jacques Devauges has been in charge of the domaine since 2011. He will be replaced by Géraldine Godot in January 2015 when he leaves.
Style & Vinification Techniques
The Domaine de l’Arlot wines are known for their pale color, delicacy, and routine use of whole clusters – Jean-Pierre de Smet was highly influenced by his time at Domaine Dujac. Though the estate’s winemakers have changed, the style has remained fairly consistent. The domaine is usually one of the first to harvest, though Jacques Devauges likes to harvest a bit later (while still avoiding over-ripeness). The fruit is sorted in the vineyard and again at the winery. The decision to de-stem or not is made case-by-case depending on the vintage’s character. In ripe vintages like 2005, they did not de-stem. In cooler vintages like 2007 and 2008, only partial whole-cluster fermentation takes place. The grapes and wine are moved by gravity during winemaking and no yeasts are added to the musts. Red wines spend 18-25 days on the skins and see one to three pigeages per day. After pressing and settling for four days, the wines are racked to casks, which are made from wood that is air-dried by the domaine. The Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges are aged in 50% new oak, the Clos de l’Arlot and Vosne-Romanée Suchots in 35% new oak, and the other wines see up to 20% new oak. Before bottling the red wines age in barrel for up to 18 months with no fining or filtering. White grapes are whole-cluster pressed and settle for two days prior to being racked to barrel for fermentation and aging. Clos de l’Arlot is aged in 20% new oak while La Gerbotte is aged in 10% new oak. The white wines spend a year in barreld before being racked to stainless steel for three months prior to bottling.
Producer Website: de l’Arlot