2011 Beaune, Les Grèves, 1er Cru, Domaine de Bellene, Burgundy

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

While running Maison Nicolas Potel in Nuits St Georges, Nicolas Potel set up his négociant company in 1997, the year after his father’s death and the sale of Domaine de la Pousse d’Or which Gérard Potel had been managing. Though his own business was taken over by the Cottin brothers of Maison Labouré-Roi in 2004, Nicolas continued to run the operation until 2009 while looking out for vineyard land of his own. In 2005 he was able to buy some vineyards (the former Domaine Carementrant, in Beaune) though the 2005 and 2006 crops were included in his négociant operation, then bottled as Domaine Nicolas Potel for 2007. The concern has been renamed Domaine de Bellene from the 2008 vintage onwards.   From the 2007 vintage Domaine Potel has been up and running in some marvellous old cellars, renovated to an ecologically admirable standard (‘Haute Qualité Environnementale'), on the Dijon road out of Beaune. Including some farming contracts, the domaine now comprises 22 hectares as below. The vineyards are being converted to organic farming, with some biodynamic elements. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.