Nicholas Potel Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes Collection Bellenum 2013
Nicolas Potel, son of the late Gerard Potel, has endeavoured to make the most of his finely honed tasting skills and wildly impressive list of contacts in the Cote d’Or with his most recent label Collection Bellenum. Unlike the wines of his Domaine de Bellene or his negociant Roche de Bellene, Collection Bellenum is a carefully cultivated and constantly evolving range of wines sourced straight from other producer’s cellars with impeccable provenance. The result is an astounding array of appellations and vintages which span back half a century at unbelievable prices.
We decided to feature his Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes Collection Bellenum 2013 because of the following features and associated benefits:
from old vines of over 58 years old
over 1000 vines in a hectare
some 15 month in oak(partial new French oak)
made non-filtered
100% handpicked grapes
100% biodynamic
No batonnage
As a result, the wine is with lots of strawberry fruit, freshness and a touch of spice. Pretty linear, this is an excellent Pinot Noir, with crunchy fruit and some complexity, this punches above its weight.
Vintage 2013 is low yields, and has been hailed by some important UK buyers as a vintage with purity of fruit, a wine lovers’ vintage, of low yields, and of excellent cost performance. Small wonder that Jancis Robinson commended this is an example of ‘completely stunning wines’ that are not Grands Crus, not even Premiers Crus but are simple village wines.
We tasted Leroy Bourgogne 2013. We are happy enough with that. In the same spirit, we believe Nicholas Potel’s Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes Collection Bellenum 2013 will be another success, given its great price and the high cost performance.
