Bordeaux Wines

wines

The 2020 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru has a straightforward bouquet: orchard fruit and Granny Smith apples with just a touch of petrichor. It’s not complex, but it has more typicité than some of its brethren (even if it needs to shake off some reduction that actually becomes more evident with aeration). The palate is well-balanced with plenty of concentration, real weight and heft in the mouth, citrus peel mixed with lanolin and a hint of fennel. Spicy towards the finish, this lingers long in the mouth. Power and tenderness combined. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMFresh in colour, a lifted perfumed floral nose, on the sharper side. Then some bacon fat as well as lemon balm. Not quite sure what to make of this. No faulting the intensity, but it is not quite harmonious today. Drink from 2025-2030. Tasted May 2024.Jasper Morris | 92 JM

The 2023 Pouilly-Fuissé Sur La Roche 1er Cru has a lively and focused bouquet with crushed stone and light orange blossom scents that gain intensity in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity and just the right amount of bitterness to keep this Pouilly-Fuissé on its toes. This fans out wonderfully on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2023 Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes includes two parcels that were candidates for Premier Cru but denied as they were once quarries. Don’t ask me…ask the INAO! Tangibly, this has more salinity on the nose and that comes through on the palate, harmonious and poised, lightly spiced with a hint of tropical fruit on the finish. What a lovely Pouilly-Fuissé!Vinous Media | 91 VM

With its pale lemon yellow colour, pronounced aromas of citrus and ripe nectarine and touches of smoky reduction and hay, this grand cru shows lovely concentration and lively acidity that bring depth and carry it through an impressively long finish. The grapes come from five parcels in Les Clos that total 3.2ha. Gently crushed before fermentation; aged in stainless steel. Although approachable young, this has the substance to age.Decanter Magazine | 93 DEC

With the 2023 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos Hommage à Louis, the Droins have regained the right to designate Les Clos on the label from the INAO, but they’re also continuing with the Hommage à Louis moniker. Whatever its name, the wine is lovely, opening in the glass with notes of green apple, peach and lemon mingled with iodine and toasted nuts, followed by a full-bodied, layered and concentrated palate that’s deep, dense and muscular.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2023 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru Hommage à Louis has the best bouquet amongst the Grand Crus from Droin. Very vibrant and intense, with crushed limestone and flint. The palate is well balanced with melon, grapefruit, orange rind and quince on the entry, building nicely towards a slightly oily-textured finish. I can see this aging well in bottle - more complexity on the finish compared to say, the Valmur or Grenouilles.Vinous Media | 94 VMI believe that the authorities have now confirmed that all of Benoît Droin’s plots are properly within the boundaries of Les Clos, though Benoît will continue to use the Hommage epithet alongside the vineyard name. the 2023 Hommage à Louis has a clear and classic nose after the pale lemon colour. Brilliant balanced juice, the Clos transcends the vintage. All white fruit of course but some crunch to the white apple fruit. Juicy and generous but still with a fine firm classic core. Fabulous finish. Drink from 2028-2040. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMSmoke and light wood nuances set off cool floral and spicy aromas of freshly grated citrus, white peach, honeysuckle and tidal pool wisps. There is again fine intensity to the dense and stony broad-shouldered flavors that flash fine length on the ever-so-mildly warm finale where a touch of youthful austerity slowly emerges. This refreshing effort is so rich that it should drink reasonably well young but the better choice would be to allow it to age for at least a few years as it could also use more overall depth.Burghound | 93 BH

Flint and spice come through clearly, showing a higher level of reduction in the winemaking and providing intensity and intrigue to the wine. It’s medium-bodied, linear and very racy with a bright, lightly phenolic finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSA slightly more elegant nose proffers a more pronounced floral influence along with cool essence of pear, apple and lemon zest nuances. The succulent, vibrant and utterly delicious medium weight flavors terminate in a dry, clean and balanced finale. This too could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove to be beneficial.Burghound | 89-91 BHA blend from all the plots of Puligny except Charmes and Trézin. A pretty bouquet with some fresh citrus blossom on the nose, pure white fruit on the palate, which is on the broader side but with enough concentration to kick on nicely to a tasty finish. Very correct and quite accessible. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

The 2024 Montée de Tonnerre had also been bottled in November of 2025. Guillaume Michel noted that they had almost fifty percent of normal yields in this vineyard in 2024, which was excellent by the draconian standards of the vintage. The wine is brilliant, offering up a deep and complex bouquet of lemon, pear, wet stone minerality, dried flowers and a topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and racy, with a gorgeous core of fruit, beautiful mineral drive, laser-like focus and a very, very long, perfectly balanced and complex finish. Great juice. (Drink between 2028-2060)John Gilman | 94 JGThe 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is more tightly knit and simultaneously slightly less demonstrative than Vaillons, exhibiting aromas of lemon confit, Granny Smith apple, orange peel and white flowers. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, concentrated and vibrant, with a tightly coiled profile and a long, chalky finish. It is one of Michel’s sites that suffered least from frost and hail in 2024.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RPThe 2024 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has a well-defined bouquet with just a very light reduction, though there is slightly more mineralité compared to the Vaillons or Vaulorent. The palate is well balanced and cohesive, with a fine bead of acidity and a touch of sour lemon perking up the finish. The 2024 is worth looking out for.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMA classic Chablis nose freely offers up its combination of citrus, iodine, mineral reduction, white flower and a background whiff of phenolic character. The notably denser middle weight flavors possess good volume and a succulent mouthfeel before terminating in a dry, youthfully austere and impressively persistent finale. This is really quite classy and one to consider buying.Burghound | 90-93 BHMid lemon yellow. Remarkably lactic on the nose. Flesh on the nose, and a biscuity touch, I would definitely have said oaked if tasted blind. Lacks a bit of energy behind. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 88-90 JM