Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Nuits-Saint-Georges 2012 (12 x 75cl, OC12)

No domaine has been more hyped in the last 12 months than Arnoux-Lachaux. I was quite amazed therefore when I tasted a 2014 Chambolle Musigny recently and it lived up to the hype - it was the best village wine I’ve ever tasted - performing at least to very high 1er Cru standard if not higher. This guy walks the walk. The prices from 2017 onwards are eye watering and at DRC levels though. The sweet spot is between 2014 and 2016 before prices therefore, where quality is sublime but before the prices went interstellar. This wine is not cheap, however in my view it’s as good as producers like Roumier and Rousseau

‘Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux: As good as DRC?’ … A massive statement, but that is what Jasper Morris MW implies in his summary of Arnoux Lachaux’s latest vintage (read below). They are not cheap, but top critics are unanimous in their judgement that they are astonishing. Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux is the most exciting domaine in Burgundy today, run by the prodigy Charles Lachaux. Founded in 1858 Arnoux-Lachaux is the combination of the old domaines of Robert Arnoux (Charles’ maternal grandfather) and Pascal Lachaux (his father). The domaines were officially combined and renamed for the 2007 vintage. Charles joined his parents just over a decade ago and has since taken over entirely since the 2019 vintage. His particular focus and expertise is as a viticulturalist where he has been heavily influenced by the likes of Lalou Bize-Leroy and Jean-Yves Bizot, achieving similarly low yields and concentrated grapes (circa 15hl/ha – less than half the average crop size in Burgundy). Farming organically and biodynamically, the most notable and unusual practice is not pruning his vine shoots, but arching them into a long-arm canopy instead, which has an extraordinary impact on the quality of fruit and structure of the final wines. In the cellar he opts for unusually short fermentations, at just 6-9 days in 2019, with 100% whole clusters. This produces wines of exceptional perfume and delicacy, but a natural back-bone from the stems, meaning very little new oak is wanted or needed (max 30% for Grands Crus, less for others).

Jasper Morris MW writes: “What can I say? Charles Lachaux’s interpretation of Burgundy through the family’s Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux works. These are unquestionably some of the most truly exciting young wines that I have ever tasted... With the possible exception of a certain domaine, where all the wines are grands crus*, this was the single most exciting barrel tasting I have ever experienced. In a vintage where others have made gorgeous wines in a sumptuous style, these 2019s from Charles Lachaux are perhaps the most magical of all – and entirely deserve the epithet ethereal which I have used very sparingly elsewhere this year.”