Verdet/Aurélien Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Le Prieuré 2023

Aurélien Verdet should be a name familiar to you by now, as we've persistently sung his praises for more than a decade. Ensconced in Arcenant, a tiny hamlet (population: 507) in the pastoral countryside six miles west of Nuits-Saint-Georges known as the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Verdet took over the family vineyards in 2005 following a brief interlude as a top-level motorcycle racer (he still rides recreationally). His father had pioneered a natural approach in the vineyard, having converted to organic viticulture in 1971—a time when the rest of Burgundy was a wasteland of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides—and Aurélien has maintained the tradition. Verdet's domaine includes a south-facing family parcel of Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits called "Le Prieuré", which William Kelley of The Wine Advocate has called his "reference point for the appellation." This is simply an extraordinary value and may be our Best Buy in red Burgundy currently available for purchase.