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.

Sérafin has two plots in this well-regarded Premier Cru, one with 60-year-old vines, the other closer to 40 years old. The purity and delicacy of the vineyard is evident and, given the vineyard’s proximity to both Clos de la Roche and Clos St Denis, there is much elegance in evidence too. Drink 2022-2027.

The harvest was done early and quickly here, starting on 6th September and finished by 12th. Karine Sérafin explained that the estate was harvesting earlier than before, to keep more freshness in the wines, and also working more with leaf coverage. The old vines negated any need to green harvest and yields are up by only 20 percent from 2016, but otherwise Karine and her cousin Frédérique are intent on preserving the individuality of Christian Sérafin’s style for vins de garde, with 100 percent new oak for everything upwards from the Gevrey Vieilles Vignes.

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 has a little less whole-bunch this year (85 percent) and 50 percent new oak, as usual. This really goes through the gears. To begin with, the colour is profound. The bouquet has a brilliant interplay between spice and dark fruit – cinnamon one moment, damson the next. Finally the whole performance is sewn together by a carefully worked infrastructure of silky tannin and tightly woven acidity. This is a very special example of both the style of the domaine and Morey-St Denis itself. Drink 2025-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The Clos des Lambrays was established in 1363 yet it was only in 1981 that this climat was finally promoted to Grand Cru status, as it deserves. The estate was purchased in 1996 by the Freund family who sold on in turn to LVMH in 2014. Winemaker Thierry Brouin has been in charge since 1979. The vineyards are run on more or less organic lines, with no chemical anti-rot sprays and ploughing of the soil by horse. In the cellar, he likes to use the majority of the stems, favours punching down over pumping over and prefers to restrict the amount of new oak – around 50 percent for the Grand Cru. This is Thierry Brouin’s last vintage before his successor Boris Champy takes over. Morey was spared the frosts, so there is an air of unbridled optimism here. A cold spring left only a touch of frost on the vineyards under the trees, but otherwise the vines were untouched. Similarly, the mildew – which was exceptionally problematic for some growers, especially if they were organic – was controlled effectively. August was even warmer than in 2015 and timely September rain made this a fine year at the domaine.

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.

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.

Deepish purple in colour, this is really fabulously classy with great density and a lifted magical finish. Some blood orange notes lurk in the fruit. Altogether this is a red-blooded wine – really terrific. The finish is awesome: the whole range is really fine this year.

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.

Very pure, with very elegant raspberry and dark cherry fruit, this fills the mouth without ever becoming heavy. It has an immensely long, silky finish, still displaying notes of cherry and peony as well as a little pepper spice.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Thierry Brouin is extremely happy with his 2011 vintage which has produced a little more wine than in 2010. “It is very good this year, very Lambrays”, he says. Once more the pricing for this near-monopoly Grand Cru has been kept very reasonable. As ever, the grapes were picked early and the stems were retained for the Grand Cru. There was little or no rot but Thierry took care to eliminate any under-ripe grapes on the sorting table.

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Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.

Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Inside Burgundy: The Côte de Beaune is the first volume is available for £14.99 on the Apple iBookStore. It is accompanied by the first edition of an innovative new Annual Report on Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Inside Burgundy The Annual Report 2012/13 is downloadable for free.

Black in colour with a purple rim, this has very strong dark fruit on the nose, but is so backward on the palate. It’s an immensely powerful wine, with rich texture and great length. The very dark fruit creates a rich yet fresh palate. There’s a superb aftertaste once again. Drink 2025-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Jérôme Castagnier is the Guide Hachette’s Burgundian vigneron of the year for 2017 and has been shortlisted for young vigneron of the year in the region’s own awards, so it is all happening for him. He began picking his 2015s on September 9th and finished on Saturday 12th before the rain that fell later that day. This year he has used one-third whole bunches for his village wines and the Crus, and in the last two years has refined his barrel regime so that the wood has less impact on the wine. Note that the malolactic fermentation was only just finishing when we tasted and this may have impacted the bouquets.

Sadly this is a very small cuvée but we like it a lot, despite the touch of reduction on the nose. There is a wealth of fruit, a lively thread of acidity, with notes of black cherries and fresh raspberry in this large-scale, flamboyant wine. Seductive, fresh and succulent, it is very agreeable. With beautiful, juicy dark fruit, this really blossoms with time in the glass. Drink 2021-2030.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Jérôme Castagnier is the Guide Hachette’s Burgundian vigneron of the year for 2017 and has been shortlisted for young vigneron of the year in the region’s own awards, so it is all happening for him. He began picking his 2015s on September 9th and finished on Saturday 12th before the rain that fell later that day. This year he has used one-third whole bunches for his village wines and the Crus, and in the last two years has refined his barrel regime so that the wood has less impact on the wine. Note that the malolactic fermentation was only just finishing when we tasted and this may have impacted the bouquets.

A rich purple but less black, there is a bit more refinement here. The wine has excellent weight, with a good mass of fruit behind which is lively all the way through. The blueberry notes are elegant with nuances. It’s very persistent indeed – a wine for the long term. Drink 2025-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Jérôme Castagnier is the Guide Hachette’s Burgundian vigneron of the year for 2017 and has been shortlisted for young vigneron of the year in the region’s own awards, so it is all happening for him. He began picking his 2015s on September 9th and finished on Saturday 12th before the rain that fell later that day. This year he has used one-third whole bunches for his village wines and the Crus, and in the last two years has refined his barrel regime so that the wood has less impact on the wine. Note that the malolactic fermentation was only just finishing when we tasted and this may have impacted the bouquets.

Very dense, rich purple, there is a wealth of fruit on the nose, backward but balanced. Very concentrated, the nose is a lovely mix of red and black fruits, dark raspberry leaf, even a savoury blueberry touch, which is very typical of the appellation. The palate continues the blue-fruit theme and majors on a classical, tightly woven texture with seamless tannins. This is a brilliant Clos de la Roche in 2014, a true reflection of the heart of the vineyard.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer