Maison Nicolas Morin

Nicolas Morin is an outsider in Burgundy. Originally from the Vosges, he began his career as a cooper in Bordeaux. Passionate about the world of wine, he then turned to viticulture, becoming head of cultivation in the Côte de Nuits, then cellar master in Bordeaux. Drawing on his experience in the same position in Australia and South Africa, he founded Maison Nicolas Morin in Nuits-Saint-Georges in 2014, as a merchant and winemaker. His passion for organic farming guides him: he declares that it is the future, and he wants to preserve the respect and the magic of the great Burgundian terroir. In 2019 he took over the running of three hectares of vines in Mâlain, 30 minutes west of Dijon. From Nuits-Saint-Georges, the house buys grapes and musts from growers who farm organically and biodynamically.

Nicolas still makes his own barrels, and unsurprisingly his wines are a true reflection of this solid work ethic and resolute independence.

He works hard with his growers to make sure the farming is sustainable and the work in the vineyard is done by hand wherever possible, and he decides the picking dates, so the grapes are at perfect ripeness. There is no dogmatic approach to destemming: depending on ripeness, a share of whole clusters goes into the vat, where he makes skilled use of gentle semi-carbonic maceration. Only racking or gentle foot-treading, to keep unwanted tannins out, which means he can use as little sulphur as possible (far less, he likes to remind us, than his cult neighbours Prieuré-Roch). As a former cooper, Nicolas uses his own barrels with care, to give the wines texture and polish without any noticeable oak flavour.

These are post-modern expressions of Burgundy: sensitively extracted, fruit-focused and immediate, but complex and ageworthy, with minimal and sometimes no sulphur. The appellations Nicolas works include Meursault, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Santenay, Beaune, Monthelie and, of course, Nuits-Saint-Georges. He chooses the most beautiful plots, such as En Saint-Jean, Les Épenottes and Les Terres Blanches.