Côte de Beaune 2022

Charles Ballot is making some of the greatest Chardonnays in Burgundy these days, and his Bourgogne Blanc is an excellent place to get a taste of the style on offer at this address. 70% of the fruit is sourced from his home village of Meursault, with the balance coming from Puligny-Montrachet. It was easily one of the best Bourgogne Blancs we tasted this vintage.

This is the defining wine of this famous grand cru, the one to which everyone looks as the quintessential Corton-Charlemagne. The west-facing aspect of the hill means the vines enjoy the long rays of the afternoon sun, making for rich textures and a sumptuous depth of fruit. It is always exhilarating to taste, with rich layers of exuberant fruit and creamy, lightly spiced notes giving freshness and balance.

Maranges is the final limit of the Côte d’Or, and a source of crunchy, great value reds, if you follow the right grower. This is actually a blend of village and premier cru fruit (from 1er Cru Clos Rousseau), which David declassifies to give his village Marange more volume and quality. It’s a smart move, and a smart buy. It’s light-bodied, lithe, crunchy, juicy and vibrant.

Les Hâtes sits in the middle of the village, surrounded by premiers crus on well-draining soil. It makes for a floral, ethereal style of Pinot with lovely proportions. This floral character is a natural expression of the site which David sees emerge every year. It makes for a compelling introduction to Santenay for first-timers.

Amongst a strong line up of premiers crus in David’s cellar, this is always our favourite. It comes from a parcel with a hard limestone bedrock, producing a wine that is marked by its surprising suppleness. In 2022 it is so fine, so Pinot. This is the work of a winemaker at the peak of his abilities, coaxing an ephemeral beauty from his Pinot.

Charles Ballot’s Narvaux sits in a sweet-spot for Burgundy buyers. It has the character, definition, energy and complexity far above a village wine, yet a price that falls well below that of a premier cru. This makes it a very smart purchase. Furthermore, Narvaux is acknowledged as one of Meursault’s finest lieux-dits. It has a racy, luscious vitality in 2022: both ample and energetic. Exactly how we like our Meursault.

Smooth, silky, bright and incisive. There is a lot to like here. The Ballot-Millot vines sit at the top of the parcel right next to Lafon’s. This location gives a dialled-up minerality, setting it apart from the richer examples produced further down the slope. As classical as they come in Meursault.

Along with Genevrières, you can rely on Perrières to be a sensational wine from Charles Ballot. In 2022 it shows the most sophisticated reduction in the cellar, with limestone bite on the palate and a mineral flourish on the finish. Scintillating.

In the Ballot-Millot cellar, Genevrières and Perrières are usually only split by a hair, as is the case in 2022. They are both outstanding. The vines in Genevrières are over 80 years old, and have weathered the hot summers well. The wine has weight and persistence, gorgeous amplitude and fabulous length.

This magnificent wine is only made in tiny quantities. There is superb precision on the palate, which is vibrant and mouth watering with a chalky structure. This complexity is no surprise, given that Les Caillerets is one of the finest sites in the village, with particularly stony soils, producing tense, vibrant, acid-driven wines.

La Maltroie is one of the larger premiers crus in Chassagne, and is often one of the most restrained, backward wines in Alex’s cellar. The vines sit right in the middle of the village, opposite the cellar. The 2022 has a savoury length, and a tight, refined power. It feels young, and will enjoy a long life ahead.

Morgeot borders Santenay at the south end of the village, and is not only the largest premier cru in Chassagne, but the largest cru in the Côte d’Or. Alex’s parcel has the benefit of old vines - 50 years old, and their concentration combined with Alex’s practice of long, slow fermentation has resulted in a smoky, textural, delicious expression.

This is always the wine Alex is most proud of in his cellar, which is telling praise. This is because it offers the complexity and depth on par with some other producers’ premiers crus. It represents the lion’s share of his cellar, and is drawn from many sites across the village, half of which are tucked up in the pocket of vineyards that hug the premiers crus. The other half comes from the village’s border with Puligny-Montrachet. The texture of these wines is exceptional, nowhere better displayed than in this Chassagne-Montrachet. They have tension and direction, without the phenolic extraction of some more worked wines. Effortlessly pure and persistent.

This is one of our most in-demand Bourgogne Blancs, and with good reason. It’s a window onto the style of one of the Côte de Beaune’s hottest winemakers of the moment. It’s racy, and fresh, with a burst of citrus fanning out across the palate. At 12% abv it’s the epitome of refreshing, balanced, and delicious Burgundy. The fruit comes from various parcels all within the Chassagne commune. As with all his wines, Alex looks for energy rather than too much ripeness in his Bourgogne. You will never regret having a few bottles of this in the cellar.

Sur Gamay is a little known premier cru, but it’s rather well positioned, finding itself between Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, Champlots, and Chatenière.It’s beautifully expressive, with a vibrant, pure and balanced length.

This is the first year we’ve picked up some Chassagne Rouge from Alex, so impressed we were when tasting from barrel. The vintage’s natural charm and ease suit his style well. While the focus of attention will remain on his whites, his reds offer up an approachable and delicious expression from this talented winemaker.

This comes from a blend for the domaine’s young vines with a small dash of extremely old vines, from multiple parcels scattered around the village of Nantoux. It has a crunchy acidity giving it a fresh profile, which is twinned with the ripe blueberry/raspberry fruit character. Whole-bunch has been upped to 60% in 2022 giving it a spiced, graceful length.

This is a new addition to the list in 2022: we just couldn’t resist. It’s made from old vine Gamay grown on the steep slopes of Nantoux (true to its name, unlike many other Coteaux Bourguignons which are grown on the flat plains on the other side of the route nationale). It was vinified with 50% whole-bunch fruit, gently handled in the cellar with low extraction. Some of the vines are getting on for ninety-years-old, and the concentration and kick this gives to the wine is notable. It’s gorgeous: juicy, fruit-forward, and joyful. Don’t miss this little rocket.

The Bignon parcel has red clay soil, not dissimilar to that found in pockets of Pommard. It usually produces an easy-going, fruit-forward wine, but I’m struck by the excellent structure found in this 2022. It still has the signature smooth fruit, but with fine, lightly grippy tannins from well-handled 60% whole-bunch fruit.

Boris Champy burst onto the scene in 2019, and is now a leading light of the Hautes-Côtes and of biodynamic viticulture in Burgundy. Le Clou is a single vineyard in Nantoux sitting at a precise 377 metres elevation. Its soil is similar to Volnay, with chalky, rocky topsoil over limestone marl bedrock. 100% whole-bunch has been used to great effect here: it has a fine, elegant aroma of red berries and cinnamon spice, with silky tannins and impressive concentration on the poised finish.

This tiny 0.09 hectare plot near the border with St-Aubin provides a sumptuous, smoky, powerful wine. It made its mark in this strong line-up, with its enticing nose of exotic fruit. The palate sings with zesty pink grapefruit length. It shows amazing energy and drive through the finish, with the ripeness of fruit perfectly offset by compelling freshness.

En Remilly sits at the meeting point of three villages: Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and St-Aubin. The larger part of it falls within St-Aubin, with the tiny part on the Chassagne side enjoying a superb position - next to Chevalier-Montrachet and just above Le Montrachet. At 300m altitude, with very little topsoil, Bruno’s two parcels (one of which touches Chevalier-Montrachet) make a magnificent wine: concentrated, opulent, mineral and energetic, with a precision you only find in Chardonnay grown on limestone.

An energetic and vibrant Bourgogne Blanc: it comes from parcels across Santenay and St-Aubin, wonderful fleshy fruit on the mid-palate paves the way for an impressively long finish. It is deliciously zesty and refreshing.

This tiny parcel is a family treasure, handed down to Bruno from his father - Michel Colin-Deléger. It is truly complex, graceful, with power and finesse in equal measure. Truly grand cru.