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.

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.

 

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.

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.