Côte de Nuits 2022

This is an exceptionally pretty Chambolle-Musigny, offering up wild strawberry and blueberry notes. If you like the sweet aromatic fruit of 100% whole-bunch winemaking, this is the wine you’re looking for. Fine, silky tannins are extremely well-expressed on the poised finish.

Hautes-Côtes de Nuits might be the most humble appellation in Aurélien’s portfolio, but this wine is also his flagship, and we think, one of his best. It offers outstanding value for money. It smells like a basket of freshly picked wild strawberries, with a light dusting of cinnamon sugar. The whole-bunch vinification is an excellent match for the terroir, whose cool freshness gives the wine structure. This will drink well from early on.

Cyprien makes two Bourgognes, and this is the one that comes from the domaine’s single parcel which lies just beyond the village boundary of Gevrey Chambertin, but a stone’s throw from the village’s grands crus. It is a fairly serious Bourgogne, with an expressive, chewy core to it, offering up the density of Gevrey, with the open fruit to drink well from early on.

This comes from various parcels the domaine owns around the village, mostly located on the Morey side of the village. It shows a certain austerity, mingled with Chambolle’s signature texture: silky, dense, and refined.

This is one of the parcels that Cyprien and his team farm organically all year round and harvest themselves, under the négociant label. It is an excellent village lieu-dit at the southern end of Vosne, which a number of growers choose to bottle separately. It shows lots of energy and power, with a bright length, with plenty in reserve.

This vineyard is at the north end of the village, on the border with grand cru, Mazoyères-Chambertin. The soils are high in limestone, and produce a wine that is rich in dark wild berries and clove spice, with a lean and persistent freshness.

Bonnes Mares is a magnificent vineyard, and makes a compelling and beautiful wine in 2022 in Cyprien Arlaud’s hands. It’s got power and drive, also control and depth. This should age wonderfully well.

This is a clear stand-out in the Arlaud cellar. It’s the most dramatic wine in the line up, outpacing the other grand cru with its grip and swagger. A truly great Clos de la Roche.

This comes from the very highest point of Mazoyères-Chambertin, which can also be labelled as Charmes-Chambertin. It has sensational volume with a crystalline purity driving through the finish.

This vineyard sits just below Clos St Denis, in the heart of the village, and offers up a deep and textured expression of Morey St Denis. It is delicate, with creamy red fruit leading the wine. WHile not particularly intense, it offers up a balanced length of great distinction. With some time in bottle to take on a little more weight and precision, and this could be the dark horse of the stable.

This always delivers huge complexity from the start. It is so deep, and with such a sustained finish you’ll be thinking about it long after tasting.

This can often have the broadest shoulders of the Rousseau grands crus, and is certainly one that requires some serious ageing.

Rousseau’s Gevrey might be their least grand cuvée, but it remains nevertheless one of the most sought-after wines, and a window onto their supreme style which can be drunk a little earlier than their premiers and grands crus.

Voluminous and with profound length, this is an exquisite wine from the Rousseau cellar, with layers that build up in a subtle but melodic crescendo.

Lavaux St Jacques is a lovely vineyard on the Combe de Lavaux which enjoys the cooling influence of the cold air drawn down the valley. The wine is chiselled and precise.

The Ruchottes always abounds with small red berry fruit, making it a lively and vibrant grand cru. It nevertheless has the gravitas of its grand cru status, and will evolved for many years in bottle.

Only five domaines own Clos St Jacques, and Rousseau’s wine is frequently the pinnacle. This shows the complexity, suave power, and finesse of a grand cru, with incredible freshness.

2022 is the first proper vintage of Fixin Blanc at Amélie’s domaine. It comes from young vines, and has made a deliciously quenching and refreshing wine. Up-front, pithy, and delicious.

With Richebourg and Cros Parantoux as neighbours, you can expect great things from this vineyard. Amélie has five separate plots across half a hectare (although she gives some of the production back to her aunt, so there is never ever enough to meet demand). The site is so steep and inaccessible that no tractors can reach it, and all work is done by horse or hand. The 2022 has 50% whole-bunch, which helps give the already exceptionally concentrated fruit some lift and flow. She’s worked hard on this cuvée, which could tend towards reduction. Switching to concrete tanks for fermentation has helped, and the potential of quality here is already easy to see tasting from barrel. So persistent, with Vosne’s powerful, velvet-like tannins.

Fixin doesn’t have any grand crus, but in Amélie’s eyes, this is the greatest site in the village. It has very shallow soils, and the vines, now aged 30-80 years old, dig deep. 50% whole-bunch brings a floral, spiced fruit. Defined, characterful, and the work of a winemaker at the top of her game.

If Les Crais is her father’s cuvée, then this is Amélie’s. It used to go into their village blend, but Amélie has been bottling it separately since 2013. The vines are now over 70 years old, and its mid-slope position near the premiers crus is excellent. A bold 50% whole-bunch here is executed with deft skill: the wine is fragrant and dancing, with agile freshness and sweet energy.

Les Crais is a flagship wine at Amélie’s estate, having been bottled separately from the other village parcels since her father’s tenure. The one-hectare vineyard sits right in the heart of the appellation, just below the village itself. Its alluvial soils are well-draining, and the parcel is always one of the first picked. In 2022 Amélie has captured the bright fruit purity of the vintage in a wine whose fragrant scent is bursting with strawberries and spice. 30% whole-bunch gives it lift and zip. This is Fixin at its best.

This parcel in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, right next to Axelle’s cellar, sits at 450 metres altitude. The isolated parcel is naturally low yielding anyway, and, she says, naturally pruned by the local deer. As a result, it's an Aligoté with the yield of a grand cru, Axelle laments in jest. The vines are around 50 years old and around 10% of the vineyard is an old Burgundian variety, Melon de Bourgogne, more commonly found in Muscadet these days. The wine is energetic and delicious, brimming with apples and apricots, and a lacy, fine texture.

In Aux Allots we find the domaine’s oldest vines, though how old precisely is unknown. The family bought the vineyard which sits on the Vosne-Romaéee side of the village in 1969. It had been planted long before then, although the exact date has been lost to history. This wine has an enthralling depth of berry fruit, with a minty lift on the nose, and just a hint of licorice adding a further dimension. Textural and complex, this is an outstanding Nuits-St-Georges.

Fragile old vines planted in 1964 produce a wine of surprising structure from this site. The concentration of fruit, the frame of tannins, and the long drive on the back-palate are perhaps more in line with the traditional image of Nuits-St-Georges than Axelle’s Vallerots cuvées. This quintessential Nuits cuvée has superb length, with some welcome Nuits-St-Georges structure giving it power and presence.

This is a flagship wine of the domaine, and at two hectares represents around a third of production. It’s an incredibly steep site just above Les Vaucrains which had been abandoned since the phylloxera crisis until Bertrand terraced and planted it in 2001. There is slightly darker, fuller fruit than that found in the 2019, but with the brightness of acidity it feels balanced and very complete, unforced and charming.

The domaine has an impressive 10 hectares in their home village of Marsannay. They bottle five separate cuvées, including the wonderful Grasses Têtes, which sits at the southern end of the commune, on the slope that rises up behind the village. Its quirky name (meaning “fat heads”) refers to the large rocks that show through the surface of the clay soil. It is typically the most structured and powerful of the Clair Marsannays, with the greatest tannic charge, recalling Gevrey-Chambertin. The 2022 has a fragrant and salty dynamism. This is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair, and a top contender for promotion to premier cru status.

The domaine has an impressive 10 hectares in their home village of Marsannay. They bottle five separate cuvées, including the wonderful Grasses Têtes, which sits at the southern end of the commune, on the slope that rises up behind the village. Its quirky name (meaning “fat heads”) refers to the large rocks that show through the surface of the clay soil. It is typically the most structured and powerful of the Clair Marsannays, with the greatest tannic charge, recalling Gevrey-Chambertin. The 2022 has a fragrant and salty dynamism. This is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair, and a top contender for promotion to premier cru status.

This remarkable village lieu-dit sits directly above Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, and Bonnes Mares, and the Clair parcel is an extension of their lauded Bonnes Mares plot. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a premier cru, really. Up here there is virtually no top soil at all, and the vines plunge straight into the limestone bedrock. The wine has abundant blackberry and wild strawberry aromas, tightly-wound tannins, and a fragrant energy.

This is a Bonnes Mares of distinction: it is the only part of the vineyard to fall within Morey-Saint-Denis (the rest is in Chambolle-Musigny). It is muscular, yet tender, with a deep and concentrated core. There is an unbelievable length on display here, with a finish that fans out across the palate.

Bruno Clair is one of only five producers of this revered premier cru, that many regard as equal to the Gevrey grands crus. The Clairs refer to it as ‘the Prince of Gevrey’. It is steep by Burgundian standards, with clay-rich soil. A dramatic storm in June hit the Combe de Lavaux meaning yields were once again down here in 2022, bucking the general trend. But what they did make shows a suave power, and a cool, controlled, elegance.

This precious site was Bruno’s father’s favourite, and is now his son Arthur’s favourite too. It’s planted with the oldest vines of the domaine, which date back to 1902. Its east-facing amphitheatre-like form catches the sun’s rays, and the wine it produces is sappy, concentrated and complexly textured. There’s a clear density from the old vine fruit, and the energy of the vintage. Sumptuous, spiced, and poised.

This clos is a monopole of the domaine found right at the centre point of Gevrey, next to Ruchottes-Chambertin. It always has lots of millerandages (small berries) and so the wine has an intense concentration and exquisite finesse. It’s all red-fruited power and mineral length, typical of senior Gevrey terroirs.

Where the Bonnes Mares is muscular and persuasive, this is fragrant and fine, with a compelling thread of crystalline red fruit reaching to an astonishing finish. Clos de Bèze is a slightly steeper and warmer site than Chambertin next door, and the potential heights of complexity and concentration it can produce are remarkable. Most of the vines were planted in 1912, with the rest in the 1970s - affectionately still referred to as the young vines. This will be a tour de force with some years in bottle.

Dujac are on form in this grand cru, which is opulent and refined, with a huge depth of flavour and complex length.

Malconsorts is considered by many as equal in quality, and certainly as in-demand, as most grands crus, and you’ll be hard pushed to find a finer example than Dujac’s.

Pure, incredibly densely concentrated with crystalline fruit, and silky, satin-like tannins. This is wonderfully long, and, although a mere village wine, carries the calibre of its domaine on full display.

Combottes sits on the border of Morey and Gevrey, surrounded on all sides by grands crus. There are many theories as to why this isn’t a grand cru itself, most of which centre on the political angle (a popular theory is that because it is mostly shared amongst growers from Morey, the authorities in Gevrey enjoyed snubbing it). Nevertheless, it is a wonderful wine, with extraordinary ageing potential, and one of the finest premiers crus in the Côte de Nuits.

Domaine Duroché can do no wrong these days. Everything Pierre Duroché touches turns to gold, from his village wine right up to his grands crus. This is a fantastic entry point to one of the most in-demand names in the region.

This is fast becoming one of Burgundy’s most sought-after wines. The vineyard was planted in 1920, and you can feel the power of the old vines in the glass. It is intense and opulent, with plenty of spice on the nose. The palate is impeccably balanced, with vibrant acidity alongside an impressive mouthfeel. This is powerful, yet retains poise and elegance. It deserves plenty of time in the bottle.

Pierre owns the last parcel of Latricières before Chambertin begins, and while attention is usually focused on his Clos de Bèze, this is quickly becoming as in demand. It is suave, dark, and cool: somehow opulent and restrained at the same time.

Pierre has just 0.4 hectares in Charmes-Chambertin, which is divided into five separate parcels, two of which are on the border with Griotte-Chambertin, on more stony soils. The wine is always tightly coiled, with some noble austerity in its youth.

Duroché owns a sizable 1.2 hectare parcel of this premier cru, and it is arguably the cuvée that best defines the estate. There’s a coolness here, with dancing tannins and incredible purity. Lavaut balances a freshness, due to its position at the base of the Combe, with an opulence of fruit from the vineyard’s south facing aspect.

Les Cazetiers is situated right alongside Clos Saint-Jacques on the Combe de Lavaux. Its easterly exposure combined with cool, elevated position make for outstanding freshness in the wines. This is serious yet sensual in 2022. Lovely rose petal and Maraschino cherry notes on the nose, and fresh, intense palate: voluminous, creamy density, with velvety tannins.

This special cuvée comes from the oldest vines in Faiveley’s Clos de Bèze holding, and was first produced in 2011. The name is an homage to the family’s connection with the artist, Rodin, and the cuvée is only ever produced in tiny quantities. Powerful, deep, and dramatic. This will reward the patient.

Faiveley are the largest landowner in this fêted corner of Chambertin, with three parcels to their name. It is one of the consistently most complex wines in their range, and offers staggering ageing potential. In 2022, aromas of rose petal and cranberries combine, leading to gorgeously silky tannins, a fresh line of acidity driving through to a spicy finish.

This super monopole vineyard in the Côte Chalonnaise village of Mercurey is one of the bargains of Burgundy. It’s lively and juicy, with the freshness of the vintage serving it well. There is textural, red berry-fruited, with supple tannins and a gourmand finish.

Latricières always feels a little cooler than Charmes-Chambertin, its neighbouring Grand Cru. A gentle but cool breeze draws down the valley, keeping freshness and minerality in the grapes. The 2022 exudes freshly-sliced red fruit, scents of raspberry and red plum. There is a fleshy weight in the mid-palate but also a delicious bite to the fruit on the finish. A very accomplished example of the vintage.

This vineyard has been a family monopole since 1874. It is the domaine's flagship wine and one of just two Burgundian grands crus to bear the name of its owner (Romanée-Conti being the other). This is complex and fascinating in 2022, with sweet, smoky spice wrapping around concentrated red fruit, with a long,mineral length.

Mazis is the most northern of the Gevrey grands crus, and is renowned for making some of the most seductive wines amongst them. The Faiveley plot benefits from some very old vines, some of which were planted in 1930. This is elegant and seductive, with a spicy, rich, lavishness about it.

The 70-year-old vines planted on the poor, stony limestone soil of Les Charmes make for a structured mineral and very long wine in 2022.

This hails from the cool climes in the hills above the Ladoix-Serrigny in the Côte de Beaune. It is peachy and smooth, with nice roundness and a silky texture.

This ‘other’ white grape from Burgundy is enjoying a well-deserved moment: the wines are fresh, vibrant, wonderful for early drinking and offer unparalleled value. The balance of the wines also seems to be coping particularly well with climate change. Are they the future of white Burgundy? The Felettig example is everything we’re looking for: salty, fresh, and moreish.

There’s notable concentration and grip in this dark-scented, structured Fixin. 30% whole-bunch and 60% new oak make for a baroque style, recalling the energy and density of many 2020s. Its 300m elevation and 20% incline give it freshness and grippy precision.

This is a spectacularly well placed vineyard that enjoys a commanding view above the village. It is separated by just a small road from Clos de Tart Grand Cru. It is one of the more tannic and structured in the Felettig cellar in 2022. Gilbert mentions it’s always one of the final parcels to be harvested as it ripens a little later. The density is impressive.

This is one of the best-known premiers crus of Chambolle, and the domaine is lucky enough to have a tiny slice, just 0.17 hectares. It is supremely long in 2022, with a staggeringly pretty red fruit precision.

Les Fuées enjoys a wonderful position, just alongside Bonnes Mares, and as a result is one of the most sought-out crus in the village. It’s one of the riper wines in the cellar, but at 13.5% it’s by no means out of balance. Indeed, the fruit maturity only gives it greater depth.

This tiny premier cru is set in a dip that was once a quarry (as the name alludes to). So as you might expect the soil is high in limestone, and the wine it produces is highly mineral. There is a sweet tenderness to the fruit, with a creamy length.

This tiny premier cru is set in a dip that was once a quarry (as the name alludes to). The wine is full of black cherries, with a creamy texture and silky length. 80% whole-bunch fruit results in big energy, and a dense, complex finish.

As the name suggests, this monopole vineyard is situated in the heart of Chambolle-Musigny. At 0.5 hectares, it is the Felettigs’ largest single parcel. There’s lots of limestone in the soil here, and the 50-year-old vines dig deep. It is rich and resplendent, with a full-on torrefaction, toasty new oak nose wrapped around the floral fruit detail.

This cuvée has only been made by Domaine Felettig since 2018. It comes from a half hectare plot in the centre of the commune. It will be ready to approach early on, with its juicy structure.

The domaine has vines in two plots on either side of Nuits: Les Chariots in the south and Aux Lavières in the north. There is a Chambolle signature woven through the Nuits fruit here; the wine has nice firm structure yet remains silky overall.

Les Suchots is one of Vosne’s most substantial premiers crus, famous for producing particularly long-lived wines. This shows brilliantly crystalline Pinot fruit - pure, red-fruited and ethereal. The intensity is dialled up, and the saline length promises much to come.

This monopole grand cru in the heart of Vosne-Romanée between two Domaine de la Romanée-Conti monopoles - La Tâche and La Romanée-Conti - is the flagship wine of the estate. Its increased quality in recent years is the primary reason Nicole Lamarche’s star is in the ascendancy. It smells so young and pure: like a basket full of freshly picked strawberries. An exquisite fine thread of acidity weaves through the finish.

This wine is exclusive to Lay & Wheeler in the UK. It is a steep site that sits right up against Aux Boudots on the Vosne side of the appellation. It has the finesse of Vosne and the power of Nuits - a pretty appealing combination. Some of the very old vines were recently replaced, and 2022 is the first vintage that sees their production return to the blend - something that Nicole says makes this a much more interesting wine now.

This is one of the most exciting Hautes-Côtes de Nuits out there. It comes from a parcel in Concoeur-et-Courboin, on the hills just above Vosne. It has prickly red fruit, and light and fragrant body, with delicate but peppery tannins giving it agile length.

This is one of three grand cru sites in Nicole’s cellar. It is often the most understated, yet it offers up a remarkable persistence. Its fine, lacy texture makes for a graceful finish.

Nicole has three parcels within this grand cru, one in the northwest corner (where everyone wants to be) tucked up next to Musigny. The three add complexity and layers to the finished wine. This is a highly complete and poised wine in 2022. There’s a spiced density to the fruit-packed tannins, and a long savoury finish.

This might just be the best village Vosne out there. It comes from four parcels which host a variety of vine ages. The relatively high proportion of younger vines gives this cuvée an explosive, juicy structure. It is powerful and beautiful with silky tannins, and fresh red fruit, packing lots of energy.

This well-positioned vineyard on the Vosne side of the appellation sits on the slope, enjoying plenty of sunshine and the cooling ventilation of a constant breeze, keeping the fruit in excellent health during the growing season. The vineyard is on the border with Vosne-Romanée and the wine shows so much of its neighbour’s finesse as well as concentration, with Nuits’ bite and grip.

Ruchottes is a fairly small grand cru, just 3.3 hectares in total. The Mugneret-Gibourg parcel is in Ruchottes du Bas, and makes a beautiful wine, with chewy density and a luxurious, voluptuous finish. This is rightly regarded as a high-point in the Mugneret-Gibourg cellar.

This wonderful parcel sits just beneath the cluster of houses in the village centre. It makes such a sweetly-scented and elegant wine, with a brilliantly deep fruit core. Perfumed and spiced, with great tension.

Since 2016, the domaine has added a little whole-bunch to this cuvée. It really works here, giving it superb aromatic lift. 65% of the fruit comes from Rouges du Bas, the rest from the Quartier de Nuits section of the Echézeaux grand cru. So elegant and balanced.

This vineyard lies right next to the family home and winery, extending out like a garden from the cellar doors. Marie-Christine and Marie-Andrée’s father had rented it to a neighbour, but the well-maintained vineyard came back under the domaine’s control again from 2017. It is a full-bodied, deeply-fruited village wine with superb density and a cool, voluminous length.

This comes from just one parcel in Vosne-Romanée, planted in 1955, and for the past few years has sported the vineyard’s name, Les Lutenières, on its label. The wines are yielding such low volumes that the domaine is in the process of replanting, uprooting one quarter of the parcel at a time. The wine has a sweet density and deep, structured fruit, with profound persistence for a Bourgogne. It will easily age for a decade, which is not something you can say of every Bourgogne.

Mugneret-Gibourg has just one parcel within this sizable grand cru, planted in 1954, just next to the château. It is one of the finest examples of the vineyard, with depth, structure, and complexity, red cherry fruit and a full-bodied length.

This is a fairly recent addition to Maxime’s portfolio. As with all his wines it shows depth of fruit and suave tannins, with a long finish, tempered by the freshness of the vintage.

Les Petits Monts is a superbly positioned premier cru, lying just above Richebourg and alongside Cros Parantoux. Maxime is in full command of his craft when it comes to Vosne premiers crus, so owners of this will be in for a treat in years to come.

This comes from parcels scattered across the village that Maxime inherited from his grandmother. It has delicious red fruit energy woven through the velvet-like tannins. Quintessential Vosne.

Maxime’s lightness of touch combined with Nuits-St-George’s naturally muscular style make for a compelling village wine. It has a dark cherry fruit core, with the density to ensure a long drinking window.

The Chaume vineyard lies in the centre of the village, and is strongly associated with the Georges Noëllat name - it sweeps right down into their garden. The wine is supremely silky and supple, with deep berry fruit. It couldn’t be anything other than top class Vosne.

This is Maxime at the top of his game, and this cuvée is one of the most sought-after in his collection. It shows the delicious combination of grand cru structure and length, with the sweet fruit note of morello cherry.

Maxime’s Boudots is always one of the top picks from his cellar showing both the silky control of Vosne and the muscular depth of Nuits in its complex character.

Of all the wines under the Maxime Cheurlin Noëllat label, this will need the longest to come around. It comes from lieu-dit Le Petit Maupertui, one of the finest parcels in the substantial grand cru.

The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits is proving a popular spot for growers in Vosne who are looking for wines that are a little more forward, accessible, and with vibrant freshness, as is the case in this excellent example.

This comes from a single parcel just across the road from Chambolle-Musigny in Gilly-lès-Cîteaux, called Les Bons Bâtons. It is so red-fruited, with fragrant length, and lacy tannins. It feels more like a Chambolle than a Bourgogne, and comes with considerable ageing potential.

You won’t find much better than this at village level. This is a wine of terrific complexity and nuance, with much of the texture and nuance you can find in her premiers crus, just with a slightly more forward and open fruit, and lighter tannins. It comes from nine plots across the village, and shows wonderful definition.

This vineyard lies right in the middle of the village in a small dip, making it a cool spot, giving it an edge in warmer years. In 2022, she finds it the most Chambolle of the cellar. The vines are now 40 years old, and are really hitting their stride. It has superb floral intensity, and a delicate restraint. Only one and a half barrels made, even in the plentiful 2022 vintage.

This is one of Ghislaine’s greatest cuvées. Its slightly deeper soil than other Chambolle premiers crus means the vines often ripen early here, and it’s always the first harvested. Ghislaine describes it as a loyal friend - it’s always there with open arms, from youth right through to old age.

This wine’s power and energy dominate when young, and the promise of its future are clear to see when tasting from barrel. This is an exceptional Cras from Ghislaine, with grand cru texture through and through. It’s the most structured wine in the cellar, and possibly the best, too.

Charles van Canneyt’s Vosne is a mini-masterclass in its style. It comes from a single parcel called Basses Mazières, just below Suchots. It is smoky, spiced, and has Vosne’s velvet power.

This comes from an astonishing 18 different parcels, many clustered around the village of Chambolle-Musigny. It shows a huge amount of concentration for a Bourgogne, with intense berry fruit and glossy tannins.

This is a supreme example of Clos de Vougeot. Charles has two excellent parcels, one of which is just next to the château in the sweet spot of the Clos. It shows density without heaviness, intensity without extraction.

Les Murgers is one of the finest positioned vineyards in Nuits, in the heart of the hillside on the Vosne-Romanée side of the town. It is scented and sophisticated, with a salty, savoury quality and tremendous length.

Les Beaumonts sits high up the hill, on the limestone slope which is home to Vosne’s finest premiers crus. The wine is dark, brooding, with mineral freshness and elegant spice. It has backbone, but also a tenderness. This should evolve with great grace in the cellar.

This is the pinnacle of the Hudelot-Noëllat cellar. It shows such an amplitude of fruit, such fine, textural layers, and a beautifully perfumed length.