Le Fonteny

This is just above Corbeaux but further towards the Combe de Lavaux, thus north-facing, although it gets sun all day. The topsoil is especially feeble and the underlying rock is very hard. Unsurprising then that the wine should offer both ripeness and precision, and very successfully. Drink 2023-2028.

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.

Glowing an imperial purple, this has a richly fruited nose and explosive fruit on the palate. Dark red cherries dominate this beautifully balanced mouthful that is elegant and precise with fruit covering the tannins.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Christian Sérafin notes that 2011 was a surprising year, with results much better than expected. These are elegant wines even by Sérafins standards and since Frédérique, Christian’s niece, has been responsible for vinification, the wines have been showing a fresher style, with slightly suppler tannins. Christian is partly retired, though he still looks after his favourite Cazetiers vineyard, as well as conducting tastings in the cellars. There is a bit more volume available than in the 2010s.

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Dense purple-black, this has a broodingly intense nose and impressive weight of dark red fruit which fills the mouth and coats the tannins, very suave and exceptionally persistent. 
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.

This is a contrast to Les Corbeaux, in that this vineyard faces more northwards, giving a more elegant and feminine expression. The fruit profile remains one of dark berry fruits, but there is a floral lift and the rocky, limestone soil adds a vibrant, mineral finish. Drink 2024-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

This domaine was originally put on the map by Christian Sérafin’s father, Stanilaus Sérafin, a Polish émigré, who settled in Burgundy before the war. He initially worked as a mason, before purchasing some land in 1947 and establishing himself as a vigneron. His son Christian inherited the domaine in 1988, though he had been making the wine for the previous 20 years. Christian Sérafin is now past retirement age, but with a niece (Frédérique) in the vineyards and cuverie, and a daughter (Karine) in the office, continuity is in place. The style here is for powerful wines which age exceptionally well. Christian Sérafin’s niece Frédérique feels that 2016 is “une grande année de garde”, and could well surpass 2015. In fact, her confidence in the vintage is such that all the wines will be raised entirely in new oak barrels. The most badly-frosted vineyards were Bourgogne and Chambolle Baudes, which suffered 60 percent frost. Overall yields were down by around 50 percent but the cousins expect to release a larger proportion of the crop than usual en primeur in order to minimise the immediate impact of the losses. These are certainly wines which deserve long- term ageing.