Burgundy Wines

wines

Generous but not dominant wood fights a bit with the otherwise airy aromas of Granny Smith apples, just sliced citrus and a lovely array of Chablis elements that include iodine, oyster shell, and tidal pool wisps. The racy, intense and markedly stony broad-shouldered flavors possess evident power on the firm, compact and balanced finale that is dry but not especially austere. While perfectly normal in the context of what is typical for Les Clos, this is definitely going to need at least some forbearance, both to better integrate the wood treatment as well as develop better depth. Excellent.Burghound | 93-96 BH20% new wood and 80% inox for vinification, then all to barrel, but will not be bottled until February 2024. The bouquet shows all the majesty of Clos plus some wood as well. Early days. This absolutely fills the palate but the wood has the upper hand for the moment. It cannot entirely keep the fruit out of the picture though. This will get there but you need to wait. Drink from 2032-2040+. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JM

The red premier cru Gravières is the flagship of this estate. It is widely seen as the finest vineyard in Santenay, and Jessiaume owns more than five hectares; the bulk of this is included here. This substantial wine is slightly reticent on the initial attack, but it opens with time to show deep mulberry and plum fruit aromas, hints of exotic black tea and spice. The texture is dense and firm, with silky but supportive tannins and impressive persistence on the palate. The grapes are destemmed and gently fermented before ageing for 12 months in cask (25% new).Decanter | 94 DECA fine flowing crimson purple colour. The bouquet has both class and a sense of reserve. Dark raspberry fruit, but the key is that this wine is busting with energy without sacrificing finesse. The tannins are correctly ripe and integrate beautifully, and there is just the right point of acidity alongside. An impeccable finish. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JM

Bottled yesterday. Pale colour, elegant and stylish, then keeps going, this isa Folatières of elegance more than weight, with a classy and nuanced white fruit. Allow for this to develop more body as it grows up in bottle. Drink from 2028-2037. Tasted Oct 2023.Jasper Morris | 94 JMThere is a vague whiff of the exotic present on the elegant nose that offers up essence of pear, passion fruit and discreet floral wisps. The middleweight flavors are finer though not as concentrated while displaying very good length on the, stone and bitter lemon-inflected bone-dry finale.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vide Bourse shows considerable promise, unwinding in the glass with aromas of pear and orange oil mingled with notes of white flowers, mint and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and structured, with lively acids, chalky grip and a resonant finish, it will only be bottled after a second winter on the lees.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPLike the Vergers, the wood treatment is prominent but not invasive as it permits the ripe and again vaguely exotic aromas of white and yellow peach, passion fruit and citrus confit to be appreciated. The wood also appears on the caressing and plush medium weight plus flavors that are also blessed with an abundance of sappy dry extract that coats the palate on the powerful and serious but well-balanced and refreshing finale. While this could be approached young, I would advise holding it for at least a few years first so that the wood treatment can more completely integrate.Burghound | 92 BHPale lemon. Powerful character. Stands up like a limestone menhir. Too concentrated to see all the detail yet, with also a little salinity. Mostly white fruit but with some riper yellow tints to it. Clean at the finish, not too oaky, and of course persistent. Drink from 2028-2036. Tasted Oct 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JM

Raveneau mature all its Petit Chablis in 400 and 500-hectolitre barrels. Plenty of interest here, with density of ripe stone fruit and very linear acidity. Undoubtedly a very high class Petit Chablis which focuses on precision and elegance.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECThe 2022 Petit Chablis has a pretty bouquet with lime and light Golden Delicious scents. The palate is well balanced with a citric entry, modest weight, a little chalky in texture towards the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

The 2022 Pouilly-Fuissé Ax - B comes from the non-Première Cru classified part of Aux Bouthières and pressed at very low pressure, and aged for 15 months in used barrel. This is initially very understated, demands more coaxing from the glass than the Vieilles Vignes. But with time, it offers more mineralité and terroir expression, fine delineation with subtle struck flinty aromas manifesting with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with a taut line of acidity, certainly spicier and more peppery than the Vieilles Vignes with a soft landing on the finish. Great complexity here as I found in barrel last year - recommended.Vinous Media | 92 VM

From 60-year-old southeast-facing vines, with 10% of the blend matured in new oak. This shows Mont de Milieu at its best. Floral notes combine with good ripeness of stone fruit on the palate, freshened up by lovely acidity. Plenty of mineral notes add extra complexity to the whole. A fine premier cru which has power but in a refined, elegant package.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECAs is often the case with Mont de Milieu, there is a trace of exoticism suffusing the white and yellow fruit aromas along with classic Chablis elements of oyster shell, iodine and algae, all of which is trimmed in noticeable though still reasonably subtle wood influence. There is excellent size, weight, density and power to the succulent but muscular larger-bodied flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract while delivering excellent length on the overtly stony finish. This bone-dry and highly recommended effort is also going to require patience.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2022 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru sees ten months on the fine less. It has a keen, fresh, marine-influenced bouquet with dewy green apples and kiwi fruit. Fine delineation. The palate is fresh and vibrant, the acidity well judged with just a slight creaminess creeping in toward the finish. I’d afford this 12 months in bottle; it should evolve into a fine Mont de Milieu. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis. (Drink between 2025 - 2036)Vinous Media | 92 VM15% is vinified in new wood, then matured as the other 1ers crus. A little more yellow in the colour, and a slight touch of coconut on the nose. The wood can be detected on the palate too but it will certainly integrate. There is a fine full bodied classical Chablis lurking behind. A notably long succulent finish, then some classical minerality. Certainly, a fine acid balance. They make sure to pick here very early thus avoiding the over exotic character seen in some cellars. The 2022 is set to be a great success. Drink from 2028-2038. Tasted Jun 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

The 2022 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru has a lovely bouquet with pretty green apples, sea spray and light limestone/petrichor scents—quite nuanced, but it keeps you coming back. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, fresh and saline, gaining depth toward the finish with hints of hazelnut and grilled walnut. A residual spiciness is just what’s needed. This is an involving Les Preuses that you want to get to know better. Excellent. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 94+ VMHere too moderate wood sets off equally cool and pure aromas that are mainly composed of essence of white orchard fruit, quinine, spice and a plethora of citrus elements. On the palate of the medium weight plus flavors there is also a noticeable restraint, even coolness, to the refined, balanced, wonderfully long and Zen-like finish. This is lovely and while the impeccable balance should permit it to be enjoyed young, it should also enable this beauty to reward a decade, or even long, of keeping.Burghound | 92-95 BHA clear bright pale yellow. The bouquet is not yet showing. This is sturdy stuff on the palate, not the warm woolly overcoat that Preuses can sometimes be, though it extends further on the palate. A little warmth but not out of balance in a grand cru. Persistent. I don’t think this has yet found its personality. Drink from 2029-2038. Tasted Jun 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

Crafted by an estate with a history dating back to 1859, this creamy, intense Chardonnay is barrel-fermented and aged on fine lees for eight months. It has rich aromas of vanilla and citrus pastry on the nose and palate, with pronounced ripeness and lovely freshness. Honeydew melon, peach, and more vanilla cake linger on.Decanter Magazine | 92 DEC

TOP VALUE Jessiaume is using the 2ha of domaine vines it recently recovered from a sharecropping contract to produce this lovely wine with aromatic raspberry fruit and a floral edge. Supple and approachable, with a pleasant sweetness to the fruit, structure and freshness. A noticeable step up from the other village-level bottlings. Organic.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECThis red Santenay has a crisp acidity, but there’s excellent concentration and finely nuanced red-fruit aromas that easily balance this. Cool and elegant on the medium-bodied palate, where the fine-grained tannins, fruit and freshness neatly interlock. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2022 Santenay La Cassière has a pleasant bouquet with wild strawberry and raspberry fruit and some judicious and prudent use of new oak (20%). The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit, more harmonious, and unlike the Vieilles Vignes, the finish has more substance. Drink over 4-6 years.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMFrom a plot below La Maladière, recovered by the domaine in 2021. An attractive lighter purple colour. This is an elegant style of Santenay. Quite nuanced, pleasing light red fruits, enough acidity and good length. Very far from rustic! Tasted Oct 2023.Jasper Morris | 87-90 JM

Aromas of honeyed orchard fruits, peach and butter pastry introduce the 2023 Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles, a full-bodied, layered and unctuous wine that’s generous and enveloping. As usual, it’s one of the more gourmand, textural wines in the range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPOvertly spicy, fresh and elegant white flower and citrus-infused aromas display good Chablis typicity. The textured and extremely rich large-scaled flavors are plush, even lush, with an abundance of sappy dry extract that stains the palate on the powerful and firm if mildly warm finale that also could use better depth. The Droin Grenouilles always ages well and the 2023 version should be no exception.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2023 Chablis Grenouilles Grand Cru has a backward nose, stoic and saying very little at the moment. Touches of powdered chalk and granite. The palate has more going on–very good body, again, slightly honeyed in texture, and gentle grip. It just misses a bit of bite on the finish, but there is impressive purity. Give it two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92 VMVinified with 50% wood which marries with the spicy qualities of Grenouille. White clay gives the muscle, along with the age of the vines which were mostly planted in 1947. There are sweeter notes to the fruit, slightly reminiscent of Roussanne. The rich white fruit avoids the tropical and there is a commendably long finish. Never a shellfish wine, Grenouille can be enjoyed with seafood in a creamy sauce or indeed meat dishes. Drink from 2027-2036. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-94 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 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 Vosgros 1er Cru shows a small reduction when taken directly from vat. It eventually offers shucked oyster shell on the nose, quite strict and focused. The palate is very smooth, a little creamier in texture compared to the Vaucoupin. Touches of lemongrass and Vervane flowers lend intrigue on the finish. Real panache here and it may have its nose in front come bottling.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAn expressive and airy nose reflects an abundance of Chablis typicity that include just sliced lemon, iodine, shellfish and quinine. The rich and generously proportioned medium-bodied flavors possess fine mid-palate density and a lovely texture while delivering excellent persistence on the balanced and refreshingly dry finish. This too is very good and a wine that should also amply repay mid-term keeping.Burghound | 92 BHBottled in March 2025. Pale lemon and lime, fresh for 2023. A vinous nose, touch of coconut quite generous. Not too fleshy but in a style heading in that direction. Some minerality but less precision than 2024. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

Old vines directly on the mother rock. Mid lemon yellow, a bouquet which is more about ripe citrus and maybe some herbal notes, verbena. Striking linear energy on the palate, the ripe citrus continuing through to the finish. All the Chassagne-Montrachet 1ers crus are quite different, which is a very positive point in favour of the vintage (and Adrien’s skills!) Drink from 2028-2034. Jasper Morris | 93 JMAromas of pear, pastry cream and white flowers introduce the 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers, a medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless wine that’s pure and racy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPA slightly cooler and airier nose is comprised by notes of just sliced citrus and apple along with pretty floral nuances. The middle weight flavors aren’t not as rich or powerful though they are finer with a subtle minerality adding a sense of lift to the vibrant, balanced and long finale that isn’t quite as complex. While this isn’t quite as interesting as the Fairendes, it still merits interest.Burghound | 91 BH

The village-level Chablis from Billaud-Simon is a classic expression of the terroir, with aromas of lemon peel and white flowers and a fine, silky texture. The acidity is balanced if not pronounced, giving the wine finesse without a lot of tension. Régisseur Olivier Bailly notes that this final year of organic conversion was a struggle with the weather, but he is pleased with the final blend, which included 25% cask-fermented wine.Decanter Magazine | 92 DEC

A dizzying array of aromas range from green apple and peach to soft white blossoms and spice. The texture is dense, but surprisingly good acidity for the vintage deftly balances the richness and carries the wine to a solid finish. Grapes from the best village-level sites throughout the appellation are fermented in stainless steel tanks and large casks (15%), then the wine aged for six months on its fine lees to give a bit more depth. Will drink well on release and represents fantastic value in Chablis.Decanter Magazine | 92 DECReserved aromas of yellow apple, forest floor and pear blossom open on the nose. Steely in texture the palate is well served by chalk-dusted acidity that brightens the finish with an added twist of lemon peel. Pair with langoustines, mussels and goat cheese.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The 2023 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has an attractive bouquet that seems to "expand" in the glass: apricot and peach skin meet a touch of melted candle wax, all nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine mineralité, fresh and focused, gaining weight towards the finish, which actually reminds me of the Perrières from Ballot-Millot. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VM

This village-level terroir produced an arrestingly good wine in 2023, offering aromas of ripe pear, hazelnut and a crisp, linear tension on the palate, tempered by enough ripeness and the density given by the clay soils. The grapes are from the domaine-owned parcel in the valley leading to La Rochepot in a cold, windy spot at 430m elevation. Although this should drink well on release, it is eminently suited for mid-term ageing.Decanter Magazine | 93 DEC

Displays a bright lemon peel and green apple fruit, with a bottom note of flinty minerality and just a hint of smoky reduction. The texture, however, is richer than the aromas would lead one to think – it is supple and approachable, with a hint of hazelnut on the agreeable finish. The domaine farms slightly more than a quarter-hectare near the base of the slope.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECPale colour, a softer white orchard fruit on the nose, there being more clay in the soil here. The mouth retains a certain juiciness, with the apples expanding towards the back of the palate. Clean and correct. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

Because it is blocked by the peak known as the Roche Dumay, this south-facing slope overlooking the hamlet of Gamay does not get the sun until after 10am, but it has light into the evening, lending the fruit a slightly exotic passion fruit character. The texture is not heavy, however, and winemaker Sébastien Caillat manages both elegance and finesse, although he notes that the ripeness can jump quickly at the end of the season.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECIn the hail corridor. .En Créot does not see the sun until 10am so harder to do the treatments when there is still dew. Pale in colour with a light white fruit. Some ripe apples, middleweight, a little more mineral tension than the village wine, with good length. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

A wine to seek out. Racy and very fine, the grapes come from the very top of the slope, and offer forward aromas of lime peel and gooseberry with a flinty, mineral edge. Marvellous acidity and great depth of flavour on the palate, along with a pleasantly silky texture. Although this will be attractive when bottled, it can also be aged.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECGrapes from less vigorous plants, situated on the limestone upper hillside. Very pale, stones in whitewash on the nose. Classy and classical, with an extra kick of fresh white fruit and lemon acidity at the finish. Persistent, more my style of wine. More nuanced at the finish. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier is very pure and sensual on the nose, with generous red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit tones that envelop the senses. The palate is well balanced with a gentle grip, but there is more energy and greater frisson toward the finish than the Vieilles Vignes, which beckons you back for another sip. This is excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMHere too there is just enough wood to merit pointing out suffusing the compositionally similar, if less expressive, nose. The succulent and rounded medium weight flavors still manage to retain good detail on the solidly powerful, youthfully austere and moderately rustic finish that is both compact and robust. This is an excellent Gevrey villages that is worth your interest.Burghound | 90 BH

Like the 2023 les Minots, the la Forêt chez Piuze is nicely expressive and generous right out of the blocks this year and will drink beautifully from the moment of release. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of lemon, pear, chalky minerality, fruit blossoms, beeswax and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and succulent at the core, with lovely mineral drive and grip, bouncy acids and a long, seamlessly balanced and zesty finish. Fine juice. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 93 JGThe more giving, fruit-forward 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts offers a lovely contrast to the pronouncedly mineral Séchet. “It comes from the bottom of the valley, where the soils are deeper,” observes Piuze, and it’s evident in the glass, as the wine wafts with a deep bouquet of beeswax, peach skin and pear mingling with savory tones. Flamboyant, elegantly muscular and enveloping, it’s fleshy yet laden with lively acidity, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP