2018 White Burgundy
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For laying down,
This is a southeast-facing vineyard which – as the name suggests – is on the border with Pernand-Vergelesses. A cool site, it benefits from relatively high altitude as well as fresh breezes through the valley behind. The nose has a mix of white fruit and oatmeal, while the palate is crisp and juicy with a creamy, toasty character and crisp citrus freshness underneath. The finish has a pleasing pithy texture and a touch of struck match. Impressive! Drink now to 2025.
Ready, but will improve,
A likely Premier Cru vineyard, Au Vignerais is cool at 350 metres’ altitude, but the shallow red soils and sunny, south-facing exposition give both freshness and richness. The nose has ripe white peach and a sunny feel, while the palate’s initial richness is tempered by an intensely chewy finish courtesy of millerand grapes. Drink 2021-2027.
Ready, but will improve,
From vines aged over 80 years old and located in the mid-slope sweet spot of this vineyard, this is beautifully balanced. The nose is a cocktail of apple, citrus and a touch of peach, while the palate is intensely fresh with spine-tingling acidity that emerges from the mid-palate and stretches the wine to a long, tangy, mentholated finish. Drink 2021-2028.
Ready, but will improve,
This special cuvée – bottled for us exclusively in magnums – comes from a few rows of vines which produce tiny, ultra-concentrated grapes. As one would expect, there is huge concentration and density here, and a leap up in terms of concentration versus the standard bottling. The real strength of this wine, however, is its textural complexity. Drink 2022-2030.
Ready, but will improve,
This east-facing parcel is made up of long rows on a slope, so the grapes ripen in stages and have to be picked in successive tries (passes through the vineyard). It’s fermented and aged for the first year in barrel, then transferred to tank before the next harvest. From the first sniff, this is a wine of freshness, with green apple aromas and a touch of white pear. The palate has bright fruit and a long, salty finish. Drink 2021-2026.
Ready, but will improve,
Located at the foot of the north side of the Roche de Vergisson, this is a cool site which has come into its own in recent warm vintages. Most (80%) of the wine went to tank, while the remaining 20% went to barrel. Fresh and juicy, this has a charming nose of white flowers and orchard fruit, and the palate has crisp apple flavours and crunchy acidity. Drink now to 2024.
Ready, but will improve,
This vineyard’s cool location on top of the Roche de Vergisson, facing east, means it is always an elegant and fresh expression of Pouilly-Fuissé. Half the wine was made in second-hand 300-litre barrels from Olivier Lamy. The nose has perfectly ripe fruit and a touch of struck-match reduction, while the palate is energetic and juicy with a citrus finish. Drink now to 2025.
Chateau des Quarts,
Ready, but will improve,
From the very first nose, this wine is utterly charming, with exuberant fruit and an undercurrent of chalky minerals. The palate is at once creamy and stony, with real finesse and elegance courtesy of a saline, citrus acidity. What’s most impressive, however, is the level of detail, which is more than a match for many a grander name in the Côte de Beaune. Drink 2021-2028.
Jean-Yves Devevey,
For laying down,
This is sourced from one of Jean-Yves’s several plots near Nantoux. The smaller harvest has freed up some barrels, so this year the whole crop is in wood. The low sulphur levels allow notes of honey and quince to be expressed. There is a lovely linearity from these higher vineyards. Drink 2020-2023.
Jean-Yves Devevey,
For laying down,
The titular 18 lunes are the 18 lunar months of barrel maturation that Jean-Yves gives this wine, sourced from below his Champs Perdrix vineyard and grown on lighter, stonier soil. It’s another example of how well the Hautes Côtes have performed in 2018. There is an appetising lemon-freshness to the wine and a creamy, lanolin note to the finish. Super value. Drink 2021-2024.
Jean-Claude Bachelet,
Ready, but will improve,
This is a wonderfully positioned vineyard for a simple village wine, nestling under the Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet. The Bachelets’ parcel also touches Chassagne’s Les Encegnières. The fruit is rich and luscious, around a very mineral and compact core. A very fine example at this level. Drink 2022-2025.
Domaine Marc Colin,
Ready, but will improve,
Fermented and raised half in a 30-hectolitre foudre and half in tank, this is a blend of three parcels in Puligny, Chassagne and St Aubin. The vines in Puligny and Chassagne are both over 70 years old, limiting the yield and giving concentration. The nose is complex, with spicy and a slight hazelnut note along with some dried citrus fruit. The palate has a candied lemon and orange profile, rich fruit and a waxy, nutty finish. Drink now to 2024.
Domaine Jean-Noel Gagnard,
For laying down,
In common with many wines in the Gagnard cellar this year, this is luscious and quite forward and so Caroline made the blend across the four and a half barrels in late July. Heady and hedonistic, this is terrific fun but is also keeping a little bit in reserve. A lifted bouquet of butterscotch and candied peel is offset by a modicum of pebbly, fruit-stone rigour on the finish. Drink 2025-2032.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chavy,
For laying down,
This is an important cuvée for Jean-Louis, who has more than a hectare and 30 barrels in 2018. He has two parcels, the biggest of which is higher on the hill and has some vines dating from 1960. Folatières is potentially one of the best of Puligny’s Premiers Crus, offering a generous and sometimes spicy personality. The latter is well to the fore in the 2018, completing a compact but complex composition, in which the resolute character of the vintage is folded into the weave of wine. Drink 2023-2029
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)