It’s an interesting thought that this domaine used to be the police station in Nuits-St-Georges; these days the deep cellars house nothing more dangerous than some wonderful old wines! Not a criminal in sight!

The domaine is currently run by Christian and Gregory Gouges, who has officially succeeded his father Pierre (Christian's cousin) following his retirement before Christmas (2008). Such family evolution has witnessed the development of arguably the finest domaine in Nuits since Henri established it back in the 1930s, when he was also instrumental in clarifying the classification system of the Côte d’Or.

Extensive replanting in the 1960s demanded a degree of patience from clients as the young vines struggled to give the wines as much intensity as their ancestors had in the past but over the last twenty years the domaine has really gone from strength to strength.

Gregory manages the vineyards, encouraging the roots to dig deep for nutrients; they want their juice to shout of where it was born. Once in the cuverie the grapes move to Christian’s care and he is keen to maintain their sense of origin throughout the winemaking process. Once in barrel (of which only about 10% will be new) the wines are allowed to fend for themselves as much as possible, evolving quietly until they are ready for bottling.

The resulting wines are absolutely classic Nuits', showing great purity, structure and power. They are not wines to drink young; the top cuvées are quite capable of ageing upwards of twenty years. Although, having said that, since 2003 the village wine has been made with a view to slightly earlier drinking. This is also a domaine to follow in so called lesser years; we have very fond memories of a 1973 Porrets, a 1980 Vaucrains and a 1992 Les St Georges, all of which were stunning. So, basically, don’t be afraid to follow the domaine every year.

Last year, Gregory and Christian added a brand new member to Team Gouges in the form of an imposing and state of the art new cuverie, which they hope will play an important role in the next chapter of the domaine's evolution. Cleverly designed, both aesthetically and logistically, it will treat the incoming grapes like thoroughbreds in a top racing stable. Such delicate, deluxe handling should ensure that these wonderful bunches are nurtured into some of the finest wines in the Cote de Nuits.