Nuits-Saint-Georges is one of the oldest villages in Burgundy and boasts history dating back to the Romans and winding through tales of Cistercian monks. Once known simply as Nuits before the famous vineyard of Saint Georges was attached to the village in 1892, Louis XIV’s physician prescribed a daily glass of Nuits to remedy the king’s digestive problems. Today, the richest wines of the most round texture hail from the Vosne-Romanée side, or the northern side, of the appellation. Resting on the border and nestled in between the famous commune of Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges’ premier cru Les Murgers, the Les Lavieres parcel is a highly respected lieu-dit that boasts clay and limestone soils, the same latitude of many of Vosne-Romanée’s premier and grand cru vineyards and some of the most prime mid-slope real estate in all of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

 

Although Domaine Daniel Rion & Fils was only created in 1955 with only two hectares to the family estate, Daniel Rion’s great-grandfather actually served as staff for Romanée Conti among other producers. When Daniel’s children joined the family business in 1978, the family began crafting and bottling their own wines for the first time. Today the Domaine comprises vineyards in six villages and owns over eighteen hectares, but the family has continued to stay true to their vigneron roots. The vineyards are organically tended with the exception of one conventional treatment in the spring. All of the grapes are hand tended and harvested. During crush, the grapes are destemmed entirely and fed through a gentle gravity press in a successful effort to obtain the softest of tannins. The wine is aged in roughly 45% new French Allier oak. The result is a wine that showcases the best of Nuits-Saint-Georges and is reminiscent of the lush, velveteen experience of neighboring Vosne-Romanée.