Les Procès is a small Premier Cru vineyard on the southern half of the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. The vineyard sits on the east-facing Côte d’Or slope just below the appellation’s eponymous town. The 1.3 hectare (3.3 acre ) vineyard is planted entirely to Pinot Noir, the staple grape variety of the Côte de Nuits region of northern Burgundy.
The vineyard lies on the midslope of the Côte d’Or on a gentle, east, facing incline, a couple of hundred meters southwest of Nuits-Saint-Georges town. Neighbouring it to the north is the similarly sized Rue de Chaux Premier Cru climat, while to the south lies the much larger Les Pruliers site – also a Premier Cru.
Higher up on the slope, to the west, is the Les Crots vineyard. Below, flattening out into the valley floor and the houses of Nuits-Saint-Georges, is the village-level lieu-dit of “Tribourg”.
While the soils here contain similar kinds of limestone as in the vineyards higher on the hill, there is a larger percentage of clay. This provides a deeper, richer environment for the vines, although plentiful stones in the soil ensure there is still good drainage.
The vineyard’s slope is homogenous, and faces almost due east, which makes for good sunlight exposure and even ripening.
Les Procès is one of Nuits-Saint-Georges’ less-glamorous Premier Cru climats, and its diminutive size limits production somewhat. This means that only a few wines bearing the title can be found on the market, including examples from Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux and Joseph Drouhin.
