Les Millandes

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.

The Sérafin Morey, Les Millandes, is relatively restrained this year but has a chunky concentration of fruit which will serve it well as it evolves.

Bright, fresh purple, this has a lively, fruit-forward nose. The palate has rich, vibrant fruit with excellent acidity, some crunchy minerals and very good length. Quite precise, this is a dense, mineral wine. Drink 2022-2032.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Christian Sérafin’s niece Frédérique follows very much in her uncle’s footsteps, using the same vinification and maturing principles as before, though possibly with a fractionally lighter touch. She is also reviewing the management of the soil in the vineyards to encourage more microbial life. They made what turned out to be the excellent decision not to do any leaf plucking in 2015, thus avoiding any burning of the grapes and so maintaining a respectable yield.

This Premier Cru sits just underneath Clos de la Roche, and there is certainly more than a passing resemblance to its prestigious neighbour. The fruit is juicy and vibrant, but the quality of the tannins is what makes this wine stand out. Stony and vibrant, this has great, mineral precision. Drink 2024-2034.
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.