Morey-Saint-Denis

This vineyard is above Clos de Tart, on soil similar to that of Chassagne-Montrachet. Aromas of citrus fruits combine with buttered toast. In the mouth, there is an impressive density of fruit which cedes to an intense, mineral freshness and lingering notes of struck-match reduction. Gorgeous! Drink 2020-2025.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

This excellent domaine in Vosne-Romanée has flown under the radar – perhaps because Jean-Pierre Guyon spends so much of his time out in the vineyards, which have been farmed organically since 2006, certified from 2012. With his high-pedigree viticulture as a great starting point, Jean-Pierre can employ whole-bunch fermentation as the stalks are ripe, eschewing the use of sulphur at this stage, though some is added during élevage and at bottling to assure stability. Despite obvious frustration at the small volumes, Jean-Pierre Guyon is delighted with the quality of his 2016s. He describes it as a vintage of great Pinot Noir typicity, which will be greater than 2015, explaining that the wines' saline character will have you reaching for the next glass. As ever, the grapes here were picked a touch later than many estates to ensure the stems were fully ripe. He only bought six new barrels for the entire 2016 crop, so the proportion of new oak is reduced.

Morey-St Denis, Les Faconnières offers a dense, purple colour with an almost black centre. Virgile considers the soil to be similar to Clos de la Roche. It is more backward than the other Premiers Crus, dense and ungiving at this stage yet with a magical intensity of fruit, a crunchy finish, and excellent balance. Drink 2002-2028

When Virgile Lignier came back from his brief summer holidays, he toured the vines and saw a bit of rot on a biggish (by recent standards) crop, so he took a substantial team round to remove damaged bunches and anything unripe. He picked the healthy grapes from 17th September and gave the new vintage a long but light extraction. He has made some very succulent, juicy wines here in 2014. 

Bright, mid-purple colour, this has a more linear, mineral nose, compared to the flesh of Les Charmes. Indeed this is quite chiselled by Virgile’s standards. The fruit offers a raspberry and fresh blackberry mix. The chalky soil shows in this very mineral wine, which has a delightful finish. Drink 2021-2026

When Virgile Lignier came back from his brief summer holidays, he toured the vines and saw a bit of rot on a biggish (by recent standards) crop, so he took a substantial team round to remove damaged bunches and anything unripe. He picked the healthy grapes from 17th September and gave the new vintage a long but light extraction. He has made some very succulent, juicy wines here in 2014.

Bright purple with medium density, this has a ripe, red-cherry nose. The elegant fruit is backed by a surprisingly firm structure which will require time.

Though we still have the pleasure of tasting with Christian Sérafin, it is now his niece, Frédérique who is solely responsible for winemaking. Christian describes 2014 as being all about elegance and balance, with neither too much acidity nor tannin. The Sérafin wines always repay patience.

Bright purple, this is a little more open than the Clos St Denis, and is absolutely mouthfilling, with deep red fruit, floral notes, a mineral thread and great length. Bouncing, floral, vivacious and very young. Highly recommended. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

After lengthy negotiations, we have secured a good allocation of these top class 2013s from Jérôme Castagnier. We fell just as much in love with the generic wines as with those further up the scale. Jérôme began on 1st October, taking pains to verify the ripeness of each vineyard before deciding the picking date. The grapes were all de-stemmed.

Rich, ripe purple colour with a sense of energy to the nose. It has ripe, glossy fruit, a touch dry behind, but with weight at the back of the palate. Fruit comes storming back at the finish to confirm the potential. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Christian Sérafin is very happy with how 2013 worked out in the end, though yields were once again 25% below normal, even if a touch more than in 2012. The team removed rot and unripe bunches in the vineyard, then waited to pick until after the wet weekend which helped both sugar and acidity.

Fine, bright, if pale colour, with lovely, vibrant fruit and plenty of energy; this is absolutely delicious with some sultry silkiness, classic Clos St Denis. Very persistent, not a heavyweight.

Frédéric Barnier believes that the harvest was saved by the fine weather at the end of August and the month of September. The reds were more in advance than the whites until the last moment and fermentations went really well, with early malolactics. The white wines are all bottled with Diam closures, the reds natural corks.

Ripe, plush purple, really concentrated, vibrant, sumptuous and exciting. It Is hugely heady, with velvet and satin throughout. Perfectly balanced acidity.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer

A graceful tint of pale purple. Floral, with appealing sweet red fruit, clearly some concentration to the cherry and raspberry fruit, while there is clearly much more to emerge later on.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer

This is made with 95 percent whole bunches and 50 percent new wood. With a lovely, noble mid-purple colour, the Clos des Lambrays starts discreetly, like other early-picked wines, then absolutely explodes into action. This is unquestionably glorious in its own classic style – a heavenly wine, in perfect balance. Drink 2024-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Thierry Brouin, who will be retiring by the end of 2017, appears to be finishing on a high with superb vintages in 2015 and 2016. It is not a large crop in 2015, just 30hl/ha for the Grand Cru, but – like everybody else – Thierry appreciated the long, sunny summer and the healthy grapes. As always, he was amongst the earliest pickers, starting on 3rd September. 

Bottled only in magnums, offered singly in individual wooden boxes. It is very intense purple and with its usual great intensity, less forward than Clos St Denis. A certain strict style throughout, though not austere. Terrific density at the back of the palate.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer 

The grapes were picked in two tranches, a week apart, in order to optimise quality. There is terrific vigorous fruit anda little spice on the very dense palate. The fruit really surges to all parts of the mouth. This is very impressive for the vintage.

All whole bunch fermentation, with 50% new wood. Palish in colour, it is lovely and elegant, with very stylish floral notes and fresh, crunchy red fruit and plenty of minerals. This has the drive and energy of the 2008 but with a little more weight of fruit. It is a lovely expression of Lambrays. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Since last we spoke the domaine has been purchased by LVMH, though Thierry Brouin has remained in charge. No immediate changes are expected, except in one respect. While 2013 remains a very small crop (27 hectolitres per hectare for the village wine, 25 hectolitres per hectare for the Clos) it is at least much more than last year.

This is brilliant, fresh purple in colour and supported by a very stylish nose. Alongside some oak there is real heart to the wine, which finishes on whole-bunch fragrance. These Dujac Fils & Père wines are healthily concentrated this year.

Volumes available are somewhat restricted in 2014, athough the fruit was ripe and healthy and yields were better. The problem here is continuing to be able to source grapes at an acceptable price, but fortunately the Dujac team is savvy enough to know what works in the marketplace. This is another producer who is reducing the percentage of new oak. Also a good thing in the marketplace.

This starts promisingly with a glowing, purple colour throughout. It enjoys a very fine, heady nose, succulent and satiny, with a little touch of darker fruit, beautiful concentration and elegance. The whole is supported by a firm structure. This is swimmingly good, with a really long finish to boot.

Our jovial friend Jérôme Castagnier has excelled himself this year. The promise we picked up on last year has really been delivered in 2014. He says that the wines have lovely flesh but also a beautiful freshness, and notes some similarities to 2010. His generic Burgundies (available on www.bbr.com/burgundy2014) are also excellent.