Ah ... Cotes de Nuits, you Pinot Noir paradise, you Elysian field of Grand Crus dreams. Home of Romanee Conti, there is unabashed grandeur in your gentle hillsides. Literally named “the night slope”, you shine brightly when all others sleep. Cotes de Nuits, we salute you.

However, Cotes de Nuits you have risen in price over the past decade. The sale of 7.5 hectare Domaine Clos de Tart for a reputed €279m in 2017 really put the Cotes de Nuits region on the map. What was once an under the radar connoisseurs’ secret is enjoying its time in the sun. And with soil nicknamed “the Champs Elysee of Bourgogne” who can blame it?

Thankfully though, there are still some gems that remain (more or less) hidden, and Domaine Claude Dugat is one. A small (6.5 hectare), family-run (5th generation) operation Claude Dugat is a prince among paupers. A philosophical winemaker, he says “The vine is a living thing. Even though we cannot communicate with the vine, the work we expend on the vine is reflected in it.” Claude’s evident love for his profession and product could explain why his wines have so much depth, structure, personality and rich flavour. His characteristic light touch is probably due to his organic approach (although this has yet to gain official status). Harvest is set according to ripeness and taste, not an industrial sales calendar or laboratory analysis, so the grapes have a distinctive freshness, particularly noticeable in Dugat’s Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru in vintages such as 1995 and 2001. Old vines and low yields (limited to around 24,000 bottles) are also part and parcel of the Dugat signature.

At least twelve different wines are produced from his little domaine, over half of which are either Grand or Premier Cru (four Grand Crus, three Premier Crus). Dugat’s Grand Crus have been performing well over the past year; a single bottle of Dugat’s Charmes-Chambertin 2005 fetching average prices of nearly 1,400€ per bottle in February 2019. Pricier than most reds of the appellation, Dugat’s 2006 Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru prices continue to climb - an average of over 168% from March 2017 to February 2019.