Winery: Nicolas Potel
Wine: Cuvée Gérard Potel 2007
Location: Burgundy, France
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $19.99

I read somewhere recently that you need to spend $500 to find a good bottle of wine from Burgundy. That is, tasting 10 bottles to find the one you like. I am beginning to see this line of thinking. Perhaps, Jonathan and I were lucky with our first “cheap” bottle of Burgundy because we really like it. So we upgraded, but without the same results. Nicolas Potel is a bottle of Burgundy I will not be purchasing again.

Nicolas Potel resembled a stereotypical Pinot Noir in the glass, showcasing light cherry colors with extremely transparent appearance. The overwhelming aroma for me was barnyard or farm smells. It was not something I find pleasing in my wines. I read about how Burgundy wines can carry a barnyard smell, but I don’t recall encountering one this strong. For me, it was very off-putting. There was also the slightest hint of cola smells and aromas of earth. I thought this wine tasted thin and was slightly tannic and tart. Granted, it was a young wine and could lay for a couple of years to age and mellow out the tannins. This bottle of wine had no finish….zip, zero, zilch. The lack of a finish was shocking.

Here is the winemaker’s statements regarding his winemaking philosphy:

My philosophy towards winemaking is to insist on low yields, as little intervention in the vineyards as possible, rigorous selections and extended skin contact. I strive to remain true to the characteristics of each vineyard, while producing a balanced complex wine emphasizing fruit and fruitiness.