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Clos des Argillieres from Rion: superb 2017 red Burgundy to drink now

2017 is our favourite drinking vintage for red Burgundy right now. In this vintage, one of our top picks among the premier crus is Domaine Michele et Patrice Rion’s Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres. It is fantastic value for money given the quality of the wine in the glass. We have tasted it several times recently and been very impressed. Neal Martin also rates it highly, giving it 94 points and calling it “very pretty and charming…quite Vosne-like in style”.

Clos des Argillieres is located in Premeaux, the southernmost commune of Nuits St Georges. It is here that the domaine is based. This part of Nuits typically gives lighter, more elegant styles of wine than the centre of the appellation, which is known for more powerful styles.

Rion’s vines in Clos des Argillieres lie on pink limestone with white oolite topsoil and they are over 50 years old on average. The grapes undergo a three week fermentation, and whole bunches made up around 25% of the blend in 2017. The wine was matured in oak barrels, of which 40% were new, for around 18 months. The resulting wine is a supple, elegant Nuits with dark fruit, sweet spice and a long finish.

This is an excellent 2017 red Burgundy that offers outstanding value. There are very few premier crus of this quality that you can buy for this price today. The wine is delicious now but can easily age another ten years. It comes highly recommended.