Cote de Nuits

For our 2015 Nuits-St Georges, Benjamin Leroux has succeeded in marrying the rich black fruit and silky tannins of the vintage with Nuits’s classic spice. There is an underlying elegance which tames the appellation’s sauvage character. The result is versatile; try it with poultry and red meat dishes.
Adam Bruntlett - Wine Buyer

Our 2016 Nuits-St Georges has once again been made for us by the talented Benjamin Leroux. We have blended the fruit of two vineyards — Aux St Jacques and Les Fleuriöres — to paint a complete picture of the appellation. The former provides floral perfume, elegant tannins and red berry fruit, while the latter gives structure, spice and black fruit. It's an irresistible combination which should be enjoyed now or over the next few years. Adam Bruntlett

This Gevrey-Chambertin is made for us by the organic Rossignol-Trapet family, who select the fruit from parcels scattered across the village. Beautiful pale ruby in colour and with a charming bouquet of red berry fruits, it is a seductive prospect. But don't be fooled by the delicate nose, the palate has genuine power and an unerring poise and purity. The finely-honed structure makes this an excellent match for game, as well as lighter red meat dishes like roast lamb.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Marsannay, Cuvée St Urbain is a blend from various sites. It shows a fine midpurple colour, with dense rich fruit on the nose with some dark notes. Elegant and lively, the fruit spreads out very well across the palate, silky and delicious.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

One of the brightest talents in the northern Côte de Nuits is Laurent Fournier who runs the estate which carries his father’s name, as well as being the man in charge of the dossier for defining some Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. We have been hugely impressed with his wines for several years and are now offering them En Primeur for the first time. There is a quality of fruit here which fully reflects the joys of the Côte de Nuits, yet at rather more affordable prices.

Lovely, glowing, fresh, purple colour; this has a fabulous cherry and raspberry nose, clear pure fruit. With a little structure to keep it honest, this is otherwise very easy and appealing, with a nice touch of freshening acidity. Compelling at this price.

“Those who did the work in the vineyards will find it paid off in 2014”, opines Laurent Fournier. There is no problem with concentration if the yields were reasonable. He went through the vineyards twice, at the end of August and again just before picking, to remove any bunches he was not happy with. Even then he discarded two small plots of Clos du Roy so as to ensure that what made it to barrel, and then bottle, was first-rate. As indeed it is.

This is an assemblage of village vineyards and younger (but not young) vines of the hoped-for, future Premiers Crus. With lively raspberry, cherry and alpine strawberry notes, the wine has a silky texture and fine, long finish. Drink 2018-2023.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Laurent Fournier has made beautiful wines in 2015, keeping him cheerful during the trickier 2016 growing season. He began with his whites on 8th September before attacking the reds, finishing by 16th September. There was no need for sorting the completely healthy grapes nor for extraction because all came out naturally. The wines have been matured in a mix of bigger and normal-sized barrels. There is also an excellent Bourgogne Rouge Le Chapitre.

Situated just a few hundred metres from the vineyards of Nuits-St Georges, Les Dames Huguettes is at an altitude of 300 to 450 metres, giving the wine a vivacious freshness and vibrancy. The cuvée was all barrel aged, but without any new oak, giving the wine a more rounded feel and just a touch of spice to accompany the juicy red berry fruit. The finish is chalky with a slightly wild edge which gives just a glimpse of Nuits character. Drink 2019-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Patrice Rion and his wife Michèle began their own small domaine in 1990 with just two wines, Bourgogne Rouge, Les Bons Bâtons and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras, while Patrice was still working as winemaker with his family at Domaine Daniel Rion. In 2000 Patrice left the family business to develop his own estate further. Today most of the vineyards are in Nuits-St Georges and Chambolle-Musigny. Recent vintages have seen the increasing involvement of Patrice’s son Maxime. The Rion cellar is a bit emptier this year, partially because of the frost but also, more significantly, because their arrangement in Chambolle for Villages, Fuées, Amoureuses and Bonnes Mares has terminated, and 2015 was the last vintage of those lovely wines. Maxime Rion initially found the 2016s a little “monolithic” after fermentation, but they have discovered their terroir in barrel. The vintage shows more red fruit than black, with the fruit of frosted vineyards having more colour. The long, cool end of season reminds him of 1996 but, whereas that vintage is only starting to drink now, the 2016s will open up earlier. The estate also has a new wine, a Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits from the Dames Huguettes vineyard. It’s made from bought-in fruit, but chosen from an especially well-sited and tended vineyard.

In Marsannay, it is not St Vincent but St Urbain who holds sway as the patron saint of vignerons. His eponymous cuvée is a blend of various village sites and older vines. There was no new oak in 2016, and 25 percent whole-bunch. It was aged in larger 500-litre barrels, then spent three months in concrete, which Laurent prefers to stainless steel, which has too cold a touch, he says. The wine has a deep, viscous nose, almost like marmite, and a positive, rich, earthy palate. This makes it sound rustic; it’s not, just characterful Pinot Noir from deep, cool soils. Drink 2019-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The Fourniers have been making wine in Marsannay since at least the 17th century, though the domaine as currently constituted was established in the 1960s by Jean Fournier. His son Laurent now runs the estate, along with being in charge of the project to establish Premiers Crus in Marsannay. The domaine is now certified organic, through AB and Ecocert. They make more than 20 different cuvées, the majority from Marsannay. Laurent’s efforts for the creation of a Premier Cru category in Marsannay seem to have stalled for the moment – perhaps a good thing, as he needed all his energy to combat the mildew this year. Laurent is another vigneron who had to compromise his organic status to save the crop, and he ended up with 28hl/ha across the domaine. The results are compelling though: these are wines without compromise, amplifying the paradoxes of Marsannay, with its cool limestone, extreme terroirs and burly tannins. Running between those is the fruit of some wonderful old vineyards, of which Laurent is the proud custodian.

Brilliant purple in colour, with a hugely seductive nose of dark red fruit and violets. Of all their single vineyard wines, this has the most stuffing without losing elegance. Marsannay, Le Clos du Roy has a beautiful finish with well integrated tannins.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

One of the brightest talents in the northern Côte de Nuits is Laurent Fournier who runs the estate which carries his father’s name, as well as being the man in charge of the dossier for defining some Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. We have been hugely impressed with his wines for several years and are now offering them En Primeur for the first time. There is a quality of fruit here which fully reflects the joys of the Côte de Nuits, yet at rather more affordable prices.

From Les Plateaux vineyard, this has a bright midpurple colour, with attractive chewy, dark cherry fruit, sinewy on the palate, more red fruit than plum, with a deft little touch of oak.

Patrice Rion compares 2014 to a mix of 1979 and 1989 for the aromatics and delighted to have been able to pick a more or less normal-sized crop. He began on 12th September with healthy grapes, reinforced by his system of two sorting tables, one before and one after de-stemming. The amount of new oak has been reduced here, now just 30 percent on most cuvées.

Clos du Roy is a prime candidate for promotion to Premier Cru, should that happen in Marsannay. Dense purple in colour, the wine has equally dense dark red fruit on the nose. There is a lovely intensity to this, with multi-layered, succulent fruit, while also retaining finesse. The vines date from 1945, 1949 and up to 1970 for the youngest. Drink 2019-2027.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Laurent Fournier has made beautiful wines in 2015, keeping him cheerful during the trickier 2016 growing season. He began with his whites on 8th September before attacking the reds, finishing by 16th September. There was no need for sorting the completely healthy grapes nor for extraction because all came out naturally. The wines have been matured in a mix of bigger and normal-sized barrels. There is also an excellent Bourgogne Rouge Le Chapitre.

This is on very cool Comblanchien limestone, where the vines need Champagne rootstocks to prosper, but the site itself is still and warm. The vines are up to 65 years old, all adding up to something that is both dense and bright, with sharply-drawn fruit and some bristly tannin. There is a lovely, smoky, toasty intensity on the finish. Drink 2020-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The Fourniers have been making wine in Marsannay since at least the 17th century, though the domaine as currently constituted was established in the 1960s by Jean Fournier. His son Laurent now runs the estate, along with being in charge of the project to establish Premiers Crus in Marsannay. The domaine is now certified organic, through AB and Ecocert. They make more than 20 different cuvées, the majority from Marsannay. Laurent’s efforts for the creation of a Premier Cru category in Marsannay seem to have stalled for the moment – perhaps a good thing, as he needed all his energy to combat the mildew this year. Laurent is another vigneron who had to compromise his organic status to save the crop, and he ended up with 28hl/ha across the domaine. The results are compelling though: these are wines without compromise, amplifying the paradoxes of Marsannay, with its cool limestone, extreme terroirs and burly tannins. Running between those is the fruit of some wonderful old vineyards, of which Laurent is the proud custodian.

Fruit from new vines from Les Crais and Les Corvées were included in this cuvée. Fine, bright purple, this has succulent, ripe, red fruit. There is much more stuffing than some years, while retaining the Burguets’ fruit-forward style. This is very engaging, with modest tannins, and just enough acidity.

This year Jean-Luc and Eric Burguet purchased some additional vineyards from another member of the family: an additional 0.75ha each in the two village Gevrey cuvées. We may also get a small allocation of Gevrey-Chambertin, Champeaux, 1er Cru and a new wine, Gevrey-Chambertin, Lavaux St Jacques, 1er Cru. They found that 2014 produced decent yields, with picking beginning on 18th September.

This cuvée is made from older vines in their favourite sites. The wine displays a dense purple colour, with rich raspberry fruit; new barrels providing a bit more stuffing, and a very long finish. This is really singing.

This year Jean-Luc and Eric Burguet purchased some additional vineyards from another member of the family: an additional 0.75ha each in the two village Gevrey cuvées. We may also get a small allocation of Gevrey-Chambertin, Champeaux, 1er Cru and a new wine, Gevrey-Chambertin, Lavaux St Jacques, 1er Cru. They found that 2014 produced decent yields, with picking beginning on 18th September.

Half the fruit here is from the domaine, the rest is bought in from their next-door neighbour. Very much in the Rion style, this has a compact core of plum and blackberry fruit, and no shortage of worthy tannins. It’s not as lush as some 2016s, and none the worse for that. Drink 2021-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Patrice Rion and his wife Michèle began their own small domaine in 1990 with just two wines, Bourgogne Rouge, Les Bons Bâtons and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras, while Patrice was still working as winemaker with his family at Domaine Daniel Rion. In 2000 Patrice left the family business to develop his own estate further. Today most of the vineyards are in Nuits-St Georges and Chambolle-Musigny. Recent vintages have seen the increasing involvement of Patrice’s son Maxime. The Rion cellar is a bit emptier this year, partially because of the frost but also, more significantly, because their arrangement in Chambolle for Villages, Fuées, Amoureuses and Bonnes Mares has terminated, and 2015 was the last vintage of those lovely wines. Maxime Rion initially found the 2016s a little “monolithic” after fermentation, but they have discovered their terroir in barrel. The vintage shows more red fruit than black, with the fruit of frosted vineyards having more colour. The long, cool end of season reminds him of 1996 but, whereas that vintage is only starting to drink now, the 2016s will open up earlier. The estate also has a new wine, a Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits from the Dames Huguettes vineyard. It’s made from bought-in fruit, but chosen from an especially well-sited and tended vineyard.

The vines are over 60 years old, but production was down 45 percent. This is pale in colour and very subtle. It is the biodynamic way – the finesse creeps up on you. A wine you initially thought was a bit insubstantial ends up filling your mouth with perfume and unexpected intensity. Very lovely, it glides with translucent red fruit. Drink 2020-2027.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The domaine was created through the marriage of Jacques Rossignol of Volnay with Mado Trapet from a noted family in Gevrey-Chambertin. Their sons Nicolas and David Rossignol have managed the domaine since 1990, moving subsequently to biodynamic farming. The first experiments started in 1997 with their Chapelle- Chambertin, followed by conversion of the whole domaine in 2004. Vinification includes a small proportion of whole bunches, while the trend in recent years has been to look for an increasingly elegant expression of Pinot Noir. It’s a remarkable cellar this year, with brothers Nicolas and David radiating calm and understanding. As elsewhere, this was a very challenging vintage for them, especially in Beaune, the village Gevrey vines and Le Chambertin. Containing the mildew required an incredible amount of work by hand. Their biodynamic strategy seems to have paid off though; after a slow start to the range, the impression was of incremental qualities. Intensity, not density. Nicolas and David referred us to Nono, Love and the Soil by Gaston Roupnel, a novelist born in Gevrey.

From a wide range of vineyards with an average vine age of 40 to 45 years, this is dense purple in colour, with a heady, succulent, rich raspberry nose - very seductive. This fills the mouth, with no obstructive tannins, a little oak in perfect proportion and well balanced acidity. A fine 2015 Gevrey which will be accessible reasonably early. Drink 2019-2023.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Although yields were acceptable for the Burguet brothers, the crop was – in the end – 20 percent behind the previous vintage. They began on 15th September and entirely de-stemmed the bunches, following their usual practice. Their ultra-meticulous triple-sorting table system was not needed this year. Beautifully poised, juicy wines.

Bright purple with dark red berry fruit, lovely purity and good ripeness , and a useful touch of freshness behind. Enjoy the silky and satiny texture and the very long finish. This is a graceful rather than foursquare Gevrey-Chambertin. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 harvest is the latest ever recorded at Burguet, starting 9th October, in the cold more than the rain – there was even some frost one morning. They have three separate sorting stations, though rot varied by sector. Vinification was normal, a long time in tank but a gentle approach. The 2013 is particularly, and consistently, successful chez Burguet.
 

Thibault particularly likes the clay limestone mix in the soil here. The wine has attractive succulent fruit, juicy through the middle, with perfect acid balance. This was really successful this year.

Thibault has made a fine and elegant range of 2014s, with little sign of the reduction which has sometimes prevailed here in the past. He has employed a fair proportion of whole-bunch fermentation, sending a crack team of pickers into the vineyards ahead of the rest to select the healthiest bunches. Another interest at the moment lies in finding the perfect toasting for his barrels, often choosing a minimal approach. We shall also be making a separate offer of Thibault’s brilliant 2014s from his Moulin à Vent estate.