Domaine de l'Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 'Clos de L'Arlot' 1998

After a visit to see his friend Jacques Seysses at Domaine Dujac in 1977, Jean-Pierre de Smet decided on a late career change: he would study winemaking at the University of Dijon and, while honing his craft with Seysses, search for his own estate.

Almost a decade later, de Smet got the call he’d been waiting for. Maison Jules Belin – a 13ha domaine in Nuits-Saint-Georges, which included two prime, 1er Cru monopoles, ‘Clos des Forêts’ and ‘Clos de L’Arlot’ – was looking to sell. With the financial backing of AXA, de Smet pounced.

Although dismissive of ‘Clos de L’Arlot’s’ merits when he arrived at the estate, de Smet was soon smitten by this dramatic amphitheatre of vines situated directly behind the property. His sensual (rather than overtly powerful) wines show the efforts of meticulous vineyard work, as well as the influence of Dujac’s whole-cluster style in the cellar.

Neal Martin has written of the vinous epiphany that a bottle of 1990 ‘Clos de L’Arlot’ provided on his first trip to Burgundy. Now it’s the turn of the 1998 to work its magic on us: dark and stemmy, smoky and savoury, this is beautifully aged Pinot in the zone.

19 out of 20 points, La Revue du Vin de France