Bourgogne Blanc

The yield here was just 28hl/ha on average and the resultant concentration is noticeable. The fruit profile is more citrus-driven than one often expects from this wine, with a hint of grapefruit and lime. Saline and a touch austere at present, this will fill out in time. Drink 2019-2023.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Fichet’s big step forward came in 2000 when he moved the whole operation to splendid cellars at Le Creux du Coche by the Hôpital de Meursault. Jean-Philippe is looking for purity in his wines. He deals mostly with lieux-dits in Meursault with just one Premier Cru in Puligny. Constantly experimenting and refining, his wines have real definition and individuality, with the individual terroirs clearly exposed. The wines are raised in barrel for the first year, using larger demi- muids for the lesser appellations, then assembled in tank. A maximum of 30 percent new oak is used on any cuvée. It is hard not to be infected by Jean- Philippe’s enthusiasm and positivity. Despite being 40 percent down in 2016, he remained upbeat, explaining that he sees the variability of vintages as part and parcel of a vigneron ’s lot. The losses could have been much worse, but the domaine is equipped with candles which protect against frost and they work hard in the vines to keep grass low to reduce the risk of frost damage. He declared himself happy with the quality, but feels it is a vintage which will require patience on the part of the consumer, as many of the wines will be more austere in youth than those of 2015.

The Bourgogne Les Sétilles is always an excellent example of classic white Burgundy from a top name in Puligny-Montrachet. The sunny 2015 vintage has added a touch more ripeness to the restrained stone fruit flavours, which are a perfect match to this wine’s chiselled, elegant profile. Juicy apricot and white peach flavours are interwoven with chalky citrus notes and hints of subtle, smoky, vanilla oak.
Something of a calling card for Olivier Leflaive, Les Sétilles makes up around a third of the production of the estate. It is produced from around 60 plots spread over 35 hectares, located mostly in Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, with a small amount of Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Hautes Côtes de Nuits and Côte Chalonnaise to add freshness and energy. Two thirds of the wine was fermented in oak barrels and matured in oak, a small amount of which (15 percent) was new. The remaining third was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness. After 10 months everything was transferred to tanks to marry together and add some tension.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

Ninety percent of the fruit for this wine comes from Bourgogne vineyards in the villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault, with the remainder coming from the cooler, higher-altitude Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Nuits, adding a touch of steel and chalky minerality to the mix. The exceptionally small 2016 vintage meant that the whole cuvée was fermented and aged in oak barrels, around 15 percent of which was new. There is a prickly tension to this wine from the first sip, with citrus and orchard fruits to the fore, and a chalky, almost lacy texture which hints at a much grander wine. Precise, energetic and vibrant with just the right amount of oak, this is certainly a mini-Puligny.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The produce of 48- to 52-year-old vines and more importantly from the best plots on stony and marly soils, this has an impressive dramatic tension, mineral and linear with fresh lime notes at the back. Proper job. Drink 2018-2022.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

The older vines here date back to 1937. A fine, pale colour with the faintest green tint, this has a juicy, grapey luscious nose, a real treat. With good acidity, it has a little bit of heat but stays fresh behind thanks to some racy lime-juice notes. Drink 2018-2020.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

A fresh, very pale yellow, this has a balanced, structured nose, not unnecessarily effusive. There are some juicy fresh plum notes on the palate, middleweight, with an endearing creamy quality towards the back before the fresh finish. A very good volume of fruit, this is impressive for a Bourgogne Blanc. Drink 2018-2021.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

This year there is 30 percent village wine in the blend. Clear and bright in colour, it has a few attractive lemony notes. There’s some soft fruit but it’s nicely balanced, a more interesting wine than before. It displays high quality fruit and excellent nervous tension. Drink 2018-2020.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

From four parcels around Meursault, Antoine’s Bourgogne Blanc combines exceptional concentration with tangy citrus-pith acidity. A touch reductive a present, it promises to age well. Antoine notes that this, like many of his cuvées, has a distinctive saline finish in ’15.
Will Heslop, Wine Buyer

Its fine, bright colour heralds an elegant bouquet: a perfect mix of fruit and gentle oaking. This is exuberant – perhaps even beguiling. Some old vines form the backbone of this cuvée, helping to provide the lovely mineral thread.

The progress we noted with the 2013 vintage here has been further developed with an excellent range of 2014 wines. Extra details apparent this year are the enhanced use of lees after racking and the minimal use of sulphur without risking oxidation. The Château de Puligny rises a further few notches up the ladder. Étienne de Montille notes that, in 2014, “there was super clean fruit and we could pick at leisure”. Fine and bright in colour, this has a lovely, elegant bouquet, a perfect mix of fruit and gentle oaking. Exuberant, perhaps even beguiling, some old vines form the backbone of this cuvée, helping to provide a lovely mineral thread.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Lovely, pure, fine colour, this is much more elegant than Patrick’s Les Forgets cuvée. It is a wine of grace and definition, but still with suitable flesh. Really fine balance, the 2014 is terrific. Very persistent indeed.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Two-thirds comes from below Puligny and the rest from below Meursault. This is a refreshing 12.5 percent alcohol wine with very pretty floral notes yet still some flesh on the bones. It’s light on its feet yet very persistent. Drink 2017-2019.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

Grown in two plots, half below Meursault and half below Puligny, the wine has a fine, pale lemon colour. It’s very elegant and stylish, with pure and delicious fruit. Good fresh acidity; poised and balanced. Drink 2018-2019.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. On these two pages we offer a selection of our favourite Bourgognes.

This cuvée is a tribute to Olivier’s uncle, Vincent Leflaive, and made exclusively from vineyards in Puligny, 80 percent of which are domaine -owned. A wine of real energy with wonderful finesse and purity, it is no exaggeration to call this a mini-Puligny. There is a sizzling, crackling freshness to this wine, along with a remarkable complexity which points to a promising future. Drink 2018-2022.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

After studying at business school, Olivier Leflaive headed to Paris to live a rather bohemian life during the 1970s, working in music and television. He returned to Burgundy in 1981 to manage Domaine Leflaive with his uncle Vincent and later his cousin Anne-Claude. Having long-aspired to work for himself, he set up his own négociant business in 1984 and, upon leaving the family domaine a decade later, he gave 15 years’ notice that he would take back his share of the family vines from 2009. Experienced winemaker Franck Grux now makes between 85 and 90 different cuvées, vinifying the equivalent of 120 hectares, of which 17 are estate. The focus here is on elegance and finesse over power. Winemaker Franck Grux is very pleased with the quality of the 2016 vintage, although he explained that the frost damage caused grapes to ripen at different times, which required a great deal of patience and necessitated extending the harvest to three weeks, as opposed to the normal two. The Puligny vineyards were relatively lucky in terms of frost damage, giving good yields. Franck explained that he carried out more lees stirring in 2016 than in 2015 to give the wines more weight, feeling that 2016 is a vintage with comparatively modest body and ripeness. Unless otherwise stated, all wines are domaine.

Burgundy 2011 En Primeur Affordable Gems

This is simply one of the very best Bourgogne Blanc examples you’ll find. There’s an enticing nose of blossom, citrus and pear, followed by more of same across the palate with hints of white stone fruit.
Martyn Rolph, Private Account Manager

Fresh, grapey on the nose with plenty of energy, this has a good mid-palate with an attractive little touch of wood fattening out the finish. It has a fine acid balance and is very well judged. This is another fine Bourgogne from Patrick.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Patrick began the harvest on 23rd August, evidently an exceptionally early date, but he notes that the wines taste as if picked a month later. They are very expressive of terroir differences, as exemplified by the contrasting Clos du Cromin and Tillets cuvées. There are few growers as skilled in the cellar as Patrick is, and it shows in the quality of this fine range of 2011s.

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