Burgundy Wines

wines

(Clos St. Denis- Domaine Dujac) I have a fair bit of Dujac Clos St. Denis in my cellar, but I cannot recall any previous vintage as promising as the 2011 showed at the time of my visit in November. This is one of the most elegant of all the grand crus in the Côte de Nuits and this has obviously dovetailed brilliantly with the style of the 2011 vintage. The stunning nose soars from the glass in a glorious mélange of cherries, blood orange, gamebirds, cinnamon, roses, beautiful minerality, cocoa, peonies and a discreet base of spicy wood. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and absolutely ethereal in style, with great mid-palate depth and nascent complexity, laser-like focus, suave tannins and magical grip and focus on the very, very long and very transparent finish. This beautiful wine already dances across the palate and it will be a legend in the years to come! (Drink between 2022-2065)John Gilman | 96 JGA model of elegance and finesse, the 2011 Clos St. Denis presents a hugely attractive fabric laced with orange peel, rose petals and sweet spices. The 2011 is an especially floral, lifted Clos St. Denis endowed with terrific energy and focus, while the mid-weight structure suggests it will drink well relatively early.Vinous Media | 95 VMDeep, profound wine with dark berries, cinnamon and spices. Velvety tannins and long finish. Terroir-driven, very intense flavours, amazing depth. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028.Decanter | 94 DEC(Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis Grand Cru Red) Here too an adroit application of wood serves as a discreet foil for the more obvious floral aromas that enjoy added scope from the presence of pure, spicy and highly complex red and dark berry scents. There is an abundance of mouth coating extract that imparts a suave, even lush character to the very rich medium-bodied flavors that are an exercise in finesse and refinement while offering controlled power and outstanding length. A classic Clos St. Denis of class and grace. (Drink starting 2026)Burghound | 93 BHThe 2011 Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru is missing a little cohesion on the nose, rather loose-knit with broody, stony red berry fruit. Fortunately, it begins to come together with rigorous swirling of the glass and musters much better focus. The palate is medium-bodied with quite chalky tannins on the entry. There is a fine core of red cherries, pomegranate and attractive saline notes toward the masculine finish. It is more approachable than other vintages that I have tasted at this stage, but it deserves three or four years in bottle because there is a lot of potential here. Drink 2015-2025.I have been visiting Jeremy and Alec Seysses at Domaine Dujac for several years now, and it is always one of my favorite ports of call. Alec, looking surprisingly chipper for a new dad had taken time off nappy duty to guide me through the 2011s this year. I have to confess that I was concerned by the conspicuous nature of the new oak on both their negociant label wines and the entry Village Crus. I felt that 35% new oak tended to overwhelm the fruit and terroir and occasionally impart drying finishes, which is why my scores are parsimonious here. As I tasted through the range toward the flock of Grand Crus the oak seemed better assimilated, although I would still maintain that the wine is of such quality that the present level of oak risks being superfluous to requirements. All the negociant label wines were bottled before Christmas.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NM

The 2012 Meursault (my sample taken from their parcel in Chaumes) has a relatively austere bouquet at first, withholding its charm and then teasing with granitic, cold stone scents. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity and then it fans out in languid fashion with the delicately spicy finish. This is sophisticated and refined.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 91 RP-NM(from Vireuils-Dessous; in the latter part of its malolactic fermentation): Sexy aromas of orange oil and brown spices. Bright and penetrating, with peach and soft citrus flavors firmed on the tactile back end by saline minerality. Really excellent texture and length for village wine. (Incidentally, don’t hesitate to snap up Coche’s 2012 Bourgogne Blanc if you can find it. This ripe, fruit-driven wine, from rocky soil around Coche’s house, is as good as most Meursault village wines. The very rich, tactile, classic Meursault Narvaux, which is usually sent to the U.S., was just at the beginning of its malo, and the Rougeot hadn’t even started at the end of May).Vinous Media | 89-91 VMThere are very mild hints of match stick and exoticism to the ripe and fresh nose of mostly yellow orchard fruit aromas that are liberally laced with floral and hazelnut nuances. There is excellent volume and outstanding concentration to the vibrant and extract-rich medium weight flavors that possess fine depth on the balanced and highly persistent citrus-inflected finish that displays a deft application of wood. This is a terrific villages and the altitude of the vineyard definitely helps the sense of vibrancy. (Drink starting 2019)Burghound | 90 BH

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes shows the pure power and intensity of the year in spades. Dark red stone fruits meld into expressive floral notes, but it is really the wine’s energy, depth and textural finesse that stand out most. Readers can look forward to several decades of exceptional drinking.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Gevrey-Chambertin “aux Combottes”- Domaine Dujac) The 2012 Combottes was again rather reductive at the time of my visit and ready for its imminent racking. With a bit of urging, the wine reluctantly offers up a very promising and quite black fruity bouquet of cassis, black cherries, espresso, gamebirds, dark soil tones, woodsmoke and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, suave on the attack and impressively transparent, with a sappy core, fine-grained tannins and excellent balance on the long, pure and focused finish. This will certainly be lovely. (Drink between 2022-2055).John Gilman | 92-93 JGThe 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Combottes comes from 1.15-hectares of vineyard, with an average age of 30 years. It has a very precise bouquet that is wonderfully focused: subtle notes of red berry fruit with lifted mineralite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, supple tannins: taut and focused with a linear but very fresh finish. This will probably need four or five years bottle age, but it has great potential.Tasting in the cellars of Domaine Dujac in Morey Saint Denis is always an educational, enlightening experience, granting you a useful picture of how some of the top vineyards performed in the Cote de Nuits during a given year. Alec Seysses was on hand to guide me around his particularly cold cellar, one of those occasions when my warm hands might be bad for pastry, but ideal for warming glasses. “It was the fourth poor year in a row in terms of quantity,” he explained, showing me the concrete eggs now employed at the domaine, a less common sight here in Burgundy compared to Bordeaux. “although in 2012 we had a regular crop of the village crus and the younger vines did well. We averaged around 20 hectoliters per hectare. Everything was racked in early September but there is some reduction from the cold cellar. The softness of the tannins strikes me as a character of the vintage. It is more a dark fruit vintage than a red fruit vintage. Sugars were between 12.5 and 13%, with a few 13.3% here and there. I find the wines similar to 2010, but the 2012 is a little more charming because the tannins are not quite as strong.” Tasting through the complete range of wines from the small batch of negociant wines under “Dujac Fils et Pere” to the clutch of grand crus, it was clear that propitious terroirs that influenced the wines greatly. The village crus were mostly commendable in their own right, but the real excitement begins as you broach the premier crus, where the barrel samples achieve high degrees of complexity and nuance. Like many of the top growers, I was pleased to see individual terroirs articulated with great clarity in 2012, perhaps more so than the 2011s. These barrel samples seemed to contain so much energy: tightly coiled springs of fermented grape juice, brimming with tension and freshness that Jeremy and Alec will endeavor to capture once in bottle. I have little doubt that they will succeed.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 91-93 RP-NM(Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin "Aux Combottes" 1er Cru Red) This is also reduced if not quite as firmly as the Morey villages. This is extremely fine and pure with a knockout mouth feel to the restrained, pure and lacy medium-bodied flavors that are also shaped by fine-grained tannins on the mouth coating, understated and lingering finish where there is also a trace of austerity. This is not a big wine but as classic examples typically are, this is a Gevrey 1er of finesse and refinement plus it’s impeccably well-balanced. I would make the same observation here that while the reduction is a concern my score assumes that it will ultimately dissipate with a few years of bottle age. (Drink starting 2024).Burghound | 92 BH

Good bright, deep red. Complex, subtle aromas of raspberry, redcurrant and graphite minerality, plus some sexy oak tones. Ripe and silky, even plump for the year, but classically dry and light on its feet. Saturates the mouth and cheeks without leaving any impression of heaviness. At this point in my tasting, Marie-Christine Mugneret noted that these 2013s had been uncorked the previous evening. They are showing spectacularly now and I suspect they benefited dramatically from aeration. Finishes with very suave, even tannins and a suggestion of minty lift. Very classy juice.Vinous Media | 94 VMThe Mugnerets usually get six to seven casks of Echézeaux in a normal vintage, but in 2013, the old vines in their holding in the climat of Rouge de Bas were really badly affected by the poor flowering in this year and there are only four casks of this lovely wine as a result- the same as in 2012. It is too bad that there is not more quantity, as the quality here is exceptional, with the wine soaring from the glass in a blaze of black cherries, cassis, gamebirds, violets, a gloriously complex base of soil, dark chocolate and nutty new wood. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and supremely elegant in personality, with great mid-palate depth, impeccable balance, ripe tannins and outstanding transparency on the very long, tangy and perfectly focused finish. A beautiful wine in the making. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 94+ JGAn exuberantly spicy nose exhibits notes of raspberry liqueur, earth and essence of black cherry scents as well as enough wood to notice. Here too there is a distinctly sleek mouth feel to the suave and very seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that possess impressive power in the context of the appellation and simply knock-out depth and length. This impeccably well-balanced effort is a notably more robust and concentrated vintage of this wine than usual that should age well for a long time to come.Burghound | 94 BHThe 2013 Echézeaux Grand Cru, which comes from two parcels in the lieux-dits “Les Rouges du Bas” (70-year-old vines on métayage from Fabrice Vigot) and “Quartiers du Nuits” (on métayage with Pascal Mugneret) has a seductive bouquet in the same vein as the Nuits Chaignots with very pure dark cherries, bergamot and mineral scents. The palate is rounded in the mouth with very good weight. It does not quite have the delineation or complexity of the 2012 at the moment, but there is a lovely caressing finish. This will be giving pleasure earlier than the other crus, but it should still age well.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

I really like the cool fruit tones of the 2013 Chaignots from the Mugnerets this year, as the wine really harkens back stylistically to the young 1993s. The bouquet is a refined and properly reserved mix of dark berries, cassis, espresso, woodsmoke, gamebirds, fresh herbs, soil and a deft base of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still very primary in personality, with great purity and focus, a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil signature and a very long, tangy and moderately tannic finish. Nuits St. Georges does not get a lot more elegant than this lovely wine, but it will need time in the cellar to blossom. (Drink between 2022 - 2050)John Gilman | 92+ JGGood medium red. Sexy, complex aromas of ripe plum, redcurrant, cedar, spices and rose petal. Supple, plump, dry and saline; classically backward wine but with a surprisingly pliant texture for the year. Strong, almost peppery acidity is nicely buffered by intense red fruits. Finishes with sexy sweetness and length.Vinous Media | 91 VMA beautifully spicy nose features ripe aromas of both red and dark currant along with plenty of earth and sandalwood influence along with a whisper of herbal tea. There is good tension to the seductively textured medium weight flavors that display a lovely stony quality on the relatively fine, well-balanced and persistent finale. Depending on the vintage this can be a bit more Vosne or Nuits in basic character; in 2013 it’s more Vosne in style though there is just enough Nuits muscle to remind you of its origins.Burghound | 91 BHTasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru les Chaignots has a menthol-tinged bouquet that feels a little ostentatious (not a word I associate with this domaine’s wines). It does come out of its shell with aeration, manifesting more refinement and offers an attractive orange blossom, almost honeyed note later on. The palate is supple on the mouth with strawberry pastilles taking center stage, the acidity nicely judged albeit missing complexity on the fleshy and easy-going finish. As always, I adore the elegance of Mugneret-Gibourg’s wine, though it does not possess the density of other recent vintages. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

The 2013 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked from the afternoon of October 7 and over the next two days at 18 hectoliters per hectare. It has a heavenly nose with exquisite mineral-rich red cherry, wild strawberry, blood orange and subtle woodland, damp autumn leaf and moss aromas that are extraordinarily complex. It seems to gain vigor and intensity with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, a slightly suppler La Tâche compared to recent years, a wine with an athleticism. There is nothing wasted or superfluous here, a honed La Tâche that is all about tensile structure matched by perfect acidity and an incredibly complex, kaleidoscopic finish that seems so mercurial in the glass, initially offering red fruit then changing its mind and revealing darker and more tertiary notes. In a word: awesome. Production is 1,023 cases. Tasted February 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 97 RP-NMThe 2013 La Tâche Grand Cru is dazzling. Bright and nuanced, the 2013 sizzles with energy right out of the gate. The 2013 is just starting to open. Ideally, a few more years in the cellar would be helpful, but the 2013 is so inviting at this stage. This late-ripening year produced a La Tâche that bristles with tension.Antonio Galloni | 97+ AG(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Pinot Noir / Pinot Nero, La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole, Burgundy, France, Red) Among the vineyards that could beat the odds in 2013, La Tâche is near the top of the list. The vintage was cold and wet, and growers had to use all their savvy to ripen during the August reprieve. The Domaine managed to turn in a bright, fresh La Tâche, with a complex bouquet that melds high-toned red fruit, saline minerality and a suggestion of wild herbs. The texture is elegant and fine, with silky tannins and a lovely, wispy elegance. Fans of the customary power and depth of La Tâche, however, may be disappointed. (Drink between 2025-2065)Burghound | 96 BHDeep velvety colour, the slightly exotic black fruits nose are so entrancing than it slows up the move to take in the beauty of the palate, which is firmer than expected. It’s even a little closed for La Tâche, whose profundity and grandeur will give it a magnificent future. Drinking Window 2023 - 2038.Decanter | 95 DEC

A clear bright and still youthful colour. The bouquet is sublime, the quintessence of elegant fruit, maybe peonies because there is a floral note, medium weight, and a perfectly refined finish.Jasper Morris | 92 JMTasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale has a more sophisticated and nuanced nose compared to its peers, red and black fruit here and well integrated oak. The palate is smooth in the mouth, supple and quite plush, clearly with some quality new oak that is almost Cathiard-like in style (something that appears to have evolved in the last few months). However, there is fruit to support that here. Give this 2-3 years in bottle and it should turn into a very decent Nuits Saint-Georges. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPBright, dark red. Highly aromatic nose combines blackberry, black raspberry, minerals and spices. Sappy and fine-grained; very dry and concentrated, conveying a strong impression of inner-palate energy. Sexy cherry and crushed stone flavors are framed by suave tannins on the very long, aromatic back end. Showing more éclat than it did from barrel a year ago, this wine has turned out very well.Vinous Media | 91 VMThe inherent elegance of the vintage is very much in evidence in the 2013 Clos de la Maréchale, which offers up a pure and classy bouquet of red and black cherries, pomegranate, nutskin, mustard seed, a touch of pepper and a complex signature of soil. On the palate the wine is pure, fullish and very soil-driven this year, with a sappy core of red fruit, tangy acids, ripe and quite suave tannins and excellent length and grip on the youthful and very promising finish. A lovely wine in the making, the 2013 Clos de la Maréchale should drink very well at a fairly early age for this cuvée in this year. (Drink between 2022 - 2055)John Gilman | 91+ JG

Concentrated and powerful, this wine is rich and full in the mouth, with wonderful ripe fruits over the great tannins. It is solid, dark and dense, full of smoky flavors and a rich strawberry flavor.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEHere there is a bit more wood with the associated traces of menthol that surround the elegant floral and like the Estournelles, airy essence of red berry fruit liqueur and spice suffused aromas. There is a sophisticated mouth feel to the appealingly textured, intense and focused middle weight flavors that also display plenty of minerality that serves to add lift to the structured, serious and strikingly long finish. This is indisputably terrific though interestingly it doesn’t seem to have quite as much separation between it and the other Gevrey 1ers in the range as I typically find chez Jadot. Still, this should be a really lovely effort though note well that this is a CSJ for the patient. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 91-94 BHTasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques has a composed bouquet with dark cherry, red plum, a light estuarine influence seeping through with aeration, all with good intensity and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, plenty of blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, tensile with a brisk and quite punchy finish. I thought it might be Bruno Clair’s Clos Saint Jacques before its identity was revealed - a classy number from the Jadot team. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NM(this fruit was harvested on October 10, following heavy rain on the 9th): Medium red. Lovely rose petal perfume dominates the nose. Juicy and pure but tight and youthfully unforgiving; showing less fat and volume than the Estournelles. Unless this is simply painfully backward, it’s hard to imagine this wine ever delivering the satisfaction of the Estournelles.Vinous Media | 90-93 VMSuch pretty clarity to this with spice, dried strawberry, and wet earth too. Full-bodied, firm and chewy with bright citrus acidity and a long finish. I like the austerity with vivid fruit character. Needs a year or two to soften. Reminds me of 2008.James Suckling | 93 JSIntense and powerful, with plum, black cherry and spice flavors flowing before giving way to dense tannins. Finishes with tobacco and mineral elements. All the components are there, but this needs time to integrate.Wine Spectator | 93 WSIn marked contrast to the Estournelles, the 2013 Clos St. Jacques was not showing particularly well at the time of my visit, as it too seemed to lack energy and was a bit flat on the palate. The bouquet offers up fine depth in its blend of cassis, black cherries, bitter chocolate, dark soil tones, smoke and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep and full-bodied, but quite flat, with a creamy core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, nascently complex and quite linear finish. I hope this is just a stage for this wine, which is usually one of the greatest premier cru bottlings to be found in Gevrey. (Drink between 2023-2050)John Gilman | 89-92 JG

(Maison Louis Jadot Montrachet Grand Cru White) This is restrained to the point of being almost mute and only aggressive swirling coaxes aromas of white flowers, freshly sliced citrus, pear, green apple and discreet spice elements to grudgingly emerge. There is seriously good size, weight and punch to the beautifully detailed and notably mineral-driven big-bodied flavors that, like the Corton-Charlemagne, possess a chiseled and explosively long finish that really fans out as it sits on the palate. I very much like the balance and upside development potential here and about the only nit worth mentioning is just a hint of finishing warmth. Still, this should abundantly reward 12 to 15 years of cellaring. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 93-95 BHThe 2013 Montrachet Grand Cru, which comes from the Chassagne side, possesses a very precise bouquet that seems understated when compared to the more hedonistic Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles. This is much more demure, laid-back...nonchalant even. The palate is very precise - there is real detail here with delicate spicy notes furnishing the back end of this Montrachet that just expands toward the finish. I think this is keeping everything up its sleeve at the moment, but you cannot deny the balance and focus here.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93-95 RP-NM(13.3% alcohol; picked late): Pale straw-yellow. Aromas of clove, iodine and white flowers are lifted by a note of lemon oil. Hugely concentrated, dense and utterly backward; not showing nearly the detail of the Chevalier-Montrachet in the early going but this is sweeter. Montrachet in the outsized Chassagne body-builder style. Really amazingly rich and massively structured for the vintage, but needs to lose some of its baby fat before it can be properly appreciated.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2014 Richebourg from Charles van Canneyt is stunning, with the elegance and transparency of the vintage finding a perfect dance partner in the depth and succulence of this cru. The superb bouquet wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black plums, cocoa powder, duck, a very complex base of soil tones, woodsmoke, violets and a lovely framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very refined out of the blocks, with a sappy core of fruit, great mineral drive, suave tannins and stunning backend energy on the precise and very, very long and complex finish. A great young example of Richebourg. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2014 Richebourg Grand Cru has a fabulous bouquet: complex and profound, quite floral in style with wonderful intensity. The palate is medium-bodied, more masculine than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant and perhaps without quite the same riveting tension and detail. That said, it comes across as extraordinarily fresh and vibrant, with hints of undergrowth and smoke towards the structured and masculine finish. It will need a few years to really settle into its groove, but it will surely evolve into a tremendous Richebourg.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPPerfumed with subtle aromas of raspberry and wild strawberry coupled with nuances of cured meat. A very racy wine with a velvety texture and some sweet spices on the finish.Decanter | 95 DECMedium red Distinctly darker on the nose than the RSV, offering scents of blackberry, boysenberry, violet, smoky minerals and spicy oak Sappy, saline, broad and classically dry; distinctly thicker and more backward than the RSV, with its soil character currently dominating its primary fruits Superb volume here but rather uncompromising today; this wine will need a long time to emerge from its shell Finishes with hints of chocolate and mint The RSV shows more oaky sweetness but this wine is more profound (Incidentally, when I tasted the 2014s from bottle at Hudelot-Noëllat in late 2015, this wine showed more high-toned lift and early personality than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, but then Charles van Canneyt has been telling me for years that these two grand crus are constantly "changing their position in the cellar" during their élevageVinous Media | 93+ VMDiscreet but not invisible wood frames the less expressive but similarly spicy nose of fresh and ripe plum, cassis and violet scents that also display a hint of herbal tea. There is outstanding volume and intensity to the lightly mineral-inflected big-bodied flavors that possess very fine depth and length on the well-balanced finale. This is very firmly structured and is going to require at least a decade of cellaring before it will be approachable.Burghound | 93 BH

A fresh, cool and moderately restrained nose speaks of various red and dark berries along with plenty of iron-inflected earth, animale and pretty floral nuances. The lush, even opulent flavors certainly don’t lack for size, weight and power as they coat the palate while buffering the notably firm tannic spine on the muscular, driving and wonderfully persistent finish. This too is impressively concentrated and built-to-age.Burghound | 93-95 BHSweet spicy oaky nose with vibrant black cherry fruit; stylish. Rich, suave, full-bodied plate boasting fine-grained tannins that don’t lack texture or force. Good acidity and length. Drinking Window 2020 - 2035Decanter | 94 DECBright medium-dark red. Reticent but very pure aromas of cherry, dark berries, licorice, musky underbrush and salty minerals; smells riper and less peppery than the ’13, and a bit Cabernet-like. Thick but fresh on entry, then wonderfully suave, juicy and fine-grained in the mid-palate, showing terrific vibrancy and lift as well as a rose petal topnote that’s not yet present in the 2015. Still plenty of medicinal reserve here but this is a step up in finesse from the 2013 and distinctly longer and subtler on the aftertaste. Finishes with very fine-grained, tongue-saturating tannins and a subtle whiplash of pungent red and black fruits, minerals and soil. There’s incipient body here but the wine is still youthfully imploded and more salty than sweet. Its balance and finesse, though, make it easy to taste today. Extended aeration brought an even silkier texture and lovely sweet Pinot tang of red berries, rose petal and minerals, even a hint of blood orange. Obviously still very young but this wine struck me as a bit more pliant than it was shortly after bottling. It’s also hard to believe that such a stylish wine could have been produced here under the old regime. (13.2% alcohol; 3.45 pH; 3.75 g/l acidity; 33 h/h).Vinous Media | 94 VMA flagship of the Faiveley range, this is a structured wine with great acidity and beautiful perfumes. The wine is dense, already balanced with the red fruits shining through the tannins. It will develop slowly and will not be ready to drink before 2023.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis is pure, featuring cherry, berry, floral and spice aromas and flavors married to a vivid structure. Firms up nicely as the fruit and supporting matrix build to a long finish. Best from 2020 through 2033. 120 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe product of a dry spring and a rainy summer, the 2014 Corton Grand Cru Clos des Cortons Faiveley offers up an appealing bouquet of wild berries, dark chocolate, cedar, espresso roast and candied peel that’s framed by a deft touch of creamy new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, with an ample, textural attack but a tight-knit, somewhat closed mid-palate that’s structured around fine-grained but firm tannins. While the 2014 isn’t as as broad-shouldered as the 2015, it’s a powerful, structured wine that will demand some patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPGeorges Faiveley won the right to include his family name in the name of this grand cru in 1937; it’s a 7.44-acre parcel within Le Rognet. Some of the vines today date back to 1936 and ’56, providing a complex 2014 with lasting floral intensity. The dense, raspberry-scented fruit is completely savory, with powerful tannins that lend it broad richness. Cellar this until it’s ten years old before you consider drinking it. Frederick Wildman and Sons, NYWine & Spirits | 92 W&S

(Volnay “Clos des Chênes”- Domaine Antonin Guyon) I always like the Guyon family’s Clos des Chênes and the 2016 is another fine example in the making. The wine is quite a bit more red fruity in personality than in many vintages, offering up a fine aromatic constellation of red plums, cherries, gamebird, a complex base of soil, mustard seed, woodsmoke and a bit of new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and tangy, with a sappy core, excellent transparency, fine-grained tannins and lovely grip on the long and complex finish. (Drink between 2026-2060)John Gilman | 92+ JGNotes of reduction and wood render the nose tough to evaluate today. Otherwise there is both good density and punch to the more mineral-suffused medium weight flavors that possess better power and persistence though the finish is very, very austere and as such, this won’t be for everyone.Burghound | 88-91 BH

The 2016 Meursault 1er Cru Perrières is the most distinctive wine in the range, unfurling in the glass with notes of lemon oil, crushed chalk, tart green apple, dried white flowers and struck flint. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, elegantly satiny and searingly intense, with tangy acids, huge concentration and the pronouncedly mineral, stony signature that always seems to mark out this bottling. Along with Genevrières, Coche’s parcel in Perrières was largely spared by the 2016 frosts. Given its utterly classic profile, a dozen years’ patience is advised.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault "Les Perrières" 1er Cru White) Here too there is plenty of floral influence to the airy but impressively dense aromas of various white orchard fruit, citrus, oyster shell and mineral reduction-suffused nose. Like several wines in the range in 2016, the medium weight plus flavors are not only almost painfully intense but overtly powerful with outstanding minerality that really surfaces on the driving and superbly complex finale. I usually prefer the Corton-Charlemagne in most vintages but 2016 may ultimately prove to be an exception. Either way, both are superb wines and if you can find, and afford, them I unreservedly recommend buying them. (Drink starting 2031).Burghound | 96 BH(Meursault “Perrières” - Domaine Coche-Dury) There was not a whole lot of frost damage in Perrières as well in 2016, so this wine chez Coche has also turned out very classical in personality. The bouquet is stunning and still quite youthful, offering up scents of apple, pear, stony minerality, iodine, hazelnuts, orange zest and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full and racy in profile, with a superb core of fruit, brilliant soil signature, snappy acids and a very, long, complex and laser-like finish. Domaine Coche-Dury has made the reference point example of Perrières for as long as I can remember and their 2016 is once again, the stuff of legend! (Drink between 2023-2060).John Gilman | 96+ JG(from what Raphaël Coche described as perfect grapes, untouched by frost): Penetrating scents of crushed stone and lemon; classic Perrières! Smooth and very dense on the palate, with its flavors of crushed rock, lemon, lime, underripe pineapple, flowers and saline minerality showing great inner-mouth tension. This, too, boasts terrific dry extract. Finishes with extraordinary sappiness and rising length, like an electric shock to the palate. This wonderfully juicy, digestible wine spreads out horizontally to excite the taste buds.Vinous Media | 95+ VM

Vestiges of malolactic fermentation presently mask the underlying fruit. On the plus side there is more volume still to the attractively textured medium weight flavors that brim with dry extract on the mineral-inflected, dry and focused finish. This is at once powerful yet refined and should also age well but be enjoyable young.Burghound | 89-92 BHLumpp opines that the stony, southeast-facing slopes of this lieu-dit represent Givry’s best terroir for white wine, and his 2016 Givry 1er Cru Crausot is certainly impressive, revealing fragrant aromas of white peaches and spring blossom, followed by a medium-bodied, elegantly glossy palate, with lovely purity and stony depth. It has the structure to improve with a few years’ bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

(Domaine Heitz-Lochardet Pommard "Les Rugiens" 1er Cru Red) Here the slightly less elegant and more deeply pitched nose offers up an attractively fresh and well-layered array of cherry, raspberry, violet, acacia and plenty of spice nuances. As one would expect, the medium weight plus flavors are notably bigger and more muscular with excellent power and drive on the delineated, mineral-inflected and much firmer finish. This youthfully austere effort is classic Rugiens and as such will need at least a decade of patience and probably more like 12 to 15 years of it. (Drink starting 2028).Burghound | 93 BHThe 2016 Pommard Les Rugiens 1er Cru has a crisp and refined bouquet with ebullient red berry fruit, briary and light sous-bois aromas. Classic in style, this feels refined and yet does not shortchange in terms of fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a rigid backbone. Quintessentially Pommard, there is just the right amount of dryness to get the saliva flowing. This is a serious, almost aloof Pommard that will not appeal to those with a penchant for more fruit-driven, Volnay-like Pinot Noir. For serious Pommard-lovers only. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (DIAM 5 closure).Vinous Media | 92 VM

(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Red) As is often the case, the highly perfumed nose is the most floral-inflected of the range with its equally cool and restrained array of violet and rose petal scents that combine with an extraordinary group of spice elements on the essence of red currant aromas. The mouthfeel of the imposingly-scaled and powerful flavors is again robust yet refined with just as much minerality as the Richebourg adding even more lift to the almost painfully intense and extravagantly long finish that also just goes and goes. There is a hint of backend warmth but it’s not enough to materially detract from the overall sense of harmony though I underscore that the ’16 LT is one very firm effort that will require decades to full shed its tannic shell. With that said, this is genuinely brilliant. (Drink starting 2041).Burghound | 98 BHMore reserved than the Richebourg and Romanée-St-Vivant, the 2016 La Tâche Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with aromas of wild berries, licorice, rose petal, smoked duck and love, framed by a touch of cedary new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and velvety, with a deep, concentrated but tight-knit core, its firm chassis of fine-grained, structuring tannins cloaked in succulent fruit, underpinned by juicy acids. The finish is long and reverberative. This is a stunning La Tâche in the making, but it is also one of the more reticent wines in the range and will demand some bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2016 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked on September 24–25 at 31hL/ha (the highest of the five crus). It has an utterly sublime bouquet of blackberry, briar, crushed limestone, a dash of cracked black pepper and a little oregano. This is extremely complex and displays exquisite focus, to the extent that you could just sit and nose it all day. The palate is beautifully balanced, the spicy red fruit framed by filigreed tannin that belies its backbone. There is a gentle crescendo from start to finish, though being La Tâche it retains complete control. The precision and detail in the final third are deeply impressive. Less fruit-forward than the 2015, and lightly spiced, with an insistent grip. There is a captivating sense of completeness that will ensure longevity through three or four decades. 1,814 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.Vinous Media | 98 VMA touch paler ruby in colour, this has a broodingly seductive fragrance combining red berries, cedary spice and an undertone of stalky whole-bunch. You just want to keep on sniffing it, and diving in reveals an underlying berry sweetness which follows though to the plump, fleshy and rounded palate. It’s full of copious loganberry fruit, with a continuing splash of cedar and sandalwood-like oak in combination. The texture is sleek and supple, the tannins almost imperceptible and beautifully rounded - that is until they creep up on you gradually, in combination with the juicy acidity, lending satisfying structural finesse and length. Drinking Window 2030 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DEC

The 2016 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru was showing a little more reduction on the nose compared to the Clos Saint-Denis, although I felt that there is more detail and complexity in situ. The palate is very refined with filigree tannin, great tension and focus, a gentle grip in the mouth with an almost tart, tensile finish that lingers in the mouth. I also appreciate the spiciness on the aftertaste. Superb.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93-95 RP-NMA broad-ranging nose is comprised by notes of earth, spice, plum, dark cherry, violet and more moderate though hardly subtle wood. The rich, round and impressively-scaled flavors possess fine density and evident power that carries over to the sappy and palate coating finish that is admirably persistent. This isn’t quite as complex as the Bèze but there is excellent underlying material such that this should ultimately transform into an excellent CdlR.Burghound | 92-94 BH(Clos de la Roche- Maison Louis Jadot) The 2016 Clos de la Roche from Maison Jadot was also showing very well indeed in late February. The bouquet is pure, elegant and very deep, offering up scents of red and black cherries, venison, woodsmoke, coffee, a complex base of soil and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a sappy core of fruit, excellent soil signature, fine-grained tannins and a very, very long, very pure and promising finish. Impressive. (Drink between 2028-2075)John Gilman | 93 JG

A well-layered nose blends notes of citrus, mineral reduction, Granny Smith apples and a touch of wood toast. There is both excellent minerality and punch to the moderately concentrated flavors that possess slightly better ripeness on the clean, dry and persistent finale. (Drink starting 2024)Burghound | 92 BH

Bright ruby-red. Complex but restrained soil-driven perfume of dark raspberry, mocha, flowers and menthol. Tightly wound and high-pitched in the mouth, with its penetrating flavors of raspberry, spices, licorice and herbs intensified by mineral energy. Youthfully tight, but the subtle, long, rising finish offers excellent grip.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMMore subtle but not invisible VA does not really impede an appreciation of the wonderfully spicy and floral aromas of both red and dark pinot fruit. The sleek, elegant and strikingly refined medium weight flavors display an abundance of minerality on the long, cool and much better balanced finale.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2016 Chambolle Musigny 1e Cru les Amoureuses has an understated bouquet, which is what you do not expect from this vineyard, gradually unfurling with blackberry, raspberry preserve, granite and smoke aromas, although it perhaps never quite slips into fifth gear. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and moderate acidity, but it is missing some tension and complexity toward the finish where it ought to be fanning out and sealing its reputation as a superior premier cru. I wonder if this was discombobulated by the frost in 2016?Robert Parker Neal Martin | 89-91 RP-NM

This 0.29ha parcel was planted (or replanted) in two stages - the 1930s and 1978 - so it has a high average age but plenty of concentration and complexity. It’s one of my red wines of the vintage in 2017, with a heavenly perfume, lovely wild strawberry and summer orchard scents, fine-grained tannins, some sweet spices and refreshing minerality. Stunning.Decanter | 98 DEC(Richebourg- Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat) The 2017 Richebourg from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is also a stunning wine, showing a beautifully elegant vintage veneer to its aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, plums, chocolate, gamebird, a nice base of soil tones, violets and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, long and quite soil-driven for a young Richebourg, with a sappy core of fruit, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, vibrant and energetic finish. This too is just stellar. (Drink between 2030 - 2100)John Gilman | 96+ JGThe 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru soars from the glass with a lovely bouquet of raspberries, black plums and blood orange, mingled with dark chocolate, smoked meats, rose petals and exotic spices. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, rich and enveloping, with a fleshy and layered core of ripe, concentrated fruit, lively acids and a long, gourmand finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru has a beautiful bouquet, very succinct and understated for a Richebourg and oh so precise. The palate is medium-bodied with strict tannin, a pinch of black pepper and bay leaf, and much more vibrant toward the finely structured finish. This is masculine and introspective, a Richebourg that will require considerable aging. At least at this stage, I feel the Romanée-Saint-Vivant has more charm and complexity.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMA slightly riper, exotic and ultra-spicy nose features notes of plum, violet, orange pekoe tea, sandalwood, anise and an interesting hint of clove. The intense, muscular and driving large-scaled flavors possess unusually good concentration in the context of the 2017 vintage while exhibiting an almost pungent minerality on the austere, backward and very tightly wound finish that just goes on and on. This built to age effort is already a knockout and if it can add even more depth with time in bottle, it could potentially be brilliant.Burghound | 93 BH

(Romanée-St.-Vivant- Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat) The 2017 Romanée-St.-Vivant from Monsieur van Canneyt is breathtakingly beautiful wine in the making. The bouquet is flat out stunning, soaring from the glass in a blaze of sappy black cherries, black raspberries, raw cocoa, a very complex base of minerality, duck, vanillin oak and an exotic touch of lavender in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, complex and full-bodied, with stunning depth at the sappy core, beautiful mineral drive and a long, tangy and fine-grained finish. This is light on its feet and yet loaded with sappy fruit and great minerality. A brilliant wine. (Drink between 2030-2100)John Gilman | 98 JGThis 1920 parcel is situated in the northern part of the Romanée-St-Vivant grand cru, very close to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s holdings - and it’s often a match for that wine. It’s detailed, lacy and refreshing, with adroitly integrated 50% new wood and layers of red cherry, raspberry and red plum fruit. It has focussed acidity and palate-caressing tannins. Effortlessly complex. Drinking Window 2023 - 2032Decanter | 97 DECThe 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of cherries, wild berries and plums, with nuances of orange rind, rose petals and Asian spices emerging as it sits in the glass. Full-bodied, deep and complete, the wine’s textural attack segues into a multidimensional mid-palate framed by melting but muscular tannins and lively acids.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThis 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru has a curious menthol-tinged bouquet offering plenty of fruit concentration to the mixture of red cherries, blueberry and cassis. Very opulent; maybe too much. The palate is sweet and candied, and there is quite a lot of new oak here and a lot of extraction. Powerful and virile, though de l’Arlot’s RSV exhibits more finesse and precision toward the finish. Maybe bottle age will temper its youthful decadence. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.asure.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru Red) There is a noticeable herbal tea character to the spicy red berry fruit aromas that are laced by hints of anise, hoisin and sandalwood. I very much like the excellent vibrancy of the beautifully detailed medium-bodied flavors that possess a silky mouthfeel that continues onto the dusty, linear and youthfully austere finish that is, somewhat curiously, a bit short. This is classy and delicious but the short finish concerns me and the herbal tea character is sufficiently prominent that it may not be to everyone’s liking. (Drink starting 2032).Burghound | 92 BH

If you like bold dry whites, then try this. Quite a tannic white Burgundy, but with richness that has a very positive impact on the wine. Plenty of citrus, plus some hazelnut and chalky character. Some real drive at the finish that promises a long life. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSA rich style, this white features lemon, peach and spice flavors, all backed by bright acidity. Balanced, leaving a chalky, even tannic impression on the long finish. Best from 2021 through 2029. 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSIt’s always interesting to compare and contrast Albert Bichot’s Clos des Mouches white with the one from Joseph Drouhin, as this comes from a slightly higher parcel on the slope. The oak is a little more clamorous here and needs more time to integrate, but this is tauter and crunchier with a little less in terms of mid-palate weight. Drinking Window 2020 - 2024.Decanter | 92 DEC(Domaine du Pavillon (Pommard) - Domaines Albert Bichot Beaune "Clos des Mouches" 1er Cru White) An overtly floral nose offers up notes of pearl, apple and citrus where the latter can also be found on the round, delicious and once again generously proportioned medium-bodied flavors that deliver perfectly good if not truly distinguished depth though I do like the length. Note that my rating once again offers the benefit of the doubt that more complexity will develop if this is allowed a few years of cellar time. (Drink starting 2022)Burghound | 90 BH

The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a very precise and focused bouquet, almost the epitome of transparency and utterly encapsulating. There is real mineralité here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very tensile from the start with tart red cherries, Japanese yuzu and orange zest that fans out beautifully on the finish. This is a Charmes-Chambertin with a skip in its step.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM(Charmes-Chambertin- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin from Domaine Armand Rousseau is another great vintage for this bottling, which has hit some superb high water marks in recent times, with 2005, 2010, 2014 and now 2017 a significant step up from what this bottling was capable of back in the decades of the 1980s or 1990s. The 2017 offers up a deep and nicely black fruity bouquet of black cherries, black plums, dark soil tones, raw cocoa, grilled meats, woodsmoke and a touch of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful in personality this year, with a sappy core of dark fruit, ripe, seamless tannins, excellent focus and grip and (Drink between 2029-2075).John Gilman | 94 JGLight, pale and charming, this is always the most approachable and forward of the Rousseau grand cru bottlings, almost ready to drink from barrel. It’s sweet and appealing, with supple summer pudding flavours, a hint of cola and supple tannins. Drinking Window 2023 - 2027.Decanter | 94 DEC(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Red) This too reflects just enough wood to mention as it serves as a relatively neutral backdrop for the restrained and pure essence of red pinot fruit, earth and discreet spice whiffs. The backward if supple medium-bodied flavors possess a beguiling sense of underlying tension that carries over to the detail but very firm, serious and youthfully austere finish that delivers sneaky good length. Of all the Rousseau wines, the Charmes has made the most progress over the last 5 years as it’s finally beginning to consistently achieve grand cru quality. (Drink starting 2032).Burghound | 91-93 BHRousseau’s 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is showing nicely, wafting from the glass with inviting aromas of red berries, plums and peonies mingled with hints of cedar, raw cocoa and mandarin orange. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, it’s soft and charming, with melting tannins and an ample core of fruit. Generous and demonstrative, like many 2017s it has picked up a bit of richness and depth in bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

(Chevalier-Montrachet- Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils) Alex Moreau’s 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet is one of the most stunning white wines to be found in the vintage in the Côte de Beaune. The bouquet is pure, complete and absolutely a quintessential expression of this magical terroir, delivering a magical constellation of pear, lemon blossoms, tangerine, a touch of crème patissière, orange zest, kaleidoscopic limestone minerality and a very classy base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, pure, racy and supremely elegant, with a full-bodied and flawless format, a great core of fruit, snappy acids and a long, laser-like and beautifully complex finish. Pure magic. (Drink between 2027 - 2070)John Gilman | 98 JGThe 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is showing brilliantly, soaring from the glass with a lovely bouquet of lemon oil, white flowers, crushed chalk, orange zest, green apple and blanched almonds. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with an incisive spine of acidity, superb tension and back-end grip and a long, mineral finish. This is a magical Chevalier that realizes all the promise it hinted at in barrel.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(the Moreaus have two 350-liter barrels of this wine, one of them new): Bright, light yellow. Classic high-pitched Chevalier-Montrachet aromas of lemon, lime, pear, white peach, lavender and white pepper. Densely packed but weightless, offering sharp definition and outstanding class to its flavors of lemon zest, crushed stone and mineral salts. This very dry, intense wine is quite tight but not hard, and its subtly mounting salty finish is hard to scrape off the palate. Alexandre Moreau will wait until at least next March to bottle this beauty.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMAs it sometimes is, the wonderfully elegant nose is restrained to the point of being almost mute and it requires aggressive swirling to finally liberate the mostly floral, citrus and white-fleshed fruit scents. There is plenty of the hallmark minerality to the big, powerful and almost painfully intense broad-shouldered flavors that deliver superb length on the impeccably well-balanced, explosive and bone dry finish that also displays a hint of quinine character. Despite all of the size, weight and intensity, this is quite classy, indeed the word silky comes to mind.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, the 2017 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru shows why this vintage is so compelling. Apricot, peach and tropical fruit give the 2017 a decidedly exotic flair, and yet bright acids keep the wine lively and energetic. Sweet floral and honeyed notes build into the creamy, layered finish in this super-expressive, inviting Chablis from Dauvissat.Antonio Galloni | 92-94 AG(Domaine Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat Chablis "Vaillons" 1er Cru White) There is evident Chablis typicity to the expressive and softly exotic nose that reflects notes of mineral reduction, white flower and tidal pool nuances. The sleek and mineral-driven flavors possess a relatively fine mouth feel, all wrapped in a markedly dry finish that is notably saline in character. While this isn’t especially dense I do like the balance. (Drink starting 2024).Burghound | 89-91 BH