Burgundy Wines

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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

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

Mid lemon and lime. A richer soil here than most Puligny, explains the weight. Several layers to this, a fine thread of acidity running through the middle alongside fresh peaches and more classical orchard fruits. Purchased 50 years ago by grandfather Jean because nobody else wanted it! How times have changed.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet from Domaine Chartron is another very fine village wine. It delivers a refined bouquet of white peach, apple, chalky soil tones, spring flowers, a nice touch of fresh almond and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, racy and sports a fine core of fruit, with a good soil foundation, seamless balance and a long, complex and nicely precise finish. Good juice. (Drink between 2025 - 2045)John Gilman | 91+ JGThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Village is a combination of Chartron’s own vineyard plus exchanges with other growers. This has commendable vivacity and focus, with Granny Smith and fresh Anjou pears on the nose. The palate is well defined with orchard fruit tones intermixed with touches of orange rind and spice. This has fine length and admirable precision for its class. It is recommended.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMMade from Les Benoîtes and young vine Caillerets. A lime tint to the colour, with some flesh on the nose, and a little well-judged oak. This is very prettily balanced, no more than medium depth, with a good fruit-acid balance. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-90 JMA more elegant and markedly more floral-suffused nose speaks of various white orchard fruit and quinine that is again trimmed in enough wood to notice. It can also be found on the rich and solidly voluminous flavors that possess a more sophisticated texture before concluding in a vaguely off dry finish. This is pretty but the off dry style appeals somewhat less to me than other wines in the range.Burghound | 88-91 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

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

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

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

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