Domaine Henri Gouges

The bustling village of Nuits-St Georges, the gateway to the Côte de Nuits, and the Gouges family name, have been intrinsically linked since the end of the First World war, when Henri returned to his birthplace to begin his new life as a vigneron: the estate still bears his name. Throughout the 1920s, with land prices at rock bottom following the war and phylloxera, he focused his attention on buying vineyards, including vines in the village’s signature Cru of Les St Georges.

Henri quickly became a key figure in the evolution of domaine-bottled wine, and was a major influence in the ratification of the appellations and their crus throughout the 1930s. His integrity was such that he pushed for Les St Georges to remain a premier cru, rather than see promotion to the higher-level grand, despite his recent purchase of vines there.

He was succeeded by his two sons, Marcel and Michel, who continued his acquisition of land and undertook significant and important replanting of many of the Domaine’s existing plots. Consequently, the 1960s and ‘70s were a testing time for the domaine, with a string of indifferent vintages compounding the effect of the youth of the newly planted vines. But the vines aged and Marcel and Michel’s eldest sons, Pierre and Christian respectively, joined their fathers at the domaine, bringing new impetus to the family operation. Pierre was primarily responsible for the vineyards, while Christian was more active in the winery. Their talent and work ethic took the wines to a new level and their travel took their wines to new markets, ensuring that globally Gouges became the first port of call for anyone interested in Nuits-St Georges.

The arrival of a new century brought with it another generational change, with Pierre’s son, Gregory, coming on board in 2003. In 2007 a spacious and gravity-fed cuverie was completed, allowing for gentler handling of the fruit, while a year later the domaine began farming organically, providing higher quality grapes with which to work their magic. In 2011 Greg's cousin, Antoine, another of Marcel's grandchildren, joined the domaine, maintaining its strong sense of family and consistency of style. 

On top of this, the change in the climate has had a profound effect on the wines of Nuits, perhaps more so than any other village in the Côte de Nuits, with the wines becoming purer and more nuanced, without any compromise to their longevity.

The estate maintains an enviable collection of premiers crus in Nuits-St Georges, including the finest sites on the more structured south side of the village, as well as holdings in Les Chaignots to the north. This really does remain the benchmark address for the commune.