Wine Varietals

wines

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin La Marie shows a patina of new oak on the nose (30%), though it combines with the lifted raspberry and blueberry fruit. It is showier than the Village Cru. The palate is medium-bodied and harmonious with good weight. There are fine "shoulders" here with a similarly peppery finish to the Village, but this will need a couple of years in bottle to assimilate the wood.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMThe 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin La Marie opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries, vine smoke and spices. Medium to full-bodied, dense and layered, it’s lively and concentrated, with a more muscular, structured profile than the blended Gevrey bottling.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RPFirm reduction presently renders the nose impossible to read. More interesting are the supple but punchy medium-bodied flavors that possess good detail and slightly better mid-palate density while delivering solid power on the rustic, serious and firmer finale. This is very Gevrey in character and at least some patience would be a good idea and overall, this too is a very good villages.Burghound | 89-91 BH

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

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

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

Delicate and aromatic with fresh flowers and al dente apples, following through to a medium body with lovely depth and intensity. Tight and fresh at the end. Subtle. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JSAromas of white flowers, sweet stone fruit and vanilla pod introduce Drouhin’s 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Village, a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy wine that’s lively and charming.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPThe 2023 Puligny villages from Joseph Drouhin is very pretty this year. The wine’s bouquet is bright and wide open, offering up scents of apple, pear, almond, chalky soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is elegant, full-bodied and complex, with good, but not great depth at the core, bouncy acids, lovely balance and a long, wide open and succulent finish. This is very tasty right out of the blocks, but has the balance to also age quite gracefully. (Drink between 2025-2045)John Gilman | 90 JGPale lemon and lime, with at the moment more oak showing, as the Puligny has not yet been racked. There is plenty of quality orchard fruit, while a good thread of acidity extends the fruit well out at the back of the palate. Drink from 2028-2032. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JMThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Village, from purchased grapes, has a light, apple blossom-scented bouquet with just a touch of wet stone. The palate is crisp on the entry with pretty citrus fruit notes and a nicely detailed finish. Drink this over the next four to six years.Vinous Media | 88-90 VMProminent floral aromas, especially acacia and carnation, add breadth to the nose of the essence of poached pear and just enough wood to notice. The sleek and refined middle weight flavors are more voluminous and richer, if less obviously mineral-inflected, while delivering fine length on the suave and sappy finish where the wood telegraphed by the nose resurfaces. While this should amply repay short to mid-term keeping, it could be enjoyed young too.Burghound | 88-91 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

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 2024 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a delectable nose not dissimilar to the Criots this year, beautifully defined with hints of oyster shell surfacing with time, quite Zen-like but paradoxically conveying real presence. The palate is very well balanced with wonderful poise. Impressive depth and concentration considering the growing season with a sprightly finish that fans out in a cool, calm and collected fashion. This is an excellent Bâtard-Montrachet that has its nose in front of the Criots.Vinous Media | 95-97 VM

The 2024 Chassagne-Montrachet Maltroye 1er Cru has a clean, fresh bouquet with simmering mineralité that comes through with time, a little Puligny-like in style. The palate is well balanced, the one-third new oak neatly integrated, not a powerful Chassagne but there is a sense of nervosité that runs through this wine that I appreciate.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2024 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a delightful bouquet with crushed stone infusing the bright citrus fruit, tightly coiled but opening with time in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite saline in the mouth with oyster shell on the weighty finish. There is real weight and presence here. No wonder it has the highest sugar level among all the Domaine’s cuvées - the power is palpable in this Criots.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM

The concentrated exotic fruit aromas of this wine range from passionfruit and kiwi to gooseberry, with accents of acacia flower, spice and smoke. The texture strikes a beautiful balance between lively, fresh acidity and substantial extract, lingering exquisitely on the palate. The grapes are from just over a hectare of vines planted at the northern end of Les Pucelles, including a sliver of the Clos des Meix, which mainly belongs to Domaine Leflaive. This powerful wine should last 30 years at least.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2024 Clos de la Pucelle is a brilliant wine in the making. The wine’s aromatic constellation is elegant and complex, delivering scents of pear, golden delicious apple, lemon zest, crème pâtissière, apple blossoms, vanillin oak and a stunning foundation of chalky soil tones. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, crisp, complex and utterly refined in personality, with a beautiful core of succulent fruit, even better backend mineral drive, vibrant acids and a very long, seamlessly balanced and youthfully complex finish. This is a brilliant premier cru in the making, but it will demand some cellaring time to blossom properly. (Drink between 2030-2060)John Gilman | 94+ JGFresh lemon yellow with a green tint, rather more backward on the nose. Still working itself out. There is more structure here but less appeal in youth. The Clos de la Pucelle offers good tension, but this will take time. I am not yet seeing the electric backbone that this wine can have. Drink from 2030-2036. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Pucelle 1er Cru was coming out to play when I visited the Domaine, the nose obstinate and backward. The palate is crisp on the entry, quite malic with cooking apple and notes of pear, moderate depth and a dash of spice on the finish. Fine, but it needs to find its groove.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Jean-Michel Chartron is lucky to have old vines in his parcel of Folatières as well, as these vines are now sixty years of age. They have produced a beautiful wine in 2024, delivering a bright, complex and very floral nose of apple, pear, almond, chalky soil tones, vanillin oak and a beautiful mélange of honeysuckle and white lilies in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, complex and full-bodied, with a gorgeous core of pure fruit, lovely soil signature, great acids and a very long, impeccably balanced and transparent finish. This is outstanding young Folatières! (Drink between 2026-2055)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2024 Puligny-Montrachet les Folatières 1er Cru has a very fragrant bouquet with yellow fruit, white flowers, a touch of mint and even a suggestion of red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a keen line of acidity. Very precise, certainly more mineral-driven than the "sunnier" 2023 - this has great potential.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMMid lemon yellow. The bouquet suggests optimum ripeness, though picked among the first. Apples in their prime, with ripe lemons in support, graceful and relatively full on the palate. All nicely proportioned to make a quality Folatières. A decent sized cuvée too, with 8.5 barrels. Drink from 2030-2035. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

Patrick Piuze’s 2024 Butteaux is a bit more structured and reserved out of the blocks than the lovely Montmains and will demand a couple years more in the cellar before it blossoms, but it may well be every bit as fine as the Montmains once it is ready to drink. The wine’s aromatic constellation is composed of scents of tart orange, lemon, apple, a fine base of limestone soil, paraffin, citrus blossoms and a deft touch of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and youthful, with a fine core of pure fruit, excellent mineral drive and grip, lovely acids and a long, well balanced and very promising finish. 2032-2065.John Gilman | 93+ JG

The 2024 Chablis “les Séchets” from Patrick Piuze is also an outstanding wine in the making. The bouquet is very expressive already and is flat out stunning, soaring from the glass in a mix of lemon, pear, beeswax, a complex foundation of chalky minerality, white lilies, apple blossoms, citrus peel and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full, pure and succulent at the core, with fine soil signature, a lovely spine of acidity, great focus and grip and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine, fine juice. 2030-2065.John Gilman | 93+ JG

Opening in the glass with aromas of spring flowers, Granny Smith apple, lemon oil and nashi pear, the 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is medium-bodied and taut, bright and chalky, with mouthwatering acidity and a long, precise finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP