2017 Patrice Rion Côte de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes 750 ml

We didn’t stop and genuflect at the little church in the French town of Prémeaux-Prissey, even though the thought crossed our minds; if only to improve our chances of walking away from our much-anticipated appointment with enough cases of wine to offer to our members back on US shores.

The stately stone church, which was built in the 13th or 14th century, was closed anyway, and the 400 or so inhabitants of this tiny Côte de Nuits village were busily going about their day—farming for the most part. A short, uneventful and quiet three-minute walk from the church down the street landed us at the door of Domaine Rion. Inside were Patrice Rion, his wife Michèle, and son Maxime, and somewhere behind them enjoying a cool, dark slumber, were just enough cases of their 2017 Vieilles Vignes which comes from three nearby lieux-dits (named places) to fill one pallet for shipping back to the U.S. and we wanted them—for you. 

“This domaine is currently producing some of the best wines in the appellation,” wrote Neal Martin for Vinous in a 2018 report, when he tasted the “outstanding value” 2017s, which though young and taut at the time had “much to offer,” even then. Two years since his report, we can tell you from first-hand experience that they’ve settled into themselves and are positively wonderful. 

Over a simple lunch of salad nicoise and quiche Lorraine, we learned that while Patrice was still in charge of his family’s Daniel Rion estate, he and his wife Michèle established Domaine Rion as far back as 1990. Today, the family farms just 14 acres of village-level, premier and grand-cru vines split between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Chambolle-Musigny, with some contracts for grapes from locally famous lieux-dits, as is the case with this Vieilles Vignes (old vine) bottling, which also contains estate grapes. 

Once harvest is underway, the care and attention to detail for this villages-level Pinot Noir is something else—something you’d expect from premier cru producers. Grapes are hand-harvested into small bins and at the winery, eight people at two sorting tables work quickly to remove any leaves or raisined grapes. Depending on the vintage 70-100% of grapes are destemmed, slowly fermented for nearly three weeks, then aging in barrel (40% new French oak, just as with their premier cru wines) for up to 18 months on the fine lees with no racking. 

During the entire process, Patrice is adamant about restricting any exposure to oxygen so that his finished Pinot is fresh, fruity, and lively, creating with Master of Wine Jasper Morris has called, “very pure, harmonious wines, skilfully vinified.” At the end of his report in Vinous, Neal Martin practically begs readers to get on board. “If you are not familiar with this domaine, they are well worth seeking out,” he says. We think you’ll agree. Salut!