Gerard Mugneret Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Aux Cras Burgundy France, 2019, 750

• Etymology: Cras is possibly derived from the Gallic word Caracos, meaning "rocky hill, stony slope, mass of fallen rocks". (Source: Marie-Hélène Landrieu-Lussigny).
• Size: 0.27 ha (0.67 ac)
• Variety: Pinot Noir
• Vine Age: Planted in 1951, 1955 and 1958.
• Terroir: Pascal’s Aux Cras and La Richemone are adjacent but Aux Cras is lower on the slope. It has shallow sandy, stony soils, but with more clay than La Richemone.
• Viticulture: Uncertified biodynamic
• Vinification: 50-60% whole cluster, ambient yeast fermentation, usually no sulfur added at vinification. Aged in oak barrels (about 40% new) for 12 to 18 months. Since 2016, very moderate sulfur additions: none during vinification, a little during élevage and before bottling, for a total of 15 to 20 ppm.

With only 0.17 ha of Richemone and 0.27 ha of Aux Cras, the Mugneret family had always blended both parcels, and because the two crus were allowed to be labelled as Boudots, that’s what they did.

“But it always felt uncomfortable for me,” says Pascal. “We talked about Aux Boudots but when people asked where my vines were located, I had to answer, ‘well, they are not actually in Boudots.’”

Since 2017, Pascal has bottled the two crus separately. Boudots was often our favorite wine in the cellar but we have no regrets. Both crus are spectacular in their own right and even though the parcels are adjacent (the southeast corner of Pascal’s Aux Cras touches the northwest corner of his La Richemone) the wines are very different.

We have always thought of Aux Cras as one of the best premier crus in Nuits Saint Georges. When you get to this part of the appellation it is not always easy to tell it apart from Vosne-Romanée in a blind tasting. Aux Cras is in the family of Malconsorts: it is built on core and minerality. And that is what we love about it.

“It’s salty, fruity, floral, earthy, airy,” says Pascal. “You can taste the power and imagine you are in Nuits. But it has the elegance of Vosne.”