Marsannay

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.

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.

All whole-bunch vinified, this year’s Clos du Roi is a lovely, clear pink-purple. The nose is very fresh and pure, more raspberry than strawberry, with an underlying spice and the sweet fruit bursting through. Magical on the palate, this is a vibrant, delicious wine.

Étienne de Montille began picking whites on 10th and reds on 13th September, relatively early. Despite the hail (worst in Pommard than Beaune, Volnay less) yields were slightly improved compared to 2013. The fruit was clean with small berries, and beautiful clusters, so they were able to continue with their usual programme of whole-bunch vinification in most instances. The details are given for each wine. They will be long lived wines.

An excellent, medium deep colour heralds an elegantly fragrant nose, with a great deal behind. This is sensitively handled – it’s by no means a blockbuster and is very sensual in the mouth with a long finish. David’s deft touch with Corton continues.

Tasting with David Croix at Camille Giroud is always a pleasure, especially so this year as the range of 2014s is delicious. David feels that the wines are all about drinkability and balance rather than exceptional power. His theory is that the great start to the growing season kept the vines healthy through the cool, damp summer.

Medium deep purple, with a very sensual nose and impressive density too. Very appealing with great length to it, a lively rose petal fragrance. From the whole bunches, and a superb long finish. A Corton of great beauty.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

This great domaine has grown even further with the acquisition of some vineyards, such as Meursault Perrières, to enhance the white wine range, vinified by Alix de Montille. The reds continue the progress seen in recent years from the team led by Etienne de Montille with the assistance of cellarmaster Brian Sieve. All the top wines are vinified with 100% whole bunches which defines the very perfumed style of the domaine’s wines

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.

Whole bunches are down to 66 percent here (versus 100 percent for the rich, structured 2015); new oak was maintained at 50 percent. The wine has an exceptional perfume; energetic, pure and dark. There is also very good structure on the palate – not too dense as this vineyard can sometimes be. The vintage's precision is especially evident in this wine. Drink 2022-2027.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Domaine de Montille was developed by Hubert de Montille (1930-2014), a prominent Dijon lawyer, who inherited 2.5 hectares of vineyards in Volnay in 1947. Over the years he acquired further parcels in Volnay, Pommard and Puligny-Montrachet Les Caillerets. Today the business is run by his son Étienne who has extended the domaine by purchases of vineyards in Beaune, Corton and the Côte de Nuits, including some marvellous Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and the red wines are increasingly vinified with whole bunches. Following the splendid successes here in 2015, this vintage provides a contrast in style, but with reasons to buy that are just as compelling. Volumes are down in certain appellations and winemaking has been tempered to release more of the vintage’s purity of fruit and definition of terroir. Use of whole bunches for the reds continues, but not by rote, with proportions being adjusted according to each cuvée’s requirements.

Around a third of this has been raised in new oak, with no whole bunches. There is plenty of juicy, red fruit here, from the clean-as-a-whistle nose, onto the rich, silky palate which is sensual and charming. The texture on the finish is creamy and fresh. Drink 2020-2025.

Self-assured Arnaud Mortet is rightly proud of his capacious, extended cellars on the edge of Gevrey, explaining that the extra space allows him to work with the same precision in the winery as he does in the vineyard. Arnaud is meticulously thorough in the vines, explaining that he loves vintages like 2017, where all that hard work really pays off and gives just reward for the true vigneron. His carefully managed yields have given wines with ripe tannins and good concentration. Overall, he reduced the number of whole bunches as he didn’t want to reduce acidity levels in the wines.

This is an elegant expression of Corton. A sweet kernel of mesmerising red fruit draws one in before the chalky, limestone structure gives a welcome reminder of the seriousness and class of this site. There is not huge power here, but there is wonderful finesse. Subtle, nuanced. Drink 2025-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

In January 2002 Maison Camille Giroud was bought by an American consortium led by banker Joe Wender and winery-owner Ann Colgin, and a new chapter began. David Croix was installed as the winemaker/ technical director and tasked with a major revamping of the winemaking facilities and especially replacement and renewal of the old barrels to make wines in a much purer, more modern style. The company also owns 1.2 hectares of vineyards in and around Beaune. The 2016 vintage was a collaborative effort between the outgoing David Croix and his replacement, Carel Voorhuis, formerly of Domaine d’Ardhuy. The transition is a smooth one, with Carel’s gentle touch following on seamlessly from David’s elegant style. Carel described the 2016 vintage as lighter than 2015, with more elegance and better balance. It is clear he has a preference for 2016, highlighting the expressive, aromatic characteristics of the wines and calling them “ethereal”. He explained that it was important to avoid over-ripeness by picking in good time, and emphasised the value of gentle extraction to prevent obtaining hard tannins.