Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, Fixin Rouge 2018, Burgundy

Plenty of cherry, cranberry and earthy notes, typical of Côte de Nuits.

The Fixin Village is a mixture of 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres) of different parcels planted between the 1960s and 80s, and is only mildly scattered throughout the commune on a blend of limestone bedrock and marl; in fact, most of the parcels are only a stone’s throw from the village itself. Villages in Burgundy are almost always within the alluvial fan, or dejection cone, of a comb, which is a short valley eroded by water through time but now sits dry, except when there is rain. Here the comb is known as the Combe de Fixin—quite easy to remember. Many of Amélie’s parcels are located within it, and the soil is usually a mix of unsorted limestone rock, sand, silt and clay, without as much influence from limestone bedrock as one would find on slopes above or outside of the alluvial fan. The quality of this Fixin’s balance, aside from the exceptional work in both the cellar and vineyard, may be attributed to the many different parcels mixed together to expand its complexity bandwidth. As happens in the Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits, it has a shorter life in the cellar before bottling but is able to bear a modest amount of new wood in the mix without putting any sense of oakiness front and center.