Domaine Jean Tardy - Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits - Cuvée Maëlie 2017
Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils is based in the commune of Flagey-Echézeaux, in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits region, few kilometers away from Vosne-Romanée. The origins of the domaine date back to 1945, when Victor Tardy established a métayage (tenancy) agreement with Domaine Méo-Camuzet. Jean Tardy succeeded his father in 1966 and Domaine Méo-Camuzet gave him as sharecropping the vines of Nuits St Georges 1er Cru “Aux Boudots”, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru “Les Chaumes”, and Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Since 1981, and after having acquired a few parcels of Bourgogne Passetoutgrain appellations, Domaine Jean Tardy has expanded to 5 Village appellations: Chambolle Musigny (1984), Nuits St Georges (1989), Vosne-Romanée (1999), Fixin (2006), Gevrey "Aux Champerriers" (2007), Hautes Côtes de Nuits (2008), Echézeaux and finally Nuits St Georges 1er Cru "Aux Argillas" (2010).
In 1997, his son Guillaume Tardy decided to return to the family-estate while continuing his studies in viti-oenology at the school of Beaune, then at the faculty of oenology of Dijon to finally work full time with his father in 2000, after 8 month at Domaine Picardy (Western Australia) as winemaking assistant. On his return, Guillaume took on the responsibility of making the wines under the watchful eye of his father. It was in 2003 that Guillaume moved to the head of the operation while continuing to work very close to his father, thus combining traditional know-how and his experience with current knowledge and new techniques.
They work the vines with respect for the soil and the plant, focusing on working the soil and adding natural compost rather than various chemical additions. The vinification methods remain very traditional (total destemming) with an alternation of punching down and pumping over, but with a cold pre-fermentation maceration since 2001 and vatting of 18 to 20 days depending on the needs of the vintage. The wines are aged in oak barrels over a period of 16 to 20 months, with 25 to 30% new oak for the Villages, 50 to 60% for the 1er Crus and 70% for the Grands Crus.
Grape variety: 100% Pinot Noir
