Burgundy White Wines

wines

There is good Chablis typicity present in the form of iodine, seashore and petrol along with citrus zest top notes. The delicious, vibrant and precise middle weight flavors flash good minerality on the clean, dry and saline-inflected finish. This is very good for its level and worth considering.Burghound | 89-91 BHThe 2023 Chablis Village was assembled for my visit by Didier Picq from 10 vats. It has an attractive if light bouquet with apple blossom and fresh pear aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, a little creaminess towards the finish. This will drink well for 4-6 years.Vinous Media | 88-90 VMBlend made up. Fresh pale yellow, immediate energy on the nose, this keeps growing in the glass, with good tension, even a little pleasing bitterness at the finish. Very promising. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted Jul 2024.Jasper Morris | 87-90 JM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Jean 1er Cru was picked a couple of days earlier than the Clos des Murées. Despite being opened the evening before my visit, there is still some reduction on the nose. The palate is taut, fresh, quite nutty and Meursault-like in style with an energetic, persistent finish. Give this a year or two in bottle—it is very promising.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

From a site within the climat of Les Vaillons, where the vines are planted east to west and the grape skins are never kissed by the sun, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Roncières has turned out very well. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of beeswax, peach and lemon zest, it is medium-bodied, textural yet racy, with lovely tension and a long, mineral finish. It retains a classically Chablisien profile even in this warm year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI have never seen another vigneron who bottled their Chablis “Les Roncières” on its own. As this premier cru can also be bottled as Vaillons, most producers choose this direction for labeling of this wine. As I have mentioned before, Pat’s parcel in the les Minots section of Vaillons has a completely different exposition than his vines in Roncières, so the two are bottled separately for a very good reason. The 2023 version is lovely, offering up a complex nose of lemon, pear, a complex base of chalky soil, paraffin, orange peel, a touch of anise and a topnote of lemon zest. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with a very good core of fruit, fine transparency and grip, zesty acids and lovely nervosité on the long and precise finish. Fine juice. 2027-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

Derived from over 60-year-old vines growing in very shallow soil, with limestone bedrock close to the surface, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet is one of the highlights of the broad 28-bottle tasting across many different climats and appellations. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of oyster shell, green apple and lemon zest mingling with beeswax and iodine, it’s medium-bodied, bright and precise, with mouthwatering acidity and ample structuring extract, concluding with a searingly chalky finish. If one wants to pick a bottle that’s unmistakably (even when tasted blind) Chablisien, look no further than this beautifully defined and incisive interpretation of Séchet.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2023 Chablis “les Séchets” from Domaine Piuze is also a fine example of the vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers scents of apple, pear, lemon blossoms, a lovely base of limestone soils, beeswax and a nice touch of Chablisienne straw in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured out of the blocks this year, with a fine core offruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, bright acids and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This will want a few years in the cellar before drinking with abandon. 2028-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2023 Montmains is one of my favorite premier crus in the Piuze cellars this year. The wine’s bouquet is pure, precise and complex, offering up notes of lemon, pear, a touch of tangerine, beeswax, spring flowers, lemon peel and a beautiful foundation of chalky minerality. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and deep at the core, with great soil signature and grip, a fine spine of acidity, lovely balance and a long, focused and complex finish. Most impressive. 2028-2055+.John Gilman | 93 JGPatrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains has turned out well, opening from the glass with notes of acacia, pear, peach and youthful reduction. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and tensile, built around a chalky core, it’s laden with bright acidity and concludes with a long, saline finish. It’s produced from a parcel just next to Raveneau’s.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

The 2023 vintage of “Vaillons” Les Minots from Patrick Piuze is excellent. The wine’s aromatic constellation offers up a superb blend of fresh lemon, pear, tart orange, chalky soil tones, anise, spring flowers and a topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is deep, zesty, complex and full-bodied, with a succulent core of fruit, superb mineral undertow, bouncy acids and lovely balance on the long and vibrant finish. This will drink beautifully upon release and has the balance to age gracefully for several decades. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JGDerived from one of the warmest places in the valley, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Les Minots is flamboyant and demonstrative, soaring from the glass with a bouquet of marzipan, peach and dried white flowers mingling with passion fruit. Enveloping and underpinned by racy acids, it’s full-bodied, rich and gourmand and, unsurprisingly, in the context of the warmer site, is among the first that is harvested. While it offers immediate appeal, it has proven to be an age-worthy bottling.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Maltroye 1er Cru has a "buttoned-down" nose that demands coaxing to reveal its yellow fruit, hazelnut and light orange rind scents. The palate is well balanced and opens up wonderfully with aeration, displaying a touch of orange rind, spice and smokiness on the finish. It’s quite mercurial and, to my senses, fascinating.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru has a little more mineralité on the nose than the Vergers. Its bouquet contains light hints of clementine and beeswax aromas. The palate is well balanced, fresh and concentrated with a slightly viscous opening. It just needs a little more terroir to shape the finish.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Mid lemon yellow. Grilled almonds Marjolaine suggests, and I agree. Once more the flesh and the oak on the nose are apparent. All the requisite weight and white fruit, silky length, a little salinity, understated but very long indeed. Rather hidden at the moment. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, from vines planted in 1996, had quite a bit of that matchstick reduction on the nose when I tasted it from barrel, but you can discern the concentration here. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. Acidity counters its richness as hints of ginger and white pepper emerge toward the finish. Powerful compared to its peers, this Grand Cru will require two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Village is a blend of three parcels (Les Chaumes, Lombardes and Charrières) and sees 15% aged in clay jars to gain freshness. It has a vibrant nose and fine mineralité, with a touch of orange zest and grapefruit developing in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a keen line of acidity and a twist of orange rind on the finish. Not long, but I appreciate the vigor and attack of this Chassagne Village.Vinous Media | 90 VMIn bottle. Pale lemon in colour. A little stricter than the Bourgogne Chardonnay, which provides better balance with the undeniable flesh behind. A good thread of acidity, a touch of fennel, a little salinity and persistent. Drink from 2026-2029. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

More yellow in the colour, a waxy flesh, slight evolution in the sample, I cannot quite see the stones up front. They do appear on the palate and the wine extends very well through to a flinty finish, with some saline notes right at the back. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru has a strict, almost sullen nose that demands coaxing from the glass, with hints of chamomile interlacing the orchard fruit, though I seek just a little more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with tropical notes of passionfruit and guava on the entry. Smooth in texture with countervailing acidity, the 2023 finishes open and easy-drinking. Drink just a year after bottling and enjoy this in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Houillères is a level up from the regular Village, with more mineralité and terroir expression. The palate is well balanced and linear in style, with a keen line of acidity, fine weight and a sapid, chamomile-tinged close. Maybe the 2022 had a touch more depth on the finish, but this is worth seeking out.Vinous Media | 91 VMOld vines with a younger plot as well. Mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has a discreet distinction, more in minerals than flesh, one jar again. Tighter and more precise on the palate, with a light ripe citrus note added to the orchard fruit. In bottle. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Village has a fresh bouquet that I much prefer to the 2022, livelier and fresher. The palate is well-balanced with a sapid entry, a little mint-fresh with a playful, citrus finish.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMA fresh lighter crimson colour. Quite an elegant pinot, not at all the rustic style of Chassagne. Juicy strawberry and raspberry on the palate, medium weight, good length with adequate acidity. A cheerful Chassagne to drink in the medium term. 5 new barrels out of 17. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 88-90 JM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Jean 1er Cru shows less reduction than other cuvées. This has a beautiful bouquet with white peach, citrus lemon and crushed stone, a little Puligny in style. The palate is well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, tensile and mineral driven. A hint of popcorn appears on the saline finish. The 2023 is very promising.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA clear pale colour and the least showing on the nose of the 1ers crus. Leaner on the palate, then a little waft of oak at the back which integrates well with the fruit even so. Precision at the back, just less easily definable character than most of the other wines. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JMModerate reduction is enough to overshadow the fruit today so if by chance you’re going to try a bottle young, be sure to give this some air. On the palate the barely middle weight flavors are not nearly as concentrated and while they do possess good energy and an attractive texture as well as a bone-dry, balanced and youthfully austere finish, the overall impression is a wine that is less complete. Granted, while this perfectly nice effort may well add weight with a few years in bottle, I very much doubt it will catch either the Chenevottes or Clos de la Truffière.Burghound | 90 BH

An opulent, almost voluptuous wine with ripe apple, exotic passion fruit aromas, and just an edge of reduction. The texture is creamy and dense, and the finish is impressively long. The domaine has nearly a half-hectare here in deep clay soils at the base of the premier cru band. There have been problems with the 161-49 rootstock, but the affected vines have been replaced using massal selection since they didn’t want to replant the whole plot; given these results, one can see why.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECMid lemon yellow, a discreet bouquet with a little white fruit and perhaps less gunflint than Maltroie. More apple coming out. This is lovely on the palate, some riper flavours coming out behind, with a little fresh apricot, softer and easy going as the clay kicks in. Lovely early. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 92 JMA slightly fresher and more expressive nose presents its array of cool pear, apple, citrus and a broader range of floral elements. The slightly more concentrated middle weight flavors possess a lovely texture while terminating in a clean, bright, notably dry and solidly persistent finale. I like the balance and this is compact enough to warrant at least a few years of keeping and it should repay up to a decade of it.Burghound | 91 BHThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Champ Gains 1er Cru was significantly reduced when I tasted it early from barrel. The palate was more expressive, with fine weight and density, perhaps without the same amplitude as the Chenevottes, though there is plenty of extract on the finish.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

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

This exquisite wine enchants with a complex nose of lime peel, gooseberry and pear with hints of smoky reduction and a salty mineral edge. The wine is dense and compact, and its weight is perfectly balanced by racy acidity. The grapes are from 1.76ha in the blue clay soils of the Côte de Bréchain. They are crushed and fermented in tank and cask (25%). In the view of Benoît Droin, this is a ’super premier cru’ – grand cru-adjacent, like Chambolle Amoureuses and Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECAromas of citrus blossom, orange oil, white flowers, iodine and honey introduce the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered wine that’s rich and dense. It’s a strong effort with good cellaring potential.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2023 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has a more austere bouquet of light fumé notes mixed with petrichor–a more uncompromising aromatics than the Vaulorent, one for hardcore Chablis-lovers. The palate is taut and fresh, displaying good body and density. Very pure with a strict and persistent finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis too possesses just enough wood to merit pointing out on the smoky nose of white flowers, wet stone and soft quinine whiffs. The elegant, intense and focused medium-bodied flavors exude evident minerality on the unusually powerful, balanced and precise finale. This is also lovely though with the proviso that it definitely needs to develop better overall depth.Burghound | 91 BHPale in colour, quite strict on the nose. This is so much less exotic than the Mont de Milieu but it has a generous flesh through the middle, more white peach than yellow, but all very well harnessed. Crunchy finish. 30% was made in barrel. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

I have always liked the Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine bottling from Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, as this is one of the more limestone-defined cuvées in their fine lineup. The 2023 is no exception, as this is a lovely wine, offering up a bright and classic nose of apple, nectarine, chalky soil tones, orange zest and a topnote of spring flowers. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and nicely racy out of the blocks, with a good core, fine mineral undertow and lovely balance on the long and complex finish. Good juice. (Drink between 2025 - 2037)John Gilman | 91 JGFrom foudre. This one had finished fermenting. Mid lemon yellow a mix of apples and pears on the nose. More generous than usual but still with its more typical white fruit with some minerals. Fine length. Drink from 2024-2026. Tasted Mar 2024.Jasper Morris | 88-90 JM

The les Maranches bottling is made from a nice blend of older and younger vines, with half planted in 1977 and half in 1999. The younger vines always seem to contribute a nice sensation of fruit energy to the wine and the 2023 shows this beautifully, as it delivers a vibrant bouquet of peach, apple, a touch of hazelnut, a good base of soil, dried flowers and a whisper of oak from the foudres in which the wine is raised. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, complex and nicely succulent at the core, with a good foundation of soil tones, sound acids, fine focus and a long, classy and very nicely balanced finish. (Drink between 2025 - 2035)John Gilman | 91 JGThe Uchizy has fallen clear, with a lemon and lime colour. Pure clear and chiselled, less evidently 2023, a little reduction, then the muscatty component arrives behind. Long, refined and not too fleshy. Drink from 2025-2027. Tasted Mar 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

The 2023 Saint-Véran from Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon is a lovely example of this fine vintage. The bouquet offers up a nicely ripe and vibrant blend of peach, apple, chalky soil tones, a hint of hazelnut, apple blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and complex, with a good core, fine soil undertow and grip, bouncy acids and a long, balanced and classy finish. Good juice. (Drink between 2025 - 2037)John Gilman | 92 JGThe 2023 Saint-Véran has a winsome bouquet, very pure with lemon curd and apricot notes that blossom in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with a peppery opening, fine weight and depth and a touch of Szechuan pepper on the finish. Recommended.Vinous Media | 90 VMFrom the communes of Prissé and Davayé. Pale lemon with a green streak, not quite clear. Quite pronounced ripe fruit with some generosity but there is a good backbone too, you can see the ripeness of the fruit though just 12% in alcohol. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Mar 2024.Jasper Morris | 88-90 JM

The density and balance are so attractive here, with sliced apples, white pineapple and crushed stones. Hints of dried flowers, too, such as white roses and lilacs, as well as almonds. Medium-bodied with focus and subtle strength. Seemingly endless, with a bitter-lemon edge and nice reduction in the aftertaste of gun metal. Drink and enjoy.James Suckling | 96 JSDrouhin’s Clos des Mouches 2023 exemplifies the vintage’s potential for delicious whites. The wine has lush, forward aromas of Mirabelle plums and quince with hints of marzipan, butter and a suggestion of stylishly smoky reduction. The texture is supple and dense, but the richness is kept in balance and the extract carries the wine to a lingering finish. Parts of the 7ha vineyard have been replanted; the old vines that produce this bottling have delivered a wine of great character.Decanter Magazine | 94 DEC The 2023 vintage of Clos des Mouches Blanc is an absolute classic in the making, but it will demand a few years in the cellar to properly blossom before it will start hitting on all cylinders. The bouquet is deep, nascently complex and beautifully detailed, delivering scents of apple, lemon, beeswax, chalky soil tones, a nice touch of sweet butter, dried flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and a bit reserved in profile at the present time, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil signature and grip, very good acidity and a long, poised and impeccably balanced finish. This really has grand cru weight and authority on the palate, but also a bit of a structural chassis that will want to be waited out before starting to drink the wine with abandon. (Drink between 2029 - 2060)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2023 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc (Domaine) is another strong performance, delivering aromas of sweet pear, peach and mandarin mingled with buttered toast and mint. Full-bodied, rich and ample, it’s layered and unctuous, with a seamless, satiny, textural profile and a long, lusty finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-94 RPThe 2023 Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc 1er Cru has more intensity on the nose than expected, with lovely lilting yellow fruit, quince and crushed stone scents. The palate is very well balanced and generous, with a slightly oily texture, great depth, fine acidity and a judicious touch of lemongrass toward the finish that feels long and intense. This may well surpass the 2022.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMMid lemon, with the somewhat more sumptuous bouquet of Clos des Mouches, always more flesh right from the outset. This is a powerful fleshy wine, with a good oak support, probably higher in alcohol. Lower than expected yield here in white. May well be around 14% I suspect but that goes with this territory. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-95A vague suggestion of the exotic is present in the form of jasmine tea, orange peel, white peach and a background hint of passion fruit. The medium-bodied flavors are rich to the point of opulence yet retain a relatively sleek mouthfeel that carries over to the balanced and nicely dry finale. This attractively persistent effort could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove to be beneficial.Burghound | 90-92 BH

The nose opens gracefully with aromas of pear, white peach and Meyer lemon, evolving toward acacia blossom, hazelnut and a touch of flint. The wine shows both nerve and richness - sleek citrus and stone fruit framed by a precise mineral backbone. Hints of brioche and vanilla without overshadowing the vineyards signature purity. A long, lingering finish with saline tension and whisper of almond and chalk dust.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 95 SP

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes is the richest, broadest wine in the range, bursting with aromas of honeyed pears, white flowers, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s layered and textural, with a sweet core of fruit that’s balanced by good energy and grip.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras is pretty, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, confit lemon, orange zest and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, mineral and chalky, with a sweet core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it’s pure and precise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPHere too there is a suggestion of the exotic to the aromas of white peach, tangerine, mineral reduction and once again, a hint of phenolic character. This medium weight flavors aren’t quite as dense though they are just a bit finer while offering fine length and an almost palpable sense of minerality on the balanced and youthfully austere finish that, interestingly enough given that this is a premier cru, isn’t quite as structured.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2023 Chablis Au Dessus des Carrières was bottled a couple of weeks prior to my visit after 12 months on the lees and a fermentation that was strung out over 12 months! It has an exquisite, beautifully defined and focused bouquet surfeit with minerals. The palate is very precise, poised, saline and tangy, with a dab of iodine toward the finish. The 2023 is excellent.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMFuller yellow, the nose showing that the bottle has been open a few days. The 2023 is fleshier than the 2024 of course but still exceptionally marine at the back. Just bottled. Very long finish. Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 91 JMPretty and nicely fresh aromas include those of just sliced pear and apple while displaying enough Chablis typicity to be convincing. The rich, generous and vibrant medium weight flavors already possess fine complexity as well as excellent length on the clean, moderately dry and balanced finale. This is a very fine villages and one that should both drink well young as well as repay mid-term keeping.Burghound | 90 BH