Cote de Nuits

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, Wine Buyer

Made by Rossignol-Trapet, our 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin is made with fruit from 10 organically farmed, old-vine plots. The old vines provide both concentration and balance, while the varied locations of the parcels give a true expression of the village. A bouquet of vibrant redcurrant and flowers seduces, while the palate is packed with sweet cherry fruit and subtle spice, finishing on a precise and mineral finish. Try it with roast lamb or mushroom Wellington. 
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

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 above 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 fruit is crunchy with a cool freshness, chalky tannins and a touch of spice which gives a nod to Nuits. Drink 2019-2024.

Patrice explains that the hard work they did at the start of the year in pruning short and carrying out a severe de-budding, as well as a little green harvesting on younger vines, paid dividends in terms of avoiding excessive yields and consequent dilution. The dry and warm conditions towards the end of the season allowed them the luxury of choosing when to harvest, in fact beginning on 9th September. Patrice compares the vintage to 1979 and 1989, highlighting the wines’ impeccable balance and freshness (the latter he prefers over power) as particular strengths. Our notes indicate whether the wines are domaine or négoce bottlings.

Maxime Rion now makes most of the decisions at this exemplary estate, although he can call on his father Patrice – approaching his 40th vintage as a winemaker – for guidance. The Rions are a talented, forward-thinking family who were among the first in Burgundy to bottle some of their wines under screwcap, and whose eco-friendly tractor shed boasts solar panels and a rainwater purification system.

This is a fresh, fruit-driven Burgundy from vineyards just above Nuits-St Georges. It is raised exclusively in used oak, which rounds the tannins and accentuates the wild, spicy character redolent of Nuits. Drink now to 2021.

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.

The harvest here was so small that Thibault told us that the whole crop was harvested before the casse-croûte at 9.30 in the morning. The fruit was all de-stemmed and underwent a long vinification. Attractive, pure and focused fruit is enhanced with 20 percent new oak. Usually Thibault is able to make 50 barrels, but this year there are only 10. Drink 2020-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

In 2001 Thibault took over an old family property in Nuits-St Georges, reclaiming the vines which had been contracted out to various share-croppers. The family jewels ( his branch) consist of Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot and Nuits-St Georges Les St Georges, to which he has added further vineyards and a few cuvées made from purchased grapes. The vineyards are certified organic and farmed biodynamically, with horses used to plough the vineyards where possible. The oak regime is not to exceed 50 percent new barrels but also not to use any barrels more than three years old. Thibault has also developed several single-vineyard bottlings of Moulin-à-Vent (Beaujolais). In summer 2017 Thibault opened a new, environmentally friendly cuverie which harnesses geothermal and solar energy and recycles rainwater. Thibault Liger-Belair is a busy man. He has his fascinating project in Moulin-à- Vent (find his Cru Beaujolais wines on page 55) as well as overseeing the forestry and manufacture of the barrels for all his wines, and experimenting with very light toasting. Overall, he is quietly satisfied with this year’s results. He continues to work with varying levels of whole bunches and is trialling a refinement which involves removing the thick, central stalk of bunches, to leave mini-bunches. He was especially badly hit by frost in the Hautes Côtes and Chambolle but elsewhere this is a relatively happy cellar.

This is a blend of vineyards around the village itself, along with middle-aged (10- to 30-year-old) vines from the best single-vineyard sites of Clos du Roy, Longeroies and Es Chezots, aged in 500-litre barrels with around 20 percent whole bunches. With very pretty red fruit on the nose, this is juicy, crunchy and succulent – just classic, fresh Burgundian Pinot Noir. Drink 2019-2025.

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.

Laurent selects only his oldest vines (up to 70 years old) from the Clos du Roy for this cuvée. The nose is sophisticated with red fruit and lifted, floral touches. The palate is cool, with bright red fruits, powdery tannins and a note of torrefaction which comes not from oak, but the vineyard itself. Drink 2020-2027.

The scars of the 2016 vintage appear to have healed, although with Laurent’s positive attitude that was never in doubt. Having had to compromise his organic status last year to fight the mildew which followed the frost, he has begun organic certification again. Since 2016 Laurent has made a conscious effort to “have faith in the grapes”, and extract less from them, allowing the terroir to speak clearly. The results are exciting, the wines showing more grace, elegance and purity. It is clear that this is one of the success stories of the vintage.

This is from eight different parcels around Gevrey, with the youngest vines 50 years old and the oldest up to 80. Louis harvested a relatively normal-sized crop. The immediacy of the vintage is obvious, but Louis is certain this will keep well too. It has a lovely equilibrium, with just the right amount of tannin. Drink 2020-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

Louis Boillot came to Chambolle-Musigny, where his partner Ghislaine Barthod is based, from Gevrey-Chambertin, though as his full range of wines indicates, he is descended from the Volnay family of Boillots. He was formerly associated with his brother and father at Domaine Lucien Boillot, but set up on his own from the 2003 vintage. In 2013, Louis supplemented his holdings in the Côte d’Or with the purchase of just over four hectares of well-sited old vines in the north of Moulin-à-Vent (the fruit of which you’ll find on pages 54 and 55). Louis and Ghislaine have recently been joined by their son Clément. Given that Louis thought that his 2015s were among the best wines he has ever made, it is quite a step up for him to say that, categorically, this is his best-ever vintage. It is an assertion that’s hard to refute. His eschewing of current trends in winemaking (no whole-bunch here) and a modest, reflective stance has allowed him to get the best out of his extraordinary array of vineyards and old vines. There are wonderful expressions of each vineyard this year.

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.

Myosotis is forget-me-not, and like the flower itself, this is a delicate wine. The nose is lifted, light and ethereal, while on the palate there is an exquisite deftness and finesse. That is not to say there is no structure; there is plenty of fruit flavour here,  which resembles a coulis of tiny red berries. Drink 2019-2024.


After the catastrophic 2016 vintage, which saw her lose around 70 percent of the crop, Claire Naudin is much happier with 2017. She still didn’t get a full crop, though, because the frost had damaged the vine, stunting the following year’s growth and limiting the crop to 80 percent of a full yield. The vintage certainly suits her style, with wines that are all about elegance, finesse and delicacy. These are appetising wines which always give great pleasure, on even the grandest occasions. As ever the wines are made with 100 percent whole bunches.

A blend of domaine fruit and purchased grapes from a trusted neighbour, this is benchmark Nuits. The nose has sweet Asian spices and spicy, dark berry fruit. The palate is pure, saline and savoury, an elegant and delicate expression of Nuits rather than a meaty blockbuster. Drink 2020-2025.

Patrice explains that the hard work they did at the start of the year in pruning short and carrying out a severe de-budding, as well as a little green harvesting on younger vines, paid dividends in terms of avoiding excessive yields and consequent dilution. The dry and warm conditions towards the end of the season allowed them the luxury of choosing when to harvest, in fact beginning on 9th September. Patrice compares the vintage to 1979 and 1989, highlighting the wines’ impeccable balance and freshness (the latter he prefers over power) as particular strengths. Our notes indicate whether the wines are domaine or négoce bottlings.

This vineyard, with its very white soils, sits just above Les Argillières. Patrice and Maxime have been working on obtaining more texture in the wine by crushing the grapes before pressing and it certainly adds an extra dimension to the peachy, floral fruit and chalky limestone freshness. Drink 2021-2027.

Patrice explains that the hard work they did at the start of the year in pruning short and carrying out a severe de-budding, as well as a little green harvesting on younger vines, paid dividends in terms of avoiding excessive yields and consequent dilution. The dry and warm conditions towards the end of the season allowed them the luxury of choosing when to harvest, in fact beginning on 9th September. Patrice compares the vintage to 1979 and 1989, highlighting the wines’ impeccable balance and freshness (the latter he prefers over power) as particular strengths. Our notes indicate whether the wines are domaine or négoce bottlings.

From vines over 40 years old and from 23 different plots, this wine will spend 18 months in oak, 30 percent of it new (after no new oak last year). As Eric predicted, the wine is very pleasing and there is a gentle creaminess about the palate. Very pleasurable. Drink 2020-2024.

It was very good to see a cellar full of 2017s and ’18s for the Burguet brothers, Eric and Jean-Luc, after the double tribulations of frost and mildew last year. Eric suggests that 2017 is not a year of complexity, but one of simple pleasure. The harvest began on 10th September (five days after Armand Rousseau, Eric noted) and the yields were generous, although their triple sorting of bunches, berries and whole berries did reduce the volume. All the wines will be bottled directly from barrel, without fining or filtration.

The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru includes 50% whole bunch fruit and matures in 60% new oak. It has an intense bouquet with notes of blackberry, blueberry, crushed stone and hints of graphite, the terroir showing through nicely here. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and gentle grip. I feel the new oak taking a more backseat role compared to previous vintages, that allows the terroir to really show through on the precise finish. This is an excellent Clos Saint-Jacques from Sylvie Esmonin.
Neal Martin, Vinous (January 2019)