Red Wines

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In 2021, the domaine protected this site above all from frost but still lost half their crop, despite being surrounded by the also well-protected vines of Domaine Leflaive. Accessible almost even now, the aromas of green apple and passionfruit, coconut, butter, and baking spice are almost opening even now. There is a lovely freshness and silky texture, yet this is a powerful wine with impressive length and density at the end. This should open in five years and continue to improve for at least twenty-five more.Decanter | 96 DECA gorgeously fresh, airy and cool nose combines notes of green apple, a panoply of white flowers nuances, wet stone and a pretty array of exotic spice elements, especially jasmine. There is a notably more refined mouthfeel to the tautly muscular and overtly mineral-driven medium weight plus flavors that exhibit focused power on the impressively long, balanced, youthfully austere and very classy finale. This is exceptionally stylish and a wine that should easily reward a decade plus of keeping.Burghound | 94 BH

An extremely subtle application of wood can be found on the cool if decidedly reluctant nose of spiced green apple, beeswax and citrus zest aromas. The palate impression of the medium weight plus flavors is quite interesting in that there is excellent concentration and power yet they are not massively scaled while maintaining impeccable balance on the palate etching and stunningly long finish, indeed I could still taste this 3 hours later. This is one extremely classy Montrachet and one of the jewels of the 2021 vintage.Burghound | 97 BHBeeswax and lime blossom, especially the latter, which Guillaume finds typical of Montrachet. The Montrachet shows both class and intensity over and above the Bâtard as indeed should be the case. Brilliantly racy despite the intensity. This year there is one 228 litre barrel instead of the usual 350, and made up in zebra fashion, half new wood with alternate dowels. Drink from 2030-2040.Jasper Morris | 95 JMThere’s only one 228-liter barrel of the 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru, so Boillot asked his favored cooper to assemble a special barrel, with alternating new and used staves. Delivering aromas of pear, honeycomb, freshly baked bread, spices and toasted nuts, it’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit and a long, nutmeg-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru is incredibly airy and nuanced. Candied lemon peel, mint, tangerine oil and white flowers show effortless grace. This is an especially restrained, super-elegant Montrachet that shows Puligny’s finesse. The 2021 is absolutely exquisite. I doubt I will ever taste it again, though. Bright saline notes punctuate the super-expressive finish. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

This exquisite wine has intense red and black fruit aromas with a floral edge and an almost salty savoury intensity. The texture is silky but tightly wound. It is commonly thought that the upper part of Suchots is superior, but this version gives that idea the lie. Here, the 100-year-old vines in the domaine’s 0.45-hectare parcel make the wine special, along with Van Caneyt’s very able winemaking. This wine should open well in three to five years and will undoubtedly last another 40 (at least) beyond that.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECThe 2022 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots is one of the highlights of the range this year. Wafting from the glass with aromas of plums, cassis, orange zest and exotic spices and framed by a deft application of new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, concentrated and multidimensional, with terrific depth, velvety tannins and a long, broad finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2022 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru has an overtly floral bouquet with rose petals and violets complementing the red fruit. It’s vivacious as it was in barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with edgy, succulent tannins and iodine touches. The finish needs a little more complexity and nerve. Tasted at the Stannary Wines dinner in London with Charles van Canneyt.Vinous Media | 92 VMOnce again the nose is wonderfully fresh and even spicier with its aromas of poached plum and liqueur-like dark pinot fruit that is also tinged with exotic tea wisps. There is noticeably better density to the caressing and seductively textured yet decided powerful flavors that brim with dry extract before concluding in a moderately austere and hugely long finale. This too is quite compact and very much built to repay extended keeping.Burghound | 92-94 BHA distinguished crimson purple. The oak is a little more apparent, and the fruit a riper, fleshier raspberry. Oak continues to take a hand but the fruit stays with it. Lower acidity in the Suchots, at least by taste. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

The 2002 Clos de Vougeot le Grand Maupertui Grand Cru, which comes from vines born in 1904, is endowed with darker fruit than the Grands-Echézeaux. Well-defined, maybe a little opulent in style, yet still controlled. The palate is well-endowed with dark berry fruit, more black than red, pain d’épice and white pepper. There’s plenty of substance and grip towards the finish. But it is always elegant and deserves 10-12 years in bottle. Excellent.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThe vines were planted in 1904. A richer deeper ruby purple. A flamboyant pure fruit on the nose, sort of unexpected for Clos Vougeot. Excellent tension on the palate, all the structure that a Clos Vougeot needs but nothing in excess. Seamless, sensual, yet with all the strictness it should have. Very fine. Drink from 2032-2040. Tasted: November 2023.Jasper Morris | 95-98 JMThis is also quite spicy and even more aromatically restrained with its fresh nose of earthy red pinot fruit. The denser and even more powerful larger-bodied flavors deliver excellent length on the impressively long and very much built-to-age if decidedly austere finale that flirts with rusticity. This is a classic CV and one that should age accordingly.Burghound | 92-95 BH

This surprisingly expressive wine opens with profuse aromas of violets and blackberry underscored with a firmly saline mineral note. I found the wine very generous; Cyprian Arlaud commented ’I try to make it as a Charmes-Chambertin. The parcel, however, is in Mazoyères, just under the road that separates it from Latricières. Its grippy tannic texture on the finish seems to start as a seductive Charmes but finish more faithful to the somewhat stricter Mazoyères mould.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2022 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, one of the last to be picked over three different passes, has a plush and expressive bouquet with dark cherries, raspberry coulis and light violet petal aromas that recede and reveal orange rind and yuzu scents. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grip on the entry. It’s a solid Charmes-Chambertin that is Mazoyères in style because, well, that’s where it’s from! A serious Charmes-Chambertin that will age well in bottle.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMA solid mid purple. Relatively luscious dark red fruit on the nose. The acidity pokes out a little bit at the moment, along with the stonier side of the vineyard, but I think this is more a question of the stage the wine is at. I did not quite get the succulent strawberry overcoat of which Charmes is capable. Perhaps, for once, Cyprien has made more of a Mazoyères than a Charmes? Drink from 2032-2039. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMMortet’s 2022 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is pretty and demonstrative, bursting with aromas of plums, cherries, sweet red berries, petals and spices. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with an enveloping core of fruit and melting tannins, it concludes with a mouthwatering finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPHere the wood treatment is admirably discreet on the nose of cool, pure and restrained aromas that blend notes of wild red and dark cherry with those of spice, earth and a hint of violet. There is a beguiling underlying tension though not quite the same concentration to the elegant middleweight flavors that flash a bit more minerality on the finely detailed and youthfully austere finale. While this could use better depth, I like the balance and this too should age gracefully.Burghound | 92-94 BH

The magnificent, carousel-like sweep of the hill of Corton – almost 100 m top to bottom, and revelling in every exposition save north – means that exact location on the hill is critical for quality. The white wines of Corton-Charlemagne come overwhelmingly from south-west- and west-facing vineyards, coolly exposed, so often these are among the least articulate of all Burgundy’s great white Grands Crus in their youth. Not, though, in the case of this wine from the generous 2022 vintage. It’s promisingly pale, but already compelling on the nose, with subtle oak, wild hawthorne blossom and refined grape and cool citrus. It has all the controlled breadth you’d expect on the palate with more white blossom and subtle, vinous, breath-freshening fruits. The finish is long and lingering, mingling ripe, fruit-bonded acidity with a quiet pulse of ripeness. It will, of course, be better after a decade in a cool cellar, but there’s nothing to stop you enjoying the wine soon, either. Alcohol 13.0%. (DWWA 2024). - Decanter | 97 DECFour plots all in Pernand. Pale in colour with ripe apple notes. The bouquet suggests a leaner style of wine than the palate delivers, which may be a question of being just after bottling. There is some complexity on the palate, a little lime, a phenolic touch. I don’t notice the 40% new wood, so there is clearly good fruit concentration.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

The old vines of the 0.62-hectare parcel that Dujac farms in Puligny have produced a wine of great intensity and concentration in 2022, with aromas of lemon peel and nectarines and a smoky, flinty character that is more typical of Puligny than it is of the nearby Meursault Charmes. The structure is linear and taught, but there is enough extract to ensure that this should age exceptionally well. For best results, give this wine three to five years in the bottle before opening.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes is a touch more reductive out of the gates, unwinding to reveal notes of toasted hazelnuts, pear, apple, white flowers and buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and chiseled, it’s more concentrated and more incisive that the Folatières and concludes with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-93 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru is more nuanced on the nose than the Les Folatières, with more sharpness and a touch more nervosité coming through with aeration, which is often the case when the two are compared side-by-side. The palate is well-balanced with a vivid entry, spicier than the Les Folatières with touches of lemongrass towards the intense finish. Just need to muster a little more refinement.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMFrom 75 year old vines. Full yellow, with both some wood and some reduction on the nose. Clearly denser fruit, evident even on the nose. A broad fruit, ripe apples, with a thread of acidity which is useful given the ripe style of the fruit. Slightly longer at the finish. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMA whiff of exoticism is present on the aromas of poached apple, lychee, white peach and mineral reduction. The finer and classier medium-bodied flavors possess good underlying tension on the stony bone-dry finish that displays slightly better length.Burghound | 91-93 BH

Complex smoky and nutty character, excellent concentration with a wonderful mineral acidity that keeps this very bright through the long, multilayered finish. No hint of anything exotic or overly ripe in spite of the ample depth.James Suckling | 96 JS

Here the equally cool, airy and elegant nose reflects citrus and floral scents that are liberally-suffused with a similar dose of borderline pungent wet stone nuances. There is both excellent volume and focused power to the dense and intense medium-bodied flavors that exude an almost palpable minerality on the superbly long finish that comes close to etching itself on the palate. This is an absolute knockout and a clear candidate for the best premier cru of the vintage.Burghound | 96 BHGuillaume Boillot continues to work his nearly four hectares of old vines in the Clos de la Mouchère in several parcels; we tasted each section separately. The vines near the wood surrounding Clos de la Garenne have bright citrus notes with hints of flint and mineral. Those near Clavoillon have more of a ripe pear and marzipan aroma; they are less focused but have more density, elegance and depth. The combination makes a superb wine that is one of the delights of Boillot’s cellar.Decanter | 95 DECMid yellow, with a biscuity touch. Seems unsubtle until you get to the palate which is super powerful but also with subtlety. This Monopole vineyard comprises four distinct terroirs though they are always assembled. An electric backbone stops the power overturning the balance. Yellow fruit, and then an extraordinary, indeed grand cru, weight. Incisive white fruit finish. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru is one of the most shut down of the whites in this vast range. Mineral and savory notes abound, but fruit is decidedly pushed into the background. Citrus confit, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all race across the palate. There’s quite a bit of youthful austerity at this stage, but this should come together in time. A whole range of complex floral and tropical nuances linger. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

Lush, juicy and seductive, this red features blackberry, black currant, blueberry, iron and earth aromas and flavors. Quickly tightens up courtesy of the solid structure, with fine promise for its evolution. Offers terrific balance and length. Best from 2029 through 2047. 400 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2022 Nuits Saint-Georges Clos des Porrets-Saint-Georges 1er Cru had been racked the previous week, but it was essentially the final wine I tasted as it was just about to be bottled. It has a stricter and more backward bouquet than the Chênes Carteaux: blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, the 20% new oak neatly folded in. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannins, leaning more towards black fruit laced with tar and tobacco. Quite Morey-like towards the finish with impressive persistence. Give this two or three years in bottle to shave the edges. Very fine.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMRacked, to bottle in December. 35 hl/ha. A darker purple, just a little oak showing on the nose alongside the dark raspberry fruit. The grain of tannin is very good, and ideally integrated, with just the right acidity as well. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThis manages to be at once ripe yet cool with its layered combination of black cherry, plum and just turned earth and humus nuances. There is notably better density and volume to the bigger-bodied flavors that coat the palate with dry extract on the firm, moderately austere and sneaky long finish. This by contrast is going to need at least a few years of keeping first.Burghound | 90-92 BH

This blended premier cru has always been the chouchou (special favourite) of Laurent Lignier. It is two-thirds of a hectare, blended from Faconnières and Les Cheneverey. The vines were planted beginning in 1936, the youngest—in 1962. It usually gives a wine that is a model of elegance and finesse, and 2022 is no exception, with pronounced aromas of mulberry and cassis touched with violets, liquorice, and cedar. The texture is ethereal and perfumed, yet the finish is astonishingly long. This wine should be accessible relatively early and should drink for 20 years at least.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECClear bright and lively ruby purple. Super perfume, this has an innate class over and above even the Chaffots, with a lovely tensile strength. More red fruit than black, perfectly poised, with a long stylish finish. All in finesse! Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2022 Morey-Saint-Denis Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru comes 60% from Les Faconnières and the rest from Chenevery. The very complex bouquet has a mixture of red and black fruit, detailed with crushed rock and graphite. The medium-bodied palate has fine-grain tannins with that graphite element hovering in the background. It is very detailed and precise toward the finish. This is one of Lignier’s finest cuvées, and the 2022 is no different. Superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe 2022 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes unwinds in the glass with aromas of rich, smoky berry fruit mingled with notes of rose petals, spices and grilled squab. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins, it concludes with a perfumed finish. As usual, it’s one of the high points of the range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThis is also firmly reduced. By contrast, there is a lovely sense of freshness and verve suffusing the exceptionally rich and highly seductive medium-bodied flavors that brim with old vine sappy dry extract while exhibiting evident minerality on the superbly long, balanced and powerful finish. This is excellent and, along with the Combottes, almost always the domaine’s best 1er.Burghound | 91-94 BH

Small yield, very concentrated, with masses of density on the palate. Plenty of drive and energy but has finesse to balance out the power. White peach fruit characters, vibrant acidity and a pronounced mineral, salty finish. Very long future ahead. Fèvre owns 4.1ha of the 25ha total within Les Clos. Its plots situated on the top of the hill, with 50% of the vines planted by William Fèvre’s father in the 1940s and 1950s.Decanter | 95 DECMostly from old vines, a good half planted between 1948 and 1952. Translucent lemon and lime colour. The bouquet is not ready to unfurl yet there is a sense of sublime purity about the nose. A wine in perfect harmony on its wide bench of white fruit. Just a little touch of spice behind, good acidity. Sign up for this! Drink from 2032-2045. Jasper Morris | 95-98 JMThis is aromatically quite similar to the Côte Bouguerots but with more floral influence. The rich, big-bodied and tautly muscular flavors are also seemingly chiseled from Kimmeridgian, all wrapped in a wonderfully persistent, very dry, balanced and stony finale. This is also extremely impressive and equally built to repay extended cellaring.Burghound | 93-95 BHThe 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a surprisingly primal bouquet with gooseberry, melon, fruits de mer and citrus peel, with more oyster shell scents developing as it opens, though never quite achieving the flair of the Valmur. The palate is well-balanced, steely and strict, with fine intensity and a saline finish. But it doesn’t quite have the precision of Fevre’s best cuvées at the moment.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

Beautiful mix of richness, grace and drive. As always with Fèvre’s Les Preuses, this is elegant, long-living and fine. Ultra-stylish and very mineral. From two sections of vines. One situated low down on Les Preuses next to Vincent Dauvissat’s plot, on the flatter part facing south, the other on deeper soils, with both adding richness and totalling 2.5ha.Decanter | 96 DECSuch a fresh lime infused colour. The bouquet shows the soft creamy riches that you can find here in Les Preuses. There is plenty of bulk but the hectare plot which drops down into Vaudésir gives the mineral tension. A little lime and lemon coats the tongue at the finish. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe 2022 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru is not unlike the Valmur on the nose: backward and a little sultry in style, with faint touches of crustacea coming through. The palate is more generous with orchard fruit, hints of apricot and wild peach, and fine acidity. It is very harmonious but without quite the same complexity as the Valmur on the finish. Still, this should give many years of drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA toasty nose features notes of smoky grilled shellfish, pear and algae. The dense and equally serious larger-scaled flavors don’t have quite the same power yet they are clearly more refined on the markedly bitter citrus zest finish that displays outstanding length. This is exceptionally classy and while it too could use more depth, that is all but assured if given a chance.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Now from bottle, the 2022 Cornas Patou is rocking stuff. Sporting a deep purple hue as well as powerful aromatics of ripe red plums, black cherries, roasted garrigue, violets, and pepper, it has full-bodied richness, a pure, layered mouthfeel, the firmer, focusing tannins of the vintage, and one hell of a great finish. This sensational Cornas is going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and should have a solid two decades of overall longevity. Drink 2026-2046.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe old vines in the Patou climat owned by Gilbert and Nicolas Serrette are veritably old vines, as the youngest in their parcel were planted in the 1920s! Their 2022 Patou comes in at 13.5 percent octane and delivers a stunning aromatic constellation of red and black raspberries, smoked meats, pepper, a beautiful array of spice tones, a complex foundation of stony soil elements, hints of the lavender to come with bottle age and a topnote of distant bonfire. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core of fruit, a good undercarriage of tannin, fine balance and grip and a long, youthful and extremely promising finish. I suspect that this wine’s lower octane level is a reflection of these old vines having shut down for a bit during the mid-summer drought, but there is plenty of fruit here to outride the tannins and in due course, this is going to be a gorgeous bottle of Cornas. But, it is a very traditionally-styled example and will require plenty of patience. My gut feeling is that ultimately, it will share much of the same size and shape as the beautiful wines from the 1988 vintage when they were ready to drink. (Drink between 2035 - 2085)John Gilman | 94 JGOffers a classic Cornas combo of dark fruit against a granite mineral wall. Keeps a freshness, too, alongside an expressive well of cherry, licorice, black pepper and allspice. Earth and salt notes layer in, bringing savory freshness. Graphite shaving and apple wood smoke details ground the full-bodied finish, which is firm and structured. Best from 2027 through 2039. 500 cases made, 90 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2022 Cornas Patou wafts from the glass with intense orange blossom, violet, raspberry compote, blackberry liqueur, cedar, hints of leather and crushed rocks. The 2022 is an intense Cornas framed by boatloads of ripe tannins, with secure aging potential. I’m quite curious as to how this will show from bottle.Vinous Media | 91-94 VMThe 2022 Cornas Patou, harvested between September third and fourth, displays an inky bouquet rich in spices, flowers and meaty aromas. It’s medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, offering a structured and firm texture, suggesting the presence of phenols that contribute to the meaty notes in the finish and underscores the wine’s robust character.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

Wonderful nose of flint and grilled baguette with a touch of acacia. So energetic and racy, this is a strong argument for the greatness of Saint-Aubin. Excellent concentration in spite of being only medium-bodied. Long, driving, mineral finish. Very limited production. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

Bize owns 2.1 hectares here, including a half-hectare of Chardonnay. The red has an explosive blackberry and wild strawberry fruit aroma with hints of fresh and dried flowers, earth, and cigar leaf. The texture is tannic and firm but less tightly-wound than the 2020s. Fermentation is done as whole clusters; the wine is aged in cask, with just 5 – 10% new. When finished, this delicious wine should be approachable earlier than some vintages have been.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2022 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Vergelesses 1er Cru has a complex and perhaps cerebral nose: dark berry fruit, black pepper, green tea and light scents of damp moss/forest floor. This unfurls beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins framing gorgeous dark berry fruit, a little peppery in style, quintessentially Savigny with a very persistent finish. Everything you want from a Savigny Premier Cru (and more).Vinous Media | 93-95 VMHalf in a foudre, half in a barrel. Pale colour with a faint green streak. The reduction is keeping the wine tense, while the fruit on the palate is immediately engaging. Ripe limes, fresh apple, a certain sensuality behind, and an excellent long finish. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMCool, fresh and bright aromas of red currant, cherry, warm earth and a hint of spice are trimmed in a plethora of floral elements. The rich, velvety and solidly voluminous flavors possess the best concentration in the range while displaying focused power on the firm, serious, moderately austere and very much built to age finale. This is a buy and forget it wine for at least 7 to 8 years.Burghound | 90-93 BH

The 2023 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru has a backward nose despite aeration, but it’s still nicely defined. Dark berry fruit and a touch of white pepper dominate, with hints of blue fruit emerging later. The medium-bodied palate features slightly chalky tannins and is more saline than the Chapelle-Chambertin. There is impressive precision and tension here, plus plenty of backbone on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThe 2023 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru is a beauty, bursting with notes of plums, red berries, orange zest and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, it’s suave and sensual, with polished tannins and a vibrant core of fruit, concluding with a perfumed finish. As usual, it’s the most ethereal, elegant wine in the Dugat cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPFirm reduction overshadows the underlying fruit today. More interesting are the elegant and beautifully refined, if decidedly punchy, flavors that exude evident minerality on the sleek, precise, moderately austere and impressively long and powerful finish. This is gorgeous and quite classy. If you can find it, buy it.Burghound | 93-96 BH

The 2023 Clos-de-la-Roche Grand Cru has a perfumed bouquet that’s quite floral with incense and bergamot tea scents and fruit that blossoms, but only after five minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, tea leaf and bay leaf with a gradual crescendo toward its intense, mineral-driven finish. This is superb.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMDelicious. The classic Clos de la Roche from Domaine Hubert Lignier is impressive, deeply-coloured wine, with a pronounced aroma of black cherries, peony, and spice. The old vines provide small bunches even in 2023, giving a concentration on the palate that impresses in this sunny year. Two-thirds of the grapes were planted by Laurent’s father in 1964-1965; the balance (in Fremières) by his grandfather in 1955. One-third of the harvest was fermented as whole clusters, and the wine is ageing now in cask (one-third new).Decanter Magazine | 95 DECTwo thirds comes from Les Monts Luisants, and one third from Les Fremières. A deep crimson/purple. The wonderful bouquet has all the charm in the world plus complexity. Here the richness of the fruit suits the grand cru structure of this wine. Dark berry fruit that flows cross the palate and covers the well-balanced tannins. The 2023 Clos de la Roche has plenty of energy as well as fluidity. Drink from 2033-2042. Tasted Dec 2024.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMSubtle though still easily perceptible wood influence can be found on the spicy black currant, violet and softly gamy nose. The seductive and caressing but punchy and powerful larger-bodied flavors also conclude in a youthfully austere, serious and compact finale that displays first-rate persistence. The Lignier Clos de la Roche is almost always excellent if given sufficient time in bottle and the 2023 version should honor that tradition as well.Burghound | 92-95 BH

The sumptuous old-vine Hommage MCMLV Clos de la Roche from Domaine Hubert Lignier offers profuse aromas of ripe mulberry and redcurrants accented with a floral note, oak spice and a bright mineral element. The texture is firm and very tannic, but the extract, acidity and fruit are all balanced; this wine seems set to age for decades. The grapes are from 0.27ha planted in the lieu-dit Monts Luisants by Laurent Lignier’s grandparents in 1955, hence the label MCMLV. There are only two barrels from this plot, but it is well worth seeking out.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECThe 2023 Clos-de-la-Roche Cuvée MCMLV Grand Cru has more mineral drive on the nose. It has ethereal transparency, intensity and hints of wilted rose petals emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, satin-like texture and gentle but insistent grip. Very long yet tender, this is a magnificent wine in the making.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThis cuvée is taken from a few rows in Les Monts Luisants, a 1955 plantation made by Laurent’s grandfather with massal selection, delivering lots of millerand grapes. More purple than crimson, rather headier, yet all in reds fruit without the darker notes. A youthful energy, with a little more structure as well. The two wines are clearly very different. A lightly menthol touch to finish. Drink from 2033-2045. Tasted Dec 2024.Jasper Morris | 95-98 JMIn contrast to the nose of the regular cuvée, here it’s firmly reduced. On the palate though, there is plenty of underlying tension and freshness on the equally scaled flavors that are exceptionally rich, even plush and velvety, while delivering even better depth and persistence on the noticeably firmer finale. This should also age out successfully and is a wine that’s going to need a minimum of at least a decade of patience.Burghound | 93-95 BH

This delicious wine is perennially among the most concentrated and nuanced in Lignier’s cellar—just don’t refer to it as ‘the blended premier cru’. He is at pains to point out that the rows start out in Faconnières and end up in Cheneverey, but that it is one single parcel. The wine boasts aromas of ripe plums with notes of violets, pepper, and a hint of dark chocolate. The texture is dense and rich but without any heaviness. The grapes are from 0.66 hectares of vines. The oldest were planted in 1936, and the youngest in 1962.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2023 Morey-Saint-Denis Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru comes from the usual three lieux-dits. It has an intense bouquet with cool but focused blackberry, briar and light flinty scents. The palate is medium-bodied and very well balanced, with finely sculpted tannins and seductive creaminess to the texture in the finish. Frequently one of Laurent Lignier’s finest cuvées, this is just wonderful.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMMostly Faconnières. Rich dark crimson with the most fruit to date, fully ripe. The palate offers a balanced headiness, with a fruit dark enough to include some plums. This is the more hedonistic of the two but I think my preference comes down narrowly on the more cerebral Chaffots. Drink from 2032-2038. Tasted Dec 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMA restrained but beautifully layered nose grudgingly offers up its aromas of black cherry, crushed anise and newly turned earth. There is slightly better density to the overtly powerful and more obviously mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a firm, serious and compact finale. This too virtually always ages well and the 2023 version should be no exception.Burghound | 91-94 BH

This lovely, powerful wine offers aromas of greengage plum, Williams pear and apple. The texture is rich, but the wine is still elegant and not at all hard to love. This vintage is the first bottling of a white Boudriotte, as far as I can tell – it used to get blended into the broader Morgeot appellation. Like Morgeot, Boudriotte can be a blend of several different lieux-dits; for this wine, a new 0.26ha vineyard in Chaumes is blended with 0.11ha of Champs Jeandreau .Decanter Magazine | 94 DECFrom Champ Jeandreau and a more recent planting in Chaumes. Clean fresh fruit, not too powerful. Quite lean and tense, a little bit more citrus. A suggestion of some light peach behind, but adding a dimension rather than denaturing.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

There is a ripe apple and apricot fruit aroma, lush buttery notes and a hint of spice. The texture is very rich in a classic Bâtard style. Winemaker Lucie Coutoux explained that they did a strict green harvest in July, cutting back to five to six bunches per vine, which pushed the ripeness forward, and thus, this was harvested first. She used her usual techniques: crush the grapes and slowly press them, running the must into barrel (25% new) with all of the lees. 2023 is the first vintage for Niellon since replanting the Bâtard-Montrachet in 2016. The results are spectacular.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECHere too there is a smoky note to the spicy and markedly floral-suffused nose of various white orchard fruit aromas, especially pear, along with a subtle if still easily perceptible wood nuance. Like several wines in the range, the medium weight flavors are not monsters of concentration but they do possess a sleek texture along with a lovely sense of underlying tension on the dry and balanced finale. While not quite what it used to be, it’s good to have an old friend back!Burghound | 93 BHIts back! Very young vines, needed a green harvest, in fact twice as the grapes compensated after the first. Took off half, so the vine could look after itself. 0.1190, 2273 for Chevalier. Had to pick first, with acidity declining. Pale colour, toasty nose. A lovely quality of fruit right away on the palate, less energy behind, or indeed length, only to be expected. The barrel toast remains, so look to a promising future. Drink from 2029-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93 JMThere are three barrels of the 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, whose vines were replanted in 2020 after being pulled up in 2015. Half the bunches were taken off in July before véraison to control vigor, and the pH is a little higher than other cuvées. There is some reduction on the nose, but you can feel the nascent energy. The palate is well-balanced with a richer, slightly more viscous texture than the Chevalier-Montrachet, powerful and long with a dash of spice on the finish. Of course, this is the opening chapter of the vineyard, and you can feel that it’s not full power, but it represents a promising return.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Chevalier-Montrachet 2023 from Domaine Michel Niellon is among the luminous successes of the vintage. The initial restraint on the nose gives way on the palate to aromas of ripe pear and quince with a hint of marzipan and fresh white flowers. The texture is generous, almost voluptuous, but there is a balance and elegance that hint at its noble origins. The grapes are from 0.22ha of 60-year-old vines at the base of the slope near the Leflaive parcel. Ideally, one would wait 10 years for this wine to show its full potential.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECOnce again there is a smoky whiff on the pretty, cooler and much more complex nose of wonderfully spicy pear and apple scents that are liberally laced with citrus and petrol nuances. The sleek, intense and more concentrated markedly mineral-driven flavors terminate in a chiseled, youthfully austere and bitter lemon-inflected finale that just goes on and on. This is a powerful but impeccably well-balanced Chevalier that should easily reward a decade plus of cellaring. In a word, terrific.Burghound | 95 BHPlanted in 1963 Lucie thinks. A bit degenerate, so lots of millerand. Picked at the start. Just as pale in colour, however the nose has more character showing the white limestone soil. Very linear, a classic Chevalier in the mouth, with warmth and energy to finish, but this is like licking the rock itself, more than eating the fruit. Quite tightly wound, so well worth longer keeping. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 95 JMThe 2023 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has an intense bouquet with crushed limestone, slightly more malic than Niellon’s Chassagnes. A touch of nuttiness develops with aeration. There is a pleasing strictness here. The palate is well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh. There is a little CO2 in the barrel sample, yet the energy is palpable on the finish, and it feels long and sustained in the mouth.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM

Derived from over 70-year-old vines at the top of a south- and southeast-facing slope, the 2023 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos opens with a deep bouquet of orange peel, Anjou pear, beeswax and jasmine, mingling with notes of warm stones. Full-bodied, multifaceted and layered, it is concentrated and enveloping, with a muscular core balanced by ample chalky extract that imparts a sensation of freshness, laden with racy acidity and culminating in a long, saline finish. Harmonious yet built for the long term, it will richly reward patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPYear after year, Fèvre’s Les Clos is among the great wines of Chablis. In 2023, the pronounced aromas range from grapefruit to nectarine and green apple, laden with pungent, salty mineral notes and a little smoky reduction – a bit of everything, really. The texture is dense, almost impenetrable at this age, but enlivened by a lovely hint of bitterness at the end. It is truly a wine for the ages. Ideally wait a decade before opening; this wine will last at least 40 years.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECAfter the fireworks of the les Preuses and Côte de Bouguerots, I always approach Domaine Fèvre’s les Clos as if there could not possibly be yet another level of quality here, but it always manages to land just a touch higher in the hierarchy than the two magical wines that preceded it in the tasting! The 2023 les Clos is stellar, offering up a vibrant bouquet of apple, pear, lime, beeswax, a gorgeous base of chalky soil tones, raw almond, citrus zest and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and perfectly balanced, with a beautiful core of fruit, a superb girdle of acidity, superb mineral drive and cut and a long, seamlessly balanced and complex finish. Great juice. (Drink between 2033-2070)John Gilman | 96 JGA more restrained nose grudgingly exhibits pronounced mineral reduction nuances that add breadth to the markedly floral nose of seashore, iodine and oyster shell scents. I very much like the mouthfeel of the powerful and concentrated larger-scaled flavors that are akin to rolling a small pebble around the mouth while displaying excellent length on the very dry, long, youthfully austere and balanced finish that is supported by overtly citrus-tinged acidity. Patience strongly recommended.Burghound | 94 BHA glowing lemon and lime colour. The bouquet is very backward at first, less demonstrative than Preuses. A greater richness of texture than Côte Bouguerots to add to the chiselled white fruit intensity and them a gorgeous, concentrated succulent aftertaste without sucrosity. Good acidity at the back. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2023 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 4 hectares of vines, mostly at the top of the slope on limestone-rich soils. Oyster shell and light sea spray scents on the nose entwined with hints of orange pith and wild mint. The palate is very concentrated and intense, more so than William Fèvre’s other Grand Cru. Very harmonious with a poised, stem ginger tinged-finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMA chalky, stony mineral element leads off, with peach, yellow plum and orange Creamsicle, plus touches of herbs. This is supple and juicy, with charm through the persistent, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2034. 300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSDelicate aromas of lemon blossom, green apple and honeysuckle waft from the glass buttressed by zested orange peel. Fresh and bright on the palate, the wine is steely in texture with gentle acidity that refreshes without making itself the center of attention. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE