2020 Côte de Beaune

Amongst a strong line up of premiers crus in David’s cellar, this was the stand-out. It comes from a parcel which has some very hard limestone bedrock, though the wine is marked by its surprising suppleness. It seems to be the most fluent expression of the village in 2020, without the straighter edge of some of the other premier crus, but rather a tenderness all of its own.

Les Hâtes sits in the middle of the village, surrounded by premiers crus on well-draining soil. It is so red-fruited and floral - bursting with grenadine and red currant aromas - that you’d be forgiven for thinking it probably has a high proportion of whole bunch fruit. But, in fact, David says only 3-5% whole bunches went into the tank. The floral character is a natural expression of the site, and makes it a delicious introduction to the village for first-timers.

This is a blend of two parcels. Just over half (55%) comes from a village parcel, but the other 45% comes from the 1er Cru Clos Rousseau vineyard, which is an extension of the vineyard of the same name in Santenay. It is so bright and energetic, with a crunchy texture and well-handled tannins, giving it bite, but no hard edges. This is vibrant, red-fruited, light-bodied, crisp Pinot Noir. 15% whole bunch fruit gives it a sweet and lifted air.

Since 2012, Alain has been exchanging juice with a neighbour, for just one barrel of this grand cru that he vinifies and ages in his cellar along with his premiers crus. This has a distinctly saline bite to it, and will require some time in bottle for the fruit to fill out, so it’s worth waiting a little for this grand cru.

The plot of Charmes in Puligny is a continuation of 1er Cru Charmes in Meursault, and shares many of its characteristics, like the light, fine, stony soils. The 2020 is limey and tensile at first, but there’s also some peachy fruit beneath, that will no doubt come to the fore as the wine evolves. This is straight-forward Puligny with a direct freshness.

Smooth, silky, bright and incisive. There is a lot to like here. The Ballot-Millot vines sit at the top of the parcel, giving this Charmes atypical minerality, setting it apart from the richer example produced further down the slope. A triumph in 2020.

You can’t separate Genevrières and Perrières this year - they are both outstanding. The vines here are over 80 years old, and have weathered the hot summers well. It has weight and persistence without being at all heavy. So poised. Perfect Meursault.

This is 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. Its production accounts for 40% of the domaine’s output, being drawn from many sites across the village, half of which are tucked up in the pocket of village vines that hug the premiers crus. The other half comes from the village’s border with Puligny-Montrachet. It is so open and pure, with a wonderful pink grapefruit light bitterness adding mineral freshness and persistence.

La Maltroie is one of the larger premiers crus in Chassagne, and is often one of the most restrained, backward wines in the Moreau cellar. The vines sit right in the middle of the village, opposite the cellar. The 2020 has a creamy density, and a tight, refined power. It feels young, like it will enjoy a long life ahead.

Like Bignon 421, this is a single vineyard in Nantoux named Le Clou, sitting at a precise 377 metres elevation. Here the soil is more like Volnay, with chalky, rocky soils over a limestone marl bedrock. This structure provides excellent water retention, so the vines were able to sit out the drought stress of the vintage. The wine has piquant aromatics, with freshly cracked black and szechuan pepper. Boris has upped the whole bunch to 70% here, which adds layers of silky tannins.

In 2020 this can finally bear the name of its lieu-dit, Bignon. The site’s red clay, which Boris comments is not unlike that found in nearby Pommard, has made a grenadine rich, layered, and richly spiced wine. 60% whole bunch and ageing in one-year-old barrels have made an impression on the fruit, but will be fully integrated by the time the wine is bottled. The elevation of the site is precisely 421 metres, and the cooling influence of the elevation means the fruit is of a vibrantly red hue, with intense redcurrants and cranberries.

This comes from the young vines of the domaine, which are scattered across various parcels around the village of Nantoux. It has a zesty acidity giving it a fresh profile, which is twinned with the ripe berry fruit character. Whole bunch has been upped to 50% in 2020. It has a nice pepperiness, with a sapid length.

These are the oldest vines of the domaine, and were planted in 1902. They handled the drought extremely well. It’s an east-facing vineyard that catches the sun all day in its amphitheatre-like form. This precious site was Bruno’s father’s favourite, and is now his son’s, Arthur’s, favourite too. And to top that, Arthur says the 2020 is his favourite of all vintages they have made here. So, it’s safe to say the Clairs are happy with this cuvée in 2020. It is wonderfully aromatic, with blueberries, cinnamon spice, and floral lift on the nose, and some deep, sumptuous fruit on the palate. Outstanding.

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 superb wine: concentrated and energetic, with a precision you only find in Chardonnay grown on limestone.

This is not a small vineyard. Indeed, at 5.23 hectares it is one of the largest monopole vineyards in Burgundy, and certainly one of the most celebrated in the region. The high proportion of old vines - some past their centenary year - means low yields are the norm. And demand is such that even in spite of its size, this wine regularly sells out early on. In a vintage like 2020 where volumes are below average, moving early would be a wise move. And you won’t regret it: this is a great example of the Clos, and yet another instance for Paul Zinetti to rewrite the old trope that Pommard is muscular and rustic only: this is powerful, but svelte, profound, and intense, with detail and nuance. This is truly one of the greatest vineyards of the Côte de Beaune.

Les Frémiets sits on the border with Pommard, and the wine often shows the character of both villages. Perhaps there is a little spicy grip of Pommard in the background, but in 2020, this feels squarely in its Volnay designation. It is deliciously floral, gourmand, and delicately plush. Its high proportion of old vines make it concentrated and deep. This could be one of the vintages that Fremiets vies with Clos des Epeneaux for top spot. Which will win out, only time will tell. But you wouldn’t be mad to place a bet on this.

The domaine's tiny holdings of Chardonnay are situated on the flat plain opposite Pommard and Volnay. Only made in very small quantities, there was just one large barrel in 2020. It is zesty and bright, with a long and savoury finish.

La Maltroie is located just up the road from the winery, near the heart of the village. The domaine owns two parcels, one of 0.56 hectares and the other 0.17 hectares. Céline says it is always approachable, and in 2020 it has a superb concentration of nectarine fruit and hazelnuts. It is more weighty than the village wine, with an extra level of depth. This was a wonderful outing for Maltroie. It’s a great value sweet-spot in Chassagne, offering up the village’s chiselled nuttiness and 2020’s vibrant length. It’s a great buy, from a domaine at the top of its game.

Caillerets takes its name from the tiny stones that litter the vineyard’s soil, and it’s one of the village’s most highly prized sites. This 2020 is saline and compact, with serious and persistent length. Its charm centres on its tension and energy, and the fruit, though present, is discreet in its youth. This is an extremely grown-up Chassagne.

Criots is a tiny grand cru, just one and a half hectares, making Fontaine-Gagnard one of the largest owners, with one third of a hectare. The south-facing slope, with poor limestone soils, yields a wine with superb power and tension. Yet in spite of the emphatic power, the wine is so balanced, and understated.

Deliciously fresh, with sleek, nutty fruit, and perfectly pitched new oak (20%). This abounds with ripe lemon, and has Chassagne’s signature chiselled texture. As ever, a benchmark Chassagne from one of our favourite producers, and excellent value.

This is indisputably one of the greatest premiers crus of Chassagne, and 2020 will be one of the final vintages for some time. From 2022 the old, low yielding vines will be grubbed up for replanting. Fontaine-Gagnard has two parcels, both east-facing and steep, with well draining soil. The vineyard is right next to a small forest, and apparently you can often see animals venturing into the vines.This is a supreme example of the Fontaine-Gagnard style: savoury, salty, and long.

This has the detailed nose of sweet red berry fruit and floral lift we love in Volnay. The site’s generous top soil makes for a wine of appealing charm, marking it out as one of the earliest drinking of the Buffet Volnay premiers crus. The fruit is completely destemmed, and the wine has a sumptuous, succulent texture on the palate. Cellar for a few years, then don’t hold back.

This village wine has an inviting floral and gently spicy nose. It’s a blend of two parcels: the evocatively named Les Famines, whose paucity of soil makes the roots dig deep; and a small dash of a tiny premier cru, La Gigotte, which is nestled just beneath the larger and more renowned Mitans cru, and lifts this village wine up a notch. Grapes from both parcels were entirely destemmed, and the wine has a chewy, sapid, fruity, and accessible profile, with nicely grippy tannins. It’s a Volnay full of up front joy.

This cuvée is made in tiny volumes - only two and a half barrels in 2020. Its one third whole bunch adds a plush, pillowy texture that couches the structured backbone of this wine. This is a truly great expression of the village.

Like the Volnay Taillepieds, this is one of the smaller cuvées in the Buffet stable. It comes from the upper part of the vineyard, and is a stylish wine with a powerful, deep, and muscular drive. Its one-hundred-year-old vines are responsible for its dense layers of complexity. Unlike some of the Volnay premiers crus from this domaine, this wine will need some time, so tuck it away for a few years.

It is well worth following Olivier’s reds, particularly in recent vintages. 2020 is another superb example of Clos des Hâtes following the outstanding 2019. The vineyard had previously been owned by M. Duvault-Blochet, former owner of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Today, high density planting and organic farming mean low yields, which does a great service to the fruit - red berries with a smoky graphite scent lingering over them. Mineral and defined.

Les Frionnes is one of Olivier’s most important and favourite vineyards, which he says does particularly well in dry years, thanks to its decomposed Kimmeridgian limestone soil. He has five parcels within it, with vines varying in age from 10 to 80 years old. The soils’ similarity to those found in Chablis and Sancerre is not just an academic point - you can really feel it in the wine. It has an oyster shell nose, and a Chablis-esque chiselled frame on the palate.

Santenay is one of the southern-most villages of the Côte d’Or. This sunny spot on a steep limestone slope, always picked early, and now vinified in a glass wine globe, captured the vibrant essence of the 2020 vintage. It has delicious notes of pear and blossom on the nose, with wonderful tension and crystalline purity on the palate.

En Remilly is considered the finest vineyard in St-Aubin. Olivier Lamy’s wine is always one of its greatest, and his 2020 is truly magnificent, with soaring flavour and energy. It is so many things at once: smoky, chalky, mineral, vibrant.

Clos de la Chatenière is a steep south-facing parcel enclosed by a wall, with 65-year-old vines. There are warmer red soils here, on the Puligny side of the village, and the wine is rich, and exuberant. A high level of millerandages amongst the old vines produces an added concentration, and the wine displays a salty, complex character, with a serious and persuasive length.

Le Charmois is on a hill just next to Chassagne-Montrachet’s 1er Cru Les Chaumées. Its cool, poor limestone soil makes for a tightly powerful wine with straight, chalky freshness. It has a glinting green colour in the glass, and so much tension on the palate. This will need a little time to unwind, but when it does, will reveal the superb savoury freshness of St-Aubin’s top sites. There is so much in store here.

This is from three of the village’s best communal sites: Les Pierres (94-year-old vines), Mazures (40+), and Houillères (30+). The younger vines give lift, elegance and a vibrant drive, while the older vines give depth and power. It is lightly lemony and nutty on the nose, with a dry, grippy palate.

This comes from two parcels with an average vine age of 40 years. One is located on the Pernand side of the hill, adding freshness, and the other in the centre of the hill, just beneath the Bonneau du Martray parcel. Made in tiny volumes.

This vineyard bordering Pommard did once produce wines with some robust, muscular tannins. But now that they have reached 70 years old, the father and son team note how much the tannins have begun to soften, and become distinctly finer in recent years. It still has a vibrant grippiness in 2020, but the floral aromatics, and the fine-grained nature of the tannins give it elegance.

As usual, this was the first parcel to be picked. It had already reached 13.5% by 18th August, and so they seized the moment. Louis mentioned it has much in common with Ghislaine’s Beaux Bruns, and if left to hang on the vine, the fruit can take on a black fruit meatiness. Their quick action in 2020 has kept it firmly in the vibrant red fruit camp. It has a nice spicy lift, reminiscent of ginger and cinnamon. The acidity sings here; it’s a wonderful wine.

This vineyard straddles the village boundary between Puligny and Chassagne and is well regarded as a top flight village parcel, with the likes of Coche-Dury also producing a single vineyard cuvée from this site. Its position just beneath Bâtard-Montrachet goes a long way in explaining its superior quality. It is detailed, lacey and precise. The 70-year-old vines in this parcel deliver wonderfully sophisticated and complex fruit; its ageing potential for its village status is pretty astonishing. Don’t hesitate to hold for ten years if you can resist.

This is a blend of two parcels: one in Chassagne and one in Puligny. In 2020 it is transparent and complete, with a classical frame and a vibrant drive. The palate has a delicious silkiness and a crisp balance. A highlight in a year rich in stellar Bourgognes Blancs.

This is a blend of their lower-lying parcels of village Volnay plus some 1er Cru Brouillards. Lafarge’s Volnay is always so elegant and charming, with a perfumed nose, and an expressive silky frame. The fruit spectrum is distinctly red here, and the wine feels poised and sweetly ripe, whilst remaining taut and fresh.

This comes from the family’s best parcels in the village - in Les Grands Champs, Les Pluchots, La Gigotte, and Ez Echards, all of which border the premiers crus just above. It has a dialled up complexity and depth of fruit, with slightly more emphatic tannins, making it a great candidate for ageing.

Although their home village of Volnay is what many people think of when they hear Lafarge, their noble Beaunes are equally highly regarded. Fine-boned and with fabulous tension, this will make fine old bones.

This south facing parcel is tucked up the valley slope, so on the Beaune (i.e. north) side of the village, facing directly towards Volnay. It’s a cool site, thanks to the fresh breeze that is drawn down through the vines, but the white soil and south-facing exposure means it can heat up pretty quickly when the sun shines. Joannes has used 100% whole bunch fruit in the vinification here, and from it he has conjured a remarkably sweet length, and a fabulous elegance, without any heavy-handedness whatsoever. This was a diamond.

This is a wonderful site in Beaune, high up on the hill to the south of the town. The 100% whole bunch works extremely well here, making for a salty, charming wine with depth and length, and a hint of sucrosity at the end - not from any residual sugar in the wine, but from the beautiful sweetness of fruit.

This village wine is 100% destemmed and has a sapid, redcurrant, spiced pomegranate character, with long, lightly structured tannins holding it together. This is a great entry point for one of Pommard’s most promising new voices.

2019 was the final vintage of Nicolas’ much loved Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes. 2020 sees the introduction of this new cuvée, a marked step up in complexity and length, and still an absolute bargain. It’s a brilliant debut, with juicy, bright, smooth fruit, a touch of sweetness to the tannins, and a long, fresh finish.

There is so much fruit on the nose: apricots, nectarines, tangerines, with a twist of almond and orange blossom. It has incredible energy on the palate, and superb concentration, thanks to the old vines (some up to 95 years old). The vineyard is just next to Puligny-Montrachet’s 1er Cru Les Combettes, and it shares a little of its neighbour’s nervous tension.

Clos de la Barre is a 2.1 vineyard just behind the domaine which is a monopole of Lafon. Even in warm years, the fruit retains its acidity well, and in 2019, the wine has deliciously appealing bitter freshness married with ripe apricot fruit. A hint of danish pastry makes it typically Meursault.

This is a blend of multiple parcels of older vines (the average age is 55 years), which all share in common their mid-slope position. There is quite a lot of flat land and heavy clay at the bottom of Santenay which is less good, so this is an important distinction. These vines are all in the upper part of the village on limestone, and make for an aromatic, vibrant, fresh, and distinctive red wine packed with black cherry and damson notes. It is full and fruity without being heavy or hard work.

Champlots is a steep site, just next to Frionnes, and can be back-breaking work for the pickers. They pick early in the morning here, both to preserve the freshness of the fruit and to give the pickers the benefit of the cooler morning temperatures. The vines are relatively young - just 15 years - and the limestone soils make a charming style of St-Aubin. It has some deliciously plump citrus fruit - lemon and kumquat - with a tingling, fine line of acidity.

This village parcel is in the north of the commune, bordering Puligny-Montrachet. If you were to stand here and turn your gaze up the hill, you’d notice you are spitting distance from Bâtard-Montrachet, with only the thin sliver of Vide Bourse 1er Cru between. The soil is slightly more humid here - a bonus in a warm, dry year like 2020. This wine has such a satisfyingly silky weight. Its Chassagne roots show in the nutty, savoury structure, and the influence of Puligny peeks through in the nervous, steely finish. It’s definitely more than an average village wine.

This is 100% domaine-owned fruit from the tiny clos of just 1.7ha in the climat of Vergers on the Chassagne/St-Aubin border. The 2020 is a deliciously savoury style, with crystalline stone fruit character, and a powerful freshness.

You’d expect this wine to be one of the best in the stable: from home turf, made from a magnificent blend of 26 parcels from across the commune. It is one of the most complete and compelling portraits of the village you’ll find, and it’s a wine to remind you that these Olivier Leflaive wines are not only the most benchmark example of their appellations, but also some of the most exciting in their category. This is everything Puligny should be, and more: tight, steely, nervous, and in 2020, fabulously concentrated and long.

This is a top contender for most popular wine on our list, from anywhere in the world. It captures everything we want from a classic Bourgogne Blanc, and its keen price means it sells out every year at en primeur. Most of its fruit is sourced from Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, and the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. The 2020 has a lemon brightness to it, a great bite of freshness from both acidity and pithy minerality, with just a gentle hint of discreet oak supporting in the background. All in all, there’s a lot going on here for a humble Bourgogne. Its following is well deserved.

This vineyard is tucked up at the top of the village on the border with Auxey-Duresses. The cooler hilltop position helps the wine retain a terrific mineral drive. Its 50 year old vines produce concentrated fruit, that when ripened to perfection, as in 2020, make for a fleshy, full, savoury wine with lots of impact.

This brilliant-value Bourgogne Blanc comes from limestone parcels scattered around the Puligny side of Meursault. This wine always delivers: in 2020 it’s so poised and long, and particularly persistent for a Bourgogne. 25% new oak is relatively high for a Bourgogne, adding savoury definition - you get a lot of bang for your buck here. It is a great introduction to the Côte d’Or.

This is the jewel in the crown of this estate. The vines are on the Aloxe-Corton side of the hill, south-facing, with clay/limestone soil. It sees no new oak (instead, the small volume is vinified in one-year-old barrels), so it has a fresh fruit style. It always has that classic Corton-Charlemagne smoky bacon nose, and a palate of deep and concentrated fruit. The acidity of the vintage works brilliantly here with the natural weight and power of the site.