Sebastien Magnien

Big-boned and attention-grabbing. Hint of coffee. Lots of drama.
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com. 10th January 2017.

From vines planted in 1931, this wine has a lovely bright red-purple colour. The nose is brisk and almost elegant, with a terrific crunch of dark red fruit and a hint of chocolate. There’s great finesse though, and the fruit swarms all over the structure. Very lively and will repay keeping.

Sébastien professes himself to be very agreeably surprised by the 2014s. He notes good phenolic maturity so could extract the Pinot fruit well, and riper flavours than 2013. Sadly he had yet another vintage of low yields for his whites, especially in Meursault. The wines are concentrated but should be attractive very young.

A small cuvée from a vineyard adjacent to Auxey-Duresses, there are some light notes of barrel toast in the friendly bouquet, with generous fruit that avoids being too full of sunshine in this cooler location. This will be attractive early. Drink 2018-2022.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Sébastien began picking his whites on 31st August, then paused before attacking the reds. He made no change to his usual vinification practice of long maceration without forceful extraction, having de-stemmed the grapes. Sébastien comments positively on the well ripened tannins and notes that the wines have been tasting well throughout their time in barrel.

Old vines in a fine location make a superb wine given its lowly appellation. Pretty, bright mid-purple, this is quite deliciously perfumed with raspberry and ripe cherry and a good oak component. It has really juicy, ripe, concentrated yet balanced fruit, still with crunchiness behind. Drink 2019-2023.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Sébastien began picking his whites on 31st August, then paused before attacking the reds. He made no change to his usual vinification practice of long maceration without forceful extraction, having de-stemmed the grapes. Sébastien comments positively on the well ripened tannins and notes that the wines have been tasting well throughout their time in barrel.

A lovely pale-ish colour and perfume, this is a most elegant style of Pommard, still with the correct structure for good ageing. Nonetheless it is the fruit which wins out on the palate, a concentration of little red berries, with a very long finish. Drink 2022-2028.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Sébastien began picking his whites on 31st August, then paused before attacking the reds. He made no change to his usual vinification practice of long maceration without forceful extraction, having de-stemmed the grapes. Sébastien comments positively on the well ripened tannins and notes that the wines have been tasting well throughout their time in barrel.

Bright fresh yellow with a lovely fresh mirabelle zest to it, very good volume of fruit through the middle, a lovely thread of acidity, and then the fruit returns to sweep through the finish. A real bargain.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Sébastien picked his white wines at the end of September then waited a week for the reds to finish ripening. In both cases the grapes remained in healthy condition. Clearly his 2013s are his best yet in white and very good indeed in red. Take this opportunity to discover a really promising young grower who is still ‘under the radar’.