Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Bottle
£77.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
Having created a name for himself as régisseur (general manager) of Comte Armand in Pommard from 1999 until 2013, Benjamin Leroux established a small négociant business based in Beaune in 2007. The emphasis is on Côte de Beaune whites and Côte de Nuits reds. The company also owns a small holding of Bâtard-Montrachet and since 2014 some vineyards in Meursault. In a short space of time Benjamin Leroux’s wines have built an impressive reputation. Ben is a big fan of his 2016s, praising the sizzling tension of the whites and the beautiful quality of the Pinot fruit, which allowed him to use more whole bunches than in 2015. In early stages of élevage he drew comparisons to 2010, and feels these are wines which will surprise people and gain complexity with time. Thanks to his strong relationships with suppliers, Ben was able to maintain production at around 2015 levels despite the frost, although in general he has less Village and Grand Cru wine and more at the Premier Cru level. For reasons of space, the limited volumes of Grands Crus have not been included in this catalogue. Since the 2014 vintage, all white wines are bottled under screwcap.
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 38cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£125.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
A late cycle all the way though, in 2013 Etienne started picking from 5th October. After conferring with his aunt Jacqueline Jayer, he noted that 2013 shares the same harvest dates as 1978 and also that in both vintages there were very few pips in the grapes and they were fully ripe. Low sugar levels, ripe skins and good acidity should lead to fine wines with excellent keeping qualities.
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
Based in Premeaux, just south of Nuits-St Georges, Domaine de la Vougeraie was created in 1999 when Jean-Claude Boisset decided to group together all the vineyard holdings of the various négociant companies he had acquired over the years. Pascal Marchand was put in charge in 1999, with Bernard Zito in the vineyards, which are farmed biodynamically. Pascal produced powerful wines, fairly heavily extracted in his early vintages but clearly moving to a softer style by 2004. The wines have subsequently been made by Pierre Vincent who has maintained the more delicate approach. Top-quality vineyards continue to be added, especially Grand Cru whites in recent vintages. This is Pierre Vincent’s last vintage, as he is now installed at Domaine Leflaive. Vougeraie is very happy with this year’s result, another domaine to call the vintage “très Bourguigonne”, meaning that the precision and purity of the fruit means this is more terroir-focused than 2015’s broader and more intense style. They are also very happy with the way the frosted and non-frosted vines finally ripened homogenously, giving much of the credit to their biodynamic culture. Given the health of the berries, a lot of whole bunches were used at fermentation.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle
£245.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Buying Director
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 31cs
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.
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Case price (Asx12 btl 1 x 900cl)
Asx12 btl 1 x 900cl 1cs
Case price (Asx12 btl 1 x 75cl)
Asx12 btl 1 x 75cl 1cs
The domaine has developed its white wine holdings, with four new cuvées this year, arising out of Boisset’s purchase of Vincent Girardin’s business. Girardin had farming arrangements in Puligny- Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet Champ Gain Premier Cru, Bienvenues-Bâtard- Montrachet Grand Cru and a tiny holding of Chevalier-Montrachet: Monsieur Boisset has now bought these vineyards. As well as these excellent whites, Pierre Vincent considers 2014 to be one of his best red wine vintages, with something in common with 2006 and 2010.
Drink 2031+
95 points, Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, Jan 2016, Issue #61
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Platinum medal winner at the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards
Bright, fresh purple, the Vougeraie Clos de Vougeot is very tightly wound, with lifted fruit, spice and highquality raspberry notes. There is exactly the right structure behind, just enough to support the fruit which dances across the palate. Pierre Vincent’s fine touch at its best.
The domaine has developed its white wine holdings, with four new cuvées this year, arising out of Boisset’s purchase of Vincent Girardin’s business. Girardin had farming arrangements in Puligny- Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet Champ Gain Premier Cru, Bienvenues-Bâtard- Montrachet Grand Cru and a tiny holding of Chevalier-Montrachet: Monsieur Boisset has now bought these vineyards. As well as these excellent whites, Pierre Vincent considers 2014 to be one of his best red wine vintages, with something in common with 2006 and 2010.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
This case contains one bottle of each of the following:
Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru
Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru
Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru
Bonnes-Mares, Grand Cru
Mazis-Chambertin, Grand Cru
Chambertin, Clos-de-Bèze, Grand Cru
Chambertin, Grand Cru
Special 1 x 525cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Etienne Grivot describes his 2012s as having glamour on top of the sophistication of 2010. He notes also the generosity of fruit married to perfect acidity in 2012. It was no hardship tasting our way through his range. One minor added sophistication in the Grivot cellar is an amendment to his barrel regime – he now specifies an extra long chauffe to his barrels, though without going beyond his usual medium toast. High prices but fabulous quality.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Nathalie Lamarche recalls that the harvest began on 22nd September with acceptable yields in the Vosne-Romanée vineyards, about the same as for 2011. In vinification Nicole Lamarche uses a small proportion of whole bunches, while the amount of new wood in the barrel cellar has been reduced to a maximum of 50% for the Grands Crus. This is the best selection of wines that Nicole Lamarche has produced since taking control of the winemaking in 2007. In short, a really fine range.
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Very dense rich purple colour. Thick texture, though fresher on the palate than the first nose suggested. There is plenty of detail in here, swimming in a sea of ripe fruit. Black cherries coat the mouth.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)
Ancient vines make a real difference here. The colour is a dense black-purple, and the nose is really concentrated. The wine has broad shoulders but a slim waist, with a touch more oak, but only in a supporting role. There is a real sweetness through the middle and then a crunchy, dark-fruit finish. This will develop into an impressive Clos de Vougeot.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
This year Pierre Vincent has been able to achieve his aim of an ideal barrel rotation. Each of these wines has been matured in one-third new wood, one-third one-year-old and one-third two-year-old. Because of the exceptional health of the grapes in 2015, he has also been able to vinify all the wines without de-stemming. His 2015 reds are wines of grace and elegance, while the white wines (picked from 28th August) have an impressive tension alongside a concentration of fruit.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
The new premises in Chorey-lès-Beaune remain something of a building site externally. However, inside everything is in place for making fine wine, while upstairs an apartment has almost been completed for Sylvain, his wife and new baby. The whites have been a great success here since Sylvain’s first vintage (2007), while 2012 marks huge progress on the red wine front. A refined approach to the vinification process has produced much more perfumed fruit and has avoided the reductive aromas which sometimes used to appear.