{"product_id":"pierre-gelin-fixin-1er-cru-clos-napoleon-2022","title":"Pierre Gelin Fixin 1er Cru Clos Napoleon 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFixin sits at the northern end of the Côte de Nuits, just above Gevrey-Chambertin, and it is the village most collectors drive straight past. The geology does not stop at the commune line: the same limestone slope that produces Gevrey's Premier Crus continues north into Fixin, and the wines have the same broad-shouldered, savory build at a fraction of the attention. Clos Napoléon is a walled Premier Cru of about 1.8 hectares, held as a monopole by Domaine Pierre Gelin. It was known historically as Aux Cheusots and belonged to Claude Noisot, a veteran of Napoleon's army who built a memorial park on the hill above it. The parcel was abandoned and uncultivated when Pierre Gelin bought it in 1950; the vines that replaced the scrub are now over sixty years old.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e100% Pinot Noir from a single walled parcel of old vines, and the flagship of the estate. Sixty-year-old vines on limestone at the cool northern end of the Côte give a wine with more grip and less immediate charm than a village Gevrey, which is exactly the point: this is built to be waited on. 2022 in the Côte de Nuits ran hot and dry with genuine heat spikes, but deep winter water reserves carried the vines through and the harvest came in ripe, healthy, and abundant after the frost-shattered 2021. The wine shows black cherry, red plum, dried rose, licorice, and a distinct iron and crushed-stone character, medium to full in body, with firm, slightly rustic tannin and a long savory finish. Give it five years and it will start to open properly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre Gelin founded the domaine in 1925, and it is now run by his grandson Pierre-Emmanuel. The estate is small, roughly thirteen hectares, including parcels in five Fixin Premier Crus and this monopole, and Pierre-Emmanuel farms organically with an explicit aim of minimizing intervention in both vineyard and cellar. Reviving an abandoned Premier Cru in 1950, in a village nobody was paying attention to, was not an obvious commercial decision. It has taken seventy-five years for the market to catch up, and the wines are still priced as though it has not.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirmer and more savory than its neighbors to the south, so it wants substantial cooking. Coq au vin, beef bourguignon, roast duck with mushrooms, or a plate of Époisses and country bread. The iron and stone character meets braised meat and mushroom directly, and the tannin needs something with fat in it. Decant an hour ahead and serve it slightly cool.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Classic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50613397618911,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8040025.jpg?v=1785944973","url":"https:\/\/denverwinemerchant.com\/products\/pierre-gelin-fixin-1er-cru-clos-napoleon-2022","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}