Domaine Cornu Camus Hautes Côtes du Beaune Rouge 2018

The road from Nuits Saint Georges to Échevronne in the Hautes Côtes, is long and winding. When I first started out in the wine business, there were more cows than vines in the Hautes Côtes, a high elevation growing region just east of the famous Côtes, the golden slope that includes Chambolle, Vosne and NSG.

But over the last 10 years, I’ve found myself heading east up the D8 into the hills of the Hautes Côtes as the demand and prices down on the Golden Slope have escalated to the point that $45 is now average for the base wines from the best estates. Coupled with a decade of warm vintages, the higher elevations of the Hautes Côtes are now the best source for value red Burgundy where vines enjoy longer hang time to develop get depth of concentration and length.

Lydia’s 2018 HCB is a product of old vines and a low yield with no new oak in the ageing process. The wine is a joy to drink, a bowl full of berries on the nose, mineral-laced fruit in the mid palate with the structure and length that is the hallmark of Cornu-Camus wines. Drink now-2025