Bourgogne Blanc

Once again we have worked with our trusted friends Jean-Luc Terrier and Christian Collovrayto create this delicious expression of mineral Burgundian Chardonnay. With delicate floral aromas, the palate abounds with vibrant citrus and peach fruit, finishing on a subtle, smoky note thanks to well-judged oak. An excellent aperitif, a fresh, crisp profile makes this an ideal match for salads, seafood and lighter meat dishes.
Adam Bruntlett - Wine Buyer

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

Fine and pale colour, expressing elegant and noble reduction. With lemony notes on the palate, and some lime blossom, this will develop beautifully over time. First class Bourgogne Blanc.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

There have been some changes in vinification this year, making the wines a little more Jean-Marc Roulot in style: the grapes are now crushed before pressing, there is less settling of the juice, very little new wood is used and the wines are racked into tank after a year but still kept on their lees. The grapes were picked during the last week in September. Overall, this is an excellent result for the team at Château de Puligny.

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. 

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

From vines below Meursault and Puligny, this is bottled before the next harvest. Pale in colour, the wine has fine, crisp, energetic fruit. Medium-bodied, with white fruit and greengage, this is a tribute to Benjamin’s exceptional skills. 
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Wholly barrel fermented from excellent sites in Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault this is abound with rich yellow fruits and taut green apple acidity. Floral orange blossom, the signature of great Puligny, is prevalent on the finish too. This is another master stroke from Dominique and far too good to be called ‘Bourgogne Blanc’.
Gary Owen, BBR Fine Wine

Brilliant and expressive on the nose, this wine is fine and floral, with lovely energy and a nice touch of flesh before the fresh mineral finish. Dominique keeps opening bottles of this wine as he likes it so much, we hope our allocation will not suffer as a result! An absolutely outstanding wine.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The wines under this label are made by Dominique Lafon in Meursault, in separate premises from Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Though this label has négociant status, all of the wines still come from vineyards owned or farmed by Dominique. The Bourgogne Blanc is a significant acquisition this year, being part of the former Domaine René Manuel and on the whole, this is a lovely range of wines.

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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. 

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. 

Bright, pale yellow. Lemon, lime, white flowers and minerals on the musky but pure nose. Dry but ripe and easygoing, offering good clarity to the supple flavors of apple and white flowers.
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous, May 2015

Blended from vineyards below Meursault (old vines) and Puligny, this superb White Burgundy has a lovely perfume, more Puligny than Meursault in style. Really heightened exciting aromatics and fruit which dances across the palate. Marvellous wine from a master winemaker.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 vintage was another very difficult vintage to manage, with a heavily reduced crop after the hail, but unlike in 2012 Dominique has at least been able to make all his appellations. The wines were at a backward stage when tasted in October but with really exciting potential.

This is Javillier’s flagship cuvée of generic burgundy, bottled in October. It has an impressively fresh nose, with good weight of white and yellow fruit on the palate. Middleweight, lively acidity, very attractive.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Patrick chose to begin early around 26 September in order to pick while the grapes were still healthy, the relatively high acidity encouraged him to stir the lees a little more than usual and the wines were racked into tank just before the new harvest, apart from the Corton-Charlemagne which is back in barrel.

Burgundy Vintage 2010 Best Buys - Affordable Gems
From the vines planted in the grounds of the château, this could really be a Puligny-Montrachet on the nose with its lifted aromas, energy and drive on the palate.
(Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager)

This is fine Bourgogne Blanc from what used to be the park in front of the château. It has an engaging nose where the fruit stands out immediately, good flesh on the palate and a fine long finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Presenting itself with a fine clear and pale colour, with just a little touch of oak on the nose, this wine shows exceptional class throughout. There is plenty of fresh acidity here but it is seamlessly integrated into the flesh of the fruit.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Arnaud Ente is always one of the first to pick. His meticulous vineyard work and low yields encourage early ripeness, so in 2010 he could start on 15th September. The yield is much the same as 2008 and Arnaud notes similar acidity readings, but with much more flesh on the palate and finer aromatics. The label has also been fine-tuned this year and is now exceptionally handsome. Overall, these are breath-taking wines.

Exhibiting a lovely nose with lots of character and even a touch of menthol, this is a superb Bourgogne Blanc. It is full of life and lift, whilst also possessing good crunchy acidity, plenty of body and an attractive steely quality.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

The 2010s here come in various slightly different styles according to the picking date. Bourgogne Oligocene was picked early, most of the Meursaults the following week while Tte de Murger came in last with extra ripeness in the grapes. Plans are taking place for the future though Patrick has no intention of retiring yet. One daughter, Marion, has been working with him for several years and he has now been joined by son-in-law Pierre-Emmanuel Lamy (no relation to Olivier).

Dominique has supplemented his own vineyard fruit with carefully selected purchases this year, as while the Puligny plot was relatively unscathed, his vines in Meursault were badly frosted. This is nice and juicy, with good citrus freshness and a pleasing thread of acidity which gives surprising length and complexity. A lot of bang for one’s buck. Drink 2018-2020.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

From 2008 Dominique Lafon decided to make a few wines under his own label, separate from the family domaine (Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon). Though this new company has the official status of a négociant, almost all the wines are in fact domaine bottlings from vineyards which Dominique either owns or has the contract to farm. The wines are now vinified, matured and bottled in extensive cellars at the Château de Bligny-lès-Beaune. Dominique is delighted with the quality of the wines in 2016, praising their elegance, quality of tannins and fresh fruit profile. In his opinion the wines are as good as, but different to, 2015, explaining that – analytically – many of this year’s wines are no higher in acid than last year, but the slightly less rich character gives them a fresher feel. Unfortunately volumes are disappointing for many cuvées and there are only two commercially available red wines this year due to the frost, meaning that Dominique owed the vineyard owner more in grapes than he produced.

From various sources in Beaune and the Hautes Côtes, this has a fine, pale colour, with a slight green tint. The nose has lovely, deliberate reduction woven in. There is attractive energy here, the fruit building very nicely to the back, with good, chiselled, crystalline verve. Excellent. 
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Much of this cuvée was lost to frost in ’16, but Antoine is happy with its quality – highlighting its finesse and freshness. There’s a gorgeous honeyed note to the nose, and a hint of the “noble” reduction characteristic of many of Antoine’s wines. There’s surprising weight to the palate, and a long, saline finish.

This includes an assortment from the Hautes Côtes, Petit Vougeot, Beaune Blanc and various younger vineyards. Very neatly handled, it has lovely citrus and exotic fruit notes, with a nice twist of 30 percent new oak and some fat from finishing the élevage in tank on the lees. Faultless at this level. Drink 2019-2021.
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.