ARNAUD LOPEZ
Nuits-Saint-Georges
Burgundy
On the contrary of what some think, Arnaud Lopez isn’t a "young talent in the making”, but rather a man of experience who came from a different background to master winemaking in our of the most demanding wine regions in the world.
Originally from Nuits-Saint-Georges, Arnaud Lopez began his career as an educator and it was only at the age of 35 when he decided to take on a new challenge and get into the vineyard work, joining the renowned Prieuré Roch estate in 2007. After ten years of pampering the beautiful plots of this legendary domaine, he decided it was time to run his own tests.
He started by purchasing organic grapes from like-minded fellow growers and releasing his first series of micro cuvées in 2018. The 2020s are therefore his third vintage. Similarly to the previous vintages, the wines show intensity and great energy.
Arnaud is a man of principles who does not deviate from any of the rules he sets himself: all fruit comes from organically-grown vines and more often than not he is the one actually crying out the vineyard work throughout the season. In the cellar he vinifies using whole clusters, favoring long macerations and minimising any sort of intervention. The resulting wines are unique, both dense and mineral, pleasant in youth but certainly made to last over the years.
All wines are made by using whole clusters and ageing is exclusively in old pièces bourguignonne.
2024 was a challenging, and wet year with disease rife. But like diamonds forged under extreme pressure, these wines could be his best release yet. We have better phenolic ripeness, which provides more fruit, a wondeful freshness and immediacy. These wines will age very well, but they are more than good to go right now.
Pinot Blanc
Vintage 2024
Style Orange
Region Côtes de Nuits, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Blanc
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic
Winemaking A light maceration of Pinot Blanc from Arnaud’s own vineyards in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits.
Tasting Note
Solera
Vintage NV
Style Red
Region
Varieties Gamay, Aligote
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic
Winemaking A unique way to combat the tough vintage, brings this multivintage blouge. Here we find an assemblage of Gamay 2022 and Aligote 2023 with two years of elevage
Tasting Note
Le Blouge
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region
Varieties Gamay, Aligote
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic
Winemaking A blend of Gamay and Aligote which has become a staple of Arnaud’s stable.
Tasting Note
Mâcon, Les Roches
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Mâconnais, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Granite
Farming Organic, biodynamic practices
Winemaking Gamay sourced from the Granitic soils of the Mâconnais, for added tension and minerality. Whole bunch maceration and elevage in old barrels.
Tasting Note
Algogne
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Biodynamic
Winemaking Bourgogne equivalent Pinot, but here declassified to VdF. Whole bunch maceration and elevage in old barrels.
Tasting Note
Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Chevrey
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Côtes de Nuits, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic, biodynamic practices
Winemaking From a high sited parcel in the village of Chevrey, to east of Nuits. This plot sits atop a plateau at 350m. Harvested and fermented using whole bunches. A rather long maceration combining the daily pigeage to pumpovers for greater extraction. Feeds into old barrles after completing the malolactic where it is kept to age for 10 months.
Tasting Note 2024 was a tough, wet vintage, which meant Arnaud’s full skillset was called upon to select and vinify well. As always, picking as late as he can, using long macerations and whole bunches. The result is wines with good phenolic ripeness, pure fruits and excellent immediacy, which makes this potentially his best selection to date.
Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Pinot Noar
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Côtes de Nuits, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic, biodynamic practices
Winemaking Fruit here comes from two parcels, one his Les Larrets parcel in Chevrey, and another older parcel. Harvested and fermented using whole bunches. A rather long maceration combining the daily pigeage to pumpovers for greater extraction. Feeds into old barrles after completing the malolactic where it is kept to age for 10 months.
Tasting Note Dark and rich, reminiscent of the wines Arnaud works with on a daily basis at his day job at Domaine Prieure Roch. Despite the concentration there is a brightness and lightness to it which makes this very quaffable. Generous mulberry and plum followed by lively acidity and a whiff of spice on the finish.
Savigny-les-Beaune
Vintage 2024
Style Red
Region Savigny-les-Beaune, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Biodynamic
Winemaking Arnaud’s top wine, and the first parcel he secured. This is vinified following the exact same steps used for his Hautes-Côtes. The methods are transparent, uncomplicated and aimed at preserving traditions to provide for the purest expression of terroir.
Tasting Note
Bourgogne, Orpheo
Vintage 2020
Style Red
Region Morey-St-Denis, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic
Winemaking Whole-cluster fermented in cuve. Maceration was carried out without intervening much for the first week, then alternating punching down and pumping over every other day for the three weeks remaining. Transferred to used barrels after one racking to age for 10 months on fine lees. Bottles unfined, unfiltered and without any inputs (no SO2).
Tasting Note
Bourgogne, Lazaro
Vintage 2020
Style Red
Region Morey-St-Denis, Burgundy
Varieties Pinot Noir
ABV
Soils Clay, Limestone
Farming Organic
Winemaking Lazaro comes from the same terroir as Orpheo, within the Morey-St-Denis AOC, though the vines here are planted on deeper, red-shaded clay soils, that become less red and thinner as go higher up (in the case of Orpheo). The approach in the cellar is exactly the same as his other Bourgogne: four week whole bunch fermentation alternating punch down to pump overs in the last three weeks of maceration. Ageing is in old barrels of 228L.
Tasting Note Very open and generous. It has wonderful weight of ripe, velvety dark fruit with a little spice. Fine tannins and a salty stamp on the finish, typical of Morey.