2017 White Burgundy

François Berthenet, a big, bearded bear of a man, is fast becoming one of the star winemakers of the Côte Chalonnaise. His domaine is located in the picturesque village of Montagny-les-Buxy, with most of its vineyards within sight of the winery. The terroir here resembles that of the Côte d’Or, but with slightly lower rainfall.

Made from the prized Aligoté Doré – a loweryielding, more concentrated and aromatic clone than “ordinary” Aligoté – this is bone-dry, fresh and precise, with a simple but attractive nose of citrus and green apple. The palate is characterised by mouth-watering acidity and a long, saline finish. It will age well, gaining weight and complexity. Drink now to 2023.

François Berthenet is a name to watch in the still somewhat underrated appellation of Montagny. This wine, which François describes as “emblematic” of his family’s domaine, is blended from numerous parcels (primarily on clay-limestone soil) around the village of Montagny-lès-Buxy. It is raised exclusively in stainless steel. The nose is explosive and seductive – a mélange of stone-fruit, citrus and white pepper. The palate is taut and mineral but with a hedonistic pineapple twist on the finish. A versatile food wine, it works a treat with prawn and avocado salad. Drink now to 2020.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Jean-Yves has just under two hectares in the hills around Nantoux. Initially the style is as you would expect: fresh, linear and assertive. Slowly, however, the openness of the vintage becomes evident with a pleasing buttery texture, still supported by a lemony freshness. Drink 2020-2024.

It was a “normal” harvest here this year which, in Jean-Yves’s world, is still a relatively paltry 30hl/ha, due to his scrupulous organic and biodynamic vineyard management. Jean-Yves is increasingly interested in the role and importance of sulphur dioxide in a wine’s evolution. He found that a trial bottling made without SO2 had little expression of the vineyard, yet he finds that adding SO2 too early in the winemaking process makes the wines more fragile and prone to oxidation. A fine range from a reflective winemaker.

Volumes are about half of last year’s, as the plot in Meursault suffered from frost, with just one barrel made from 0.6 hectares. The wine has a gorgeous, marine character to the nose, while the palate is nicely balanced between juicy citrus fruit and fresh, restrained minerality that gives a saline finish.  Drink 2019-2022.


After the famine of 2016, this year is something of a feast, at least in the case of the reds. Sadly, the whites, which Dominique praises as having excellent clarity, are in slightly smaller volumes than 2016. The good news is that the full range of red wines has been made, and in good volume too. Dominique is effusive in his praise for the 2017 reds, describing them as appealing, with beautiful balance, a lightness of touch, refined tannins and a floral character with stunning red fruit.

Effectively this aims to be the equivalent of a village Puligny-Montrachet. The wine has more impact than the frosted 2016 and there is very good balance provided by ripe acidity, which appears as less penetrating than usual. Drink 2021-2025.

Since our visit last year, Patrick’s dream of an appellation exclusively for generic wines from the Côte d’Or has been realised and the label of the estate’s estimable Cuvée Oligocène proudly announces its new status. For 2017, Patrick’s daughter Marion explained, they didn’t need to keep too much of the lees, as the musts were already rich and they preferred to use bâtonnage for complexity. Harvesting began on 28th August and Marion feels there is a purer expression of terroir this year than last.

From vines aged over 80 years old and located in the mid-slope sweet spot of this beautiful vineyard, this is delightfully balanced. The perfect weight of fresh fruit sits alongside vibrant energy and purity that gives a spine-tingling finish. An outstanding wine with poise, grace and verve. Drink 2020-2027.

The Bret brothers described 2017 as another warm and early vintage, with harvest beginning on the 26th August. They picked early compared to many of their peers, Jean-Philippe explaining that maturity came very quickly. Their decision to bring the grapes in quickly, along with their organic and biodynamic viticulture, has resulted in wonderfully fresh wines. In the cellar they are experimenting with lower levels of sulphur during the winemaking process, with the aim of obtaining full fruit and terroir expression in their wines.

The fear with removing the oldest vines from a blend is that the main bottling might suffer, but the average age of the other vines is still impressive at over 50 years old and the result is a wine of real intensity, with arguably more freshness, purity and elegance than usual. An ethereal and delicate expression of the clos. Drink 2020-2026.

Château des Quarts was created in 2012 by two of our favourite vignerons, Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin, who are old friends. The vineyard is managed by Olivier and the wine made in his facility at La Roche Vineuse. This monopole vineyard of 2.23 hectares in Chaintré is surrounded by a high stone wall, facing east, overlooking the Saône valley. The 2017 vintage saw the 100-year anniversary of the planting of the oldest parcel of vines in the Clos des Quarts. The key to their longevity is riparia rootstock and an old-school training and pruning regime.

To celebrate the centenary, Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin, custodians of the special property and vineyard, have decided to bottle the wine made from these ancient vines separately. Production is 10 barrels, equating to just 1,500 magnums, which are offered in individual wooden cases.

The lovely, racy personality of this vineyard is well served by the generosity of 2017. The wine is very fruity and open, with notes of white flower and peach stone, but counterpointed by a firm, detailed structure, typical of this lime-rich site. Drink 2021-2025.

Since our visit last year, Patrick’s dream of an appellation exclusively for generic wines from the Côte d’Or has been realised and the label of the estate’s estimable Cuvée Oligocène proudly announces its new status. For 2017, Patrick’s daughter Marion explained, they didn’t need to keep too much of the lees, as the musts were already rich and they preferred to use bâtonnage for complexity. Harvesting began on 28th August and Marion feels there is a purer expression of terroir this year than last.

Olivier Leflaive took over management of the  vineyard in 2016, a site and wine which elicits genuine excitement from Franck. The walled vineyard is situated in the village on heavier soil, which provides classic Meursault breadth, while the Leflaive style ensures that the finish is mineral and precise. Welljudged oak adds some toast and grip. Drink 2022-2027.

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. 

Franck emphasised the importance of removing excess shoots and buds on the vine early in the season to ensure yields did not become excessive, a practice he encouraged his growers to follow. The results are evident in the wines, which display wonderful concentration and texture, generosity in the mid-palate, precise, direct fruit and a sapid acidity. The excellent natural balance of the wines made vinification relatively straightforward and has yielded wines which Franck describes as “serious” and, in many respects, comparable to the 2014s. Unless otherwise stated, all wines are domaine.

These vines – positioned close to the houses – were spared from the 2016 frost, meaning, ironically, that there is slightly less wine in 2017. In contrast to the Chaumées, this wine will need more time. Tense and pure with lots of pent-up energy and a sleek, citrus profile, the oak sticks out a little now but will integrate with time. Drink 2023-2030.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good but in no sense excessive crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.

The higher-altitude location in Blagny always ensures this wine retains freshness, while the red soil adds some mid-palate weight. The 2017 is energetic, zingy and pure. Its dryness and precision are hugely impressive, giving the feeling the wine has been stretched out to give an incredibly tight profile. A wonderful expression of a wonderful vineyard site. Drink 2023-2030.


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.


Franck emphasised the importance of removing excess shoots and buds on the vine early in the season to ensure yields did not become excessive, a practice he encouraged his growers to follow. The results are evident in the wines, which display wonderful concentration and texture, generosity in the mid-palate, precise, direct fruit and a sapid acidity. The excellent natural balance of the wines made vinification relatively straightforward and has yielded wines which Franck describes as serious and, in many respects, comparable to the 2014s. Unless otherwise stated, all wines are domaine.

The nose here offers a stark contrast to the Charmes, with stony reduction and a spicy austerity. The palate is therefore surprisingly rich and dense with more  give and a little more cream and mid-palate weight, before the mineral thread returns on the finish.  Drink 2023-2032. 

François is keen to highlight the importance of the solidarity shown by the Côte’s vignerons at the end of April, when everyone came together to burn dampened bales and create cloud cover to ward off the frost. Without such action this could well have been another catastrophic yield. Having avoided this threat, the rest of the season was fairly straightforward with careful vineyard management and harvest began on the 30th August. He feels the whites are a mix of 2015 and 2014, while the reds are pretty and will drink well from an early age.

The special cuvée – bottled for us exclusively in magnums – comes from a few rows of vines which produce tiny, ultra-concentrated grapes. There is a lovely touch of reduction on the nose and a constantly changing array of aromas. The palate is concentrated with weighty fruit, buzzing energy and tons of dry extract. Wow. Drink 2021-2030.

The Bret brothers described 2017 as another warm and early vintage, with harvest beginning on the 26th August. They picked early compared to many of their peers, Jean-Philippe explaining that maturity came very quickly. Their decision to bring the grapes in quickly, along with their organic and biodynamic viticulture, has resulted in wonderfully fresh wines. In the cellar they are experimenting with lower levels of sulphur during the winemaking process, with the aim of obtaining full fruit and terroir expression in their wines.

The initial palate is discreet, before exploding with an enormous amount of concentration, plenty of mouthfilling volume and an extraordinary minerality which builds behind the dense fruit. The finish is long and satisfying, with a chewy, phenolic grip. This is a true one-off, a wine of enormous density, power and focus. Drink 2021-2032.

Château des Quarts was created in 2012 by two of our favourite vignerons, Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin, who are old friends. The vineyard is managed by Olivier and the wine made in his facility at La Roche Vineuse. This monopole vineyard of 2.23 hectares in Chaintré is surrounded by a high stone wall, facing east, overlooking the Saône valley.

The 2017 vintage saw the 100-year anniversary of the planting of the oldest parcel of vines in the Clos des Quarts. The key to their longevity is riparia rootstock and an old-school training and pruning regime. To celebrate the centenary, Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin, custodians of the special property and vineyard, have decided to bottle the wine made from these ancient vines separately. Production is 10 barrels, equating to just 1,500 magnums, which are offered in individual wooden cases.

There are just three barrels of this, made with purchased grapes – picked by the domaine’s team – from vines planted in 1971. The wine is rich and powerful, but with precise minerality emerging from the mid-palate before finishing on a touch of pleasing sucrosity, while a thread of flinty reduction runs through the wine. Drink 2024-2034.

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. 

Franck emphasised the importance of removing excess shoots and buds on the vine early in the season to ensure yields did not become excessive, a practice he encouraged his growers to follow. The results are evident in the wines, which display wonderful concentration and texture, generosity in the mid-palate, precise, direct fruit and a sapid acidity. The excellent natural balance of the wines made vinification relatively straightforward and has yielded wines which Franck describes as “serious” and, in many respects, comparable to the 2014s. Unless otherwise stated, all wines are domaine.

Bouchard owns an enviable 30 percent of the Chevalier-Montrachet. There are four distinct terraces and Bouchard has vines on all four which they harvest and age separately before blending to give the most complete reading of this outstanding terroir. The floral nose has notes of mandarin, which follow through onto the palate. It’s zesty, with a salivating purity and spentmatch reduction. Drink 2027-2040.

Frédéric Weber explained that the dry conditions in the summer left some parcels suffering from hydric stress, which necessitated a change to the usual picking order. As a result, harvest began on 4th September in the Côte de Beaune for reds, with whites following from 8th and then the Côte de Nuits reds from 12th, finishing with Clos de Bèze on 20th. The season was otherwise very straightforward and Frédéric feels the vintage has given whites with good balance and surprising power, and reds which are rounded with delicate aromas and flavours.

In 2017 this vineyard was harvested on seven different dates to ensure optimum ripeness. The nose has a touch of the exotic, but with more restraint than in the past. The palate has a salty freshness running through, with saline, iodine notes accompanying the powerful structure and a chewy finish with plenty of dry extract. Dominique thinks it’s the best Viré he has made. Drink 2020-2026.

The hot and dry conditions of summer 2017 have yielded mixed blessings; the wines are deliciously ripe but the volumes have suffered a little due to drought stress. Picking began early (at the end of August), with the resulting wines being described by Caroline as of really high quality, with good balance and maturity. Dominique and Caroline take great care to pick each parcel (and indeed sub-parcel) at precisely the right time to ensure optimum ripeness.

This is an excellent white wine vineyard, sunny and high in limestone. It has an appealing citrus note and some interesting creamy notes on the mid-palate, while the finish is quite dense, hiding the usual lemony acidity, but also foretelling the complexity to come. Drink 2023-2029.


This is another small harvest for Olivier. There was frost again in 2017 for the vineyards closest to Puligny and Oliviers detailed vineyard work on the vines badly frosted in 2016 has restricted this years yield as well. For some cuves, volumes in white for 2017 are half that of the already paltry 2016. Olivier began harvesting before his neighbours, which is not unusual, on 25th August, but he likes the style of the vintage, in particular the extra density on the palate. His reds he defines ascroquant (crunchy).

This is a brilliantly situated lieu-dit in Puligny, lying just below the road which runs along the bottom of the Grands Crus, and right on the border with Chassagne. Despite that, it is very Puligny in style: tense, fresh and really mineral. Drink 2022-2028.


Despite the localised frosts in 2017, Bachelets yields this year are similar to 2015 and close to the average of recent years. Benot and Jean-Baptiste began the harvest on 30th August with the warmer sites of En Remilly, Blanchot Dessus and Bienvenues, and finished on 8th September in the lower-lying Derrire la Tour. Benot commented on how clean and healthy the fruit was this year; there was a little bit of mildew in the spring, but otherwise the year was problem-free. An honest, precise vintage, inhis view.

The vineyard’s proximity to Blagny and height at the top of the hill means that ripe years like 2017 are a godsend for this wine. This has much more texture than usual but also retains its natural restraint, creating a classic Puligny style. Really good this year. Drink 2023-2030.


Despite the localised frosts in 2017, Bachelets yields this year are similar to 2015 and close to the average of recent years. Benot and Jean-Baptiste began the harvest on 30th August with the warmer sites of En Remilly, Blanchot Dessus and Bienvenues, and finished on 8th September in the lower-lying Derrire la Tour. Benot commented on how clean and healthy the fruit was this year; there was a little bit of mildew in the spring, but otherwise the year was problem-free. An honest, precise vintage, inhis view.

From high, east-facing vines close to Chassagne. This is rich and high-toned, with ruby-grapefruit acidity. The finish is long and surprisingly robust, a useful portal to the Bachelet style this year, which captures the rude health of the vintage. Drink 2021-2027


Despite the localised frosts in 2017, Bachelets yields this year are similar to 2015 and close to the average of recent years. Benot and Jean-Baptiste began the harvest on 30th August with the warmer sites of En Remilly, Blanchot Dessus and Bienvenues, and finished on 8th September in the lower-lying Derrire la Tour. Benot commented on how clean and healthy the fruit was this year; there was a little bit of mildew in the spring, but otherwise the year was problem-free. An honest, precise vintage, inhis view.

Located in the lower part of Morgeot on heavier clay soils, this is a rich, brawny and muscular expression of Chassagne which has dense apricot fruit, citrusrind acidity and plenty of dry extract which hints at a promising future. Drink 2023-2030.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good – but in no sense excessive – crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.

After the exuberant Blanchot Dessus, the Caillerets is positively discreet and reserved. The nose is very serious, with the fruit masked by aromas of fine minerals and gunflint. The palate is fine, elegant and stony with a persistent salinity to the finish. As ever this is taut in its youth but will gain weight in due course. Drink 2024-2032.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good but in no sense excessive crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.

These are old vines which rarely yield many grapes. Indeed, the 2017 cuvée is only marginally larger than the frost-affected 2016. The result is an intensely concentrated wine with plenty of power and rich stone-fruit. It is however quite approachable and will drink relatively early amongst the range of Premiers Crus. Drink 2022-2028.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good but in no sense excessive crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.

Provenance is everything. This is from a section of the Chalumeaux Premier Cru vineyard which had to be declassified in 1975 when the previous owner illegally imported some fertile topsoil. Time has healed much of the damage and there isn’t another hillside Puligny vineyard classified as village. Parcels from Levron and Baudrières-Nosroy complete the blend. A fine, generous and complex style. Drink 2022-2029.

Winemaker Brian Sieve draws comparisons between the white wines of 2017 and 2014, explaining that the texture, weight and freshness are very similar in both years, although 2017 has perhaps a little more fruit ripeness, along with excellent tension and persistence. He believes that this same freshness and brightness in the reds will provide ageing capacity, pointing out that they worked hard to restrict the yield of Pinot Noir to achieve riper grapes. Overall slightly less whole-bunch fermentation was used as Brian felt the stems and fruit were not as ripe as in richer vintages.