2020 Côte de Nuits

Fixin doesn’t have any grand crus, but in Amélie’s eyes, this is a pretty close estimation. It has very shallow soils, and the vines, now aged 30-80 years old, dig deep. 60% whole bunch (higher than usual) brings a floral, spiced fruit. This is an incredibly successful 2020.

With Richebourg and Cros Parantoux as neighbours, you can expect great things from this vineyard. Amélie has five separate plots across half a hectare. The site is so steep and inaccessible that no tractors can reach it, and all work is done by horse or hand. The 2020 has 40% whole bunch, which helps give the already exceptionally concentrated fruit some lift and flow. It is so persistent on the finish, with Vosne’s powerful, velvet-like tannins.

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.

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.

Bruno Clair has an impressive 10 hectares in his home village of Marsannay. He bottles five separate cuvées, including this wonderful iteration from a single parcel at the southern end of the commune, on the slope that rises up behind the village. Its name (meaning “fat heads”) refers not to anybody involved in its cultivation, but rather the large rocks that show through the surface of the clay soil. It is typically the most structured and powerful of the Clair Marsannays, and in 2020 it is muscular and athletic, reminding me of Gevrey-Chambertin. It can often be difficult to taste so young, but its powdery tannins and fleshy, energetic red-fruit freshness make this 2020 feel accessible already, though with the structure to age. Like the 2019, this is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair.

This clos is a monopole of the domaine found right at the centre point of Gevrey, between the grand cru slope and the Combe de Lavaux. It experienced lots of millerandages in 2020 (small berries) and the wine has an incredible concentration expressed with exquisite finesse. This is absolutely delicious, with red-fruit power and mineral length. Clos du Fonteny is always one of Bruno’s personal favourites.

This remarkable village lieu-dit sits directly above Bonnes Mares, Clos de Tart, and Clos des Lambrays. The Clair parcel is situated just above their Bonnes Mares parcel. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a premier cru. Up here there is virtually no top soil at all, and the vines plunge straight into the limestone bedrock. Arthur uses up to 30% whole bunch on the young vine parcel, which he vinifies separately from the older vines, blending later to build layers of complexity. It has a summer hedgerow aroma - blackberries and wild strawberries - with tightly-wound tannins giving the palate a nervous energy. Truly excellent.

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 site, and this is a benchmark example.

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 sleek and seductive, with a rich, detailed, luxurious feel about it.

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.

This tiny premier cru is set in a dip that was once a quarry (as the name alludes to). Full of black cherries, with a creamy texture and silky length. Structured and complex.

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, so the production of this site is strictly limited at the moment.

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.

One of three grand cru sites in the Lamarche cellar. This is often the most understated. It has a hedgerow and light graphite scent in 2020, with a fine lacy texture on the palate. This should age gracefully in bottle.

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 2020. Spiced, fruit-packed, with density and length, and satin-like tannins.

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 high-acid fruit.

This comes from just one parcel in Vosne-Romanée, planted in 1955. 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 yield in 2020, like 2019, was just 20 hl/ha, and the result is a staggeringly concentrated Bourgogne Rouge. It 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.

This wonderful parcel sits just beneath the cluster of houses in the village centre. It makes such a sweet and long wine in 2020, with a brilliantly deep fruit core. Perfumed and spiced, with great tension.

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.

This is the vineyard that 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, blackberry character, with volume and mineral tension.

This has a dark cherry fruit core, with a density and structure that should ensure a long drinking window for this village wine. The tannins are expertly knit together.

This shows the delicious combination of grand cru structure and length, with the sweet fruit note of morello cherry. This is Maxime at the top of his game.

Maxime has made an outstanding Boudots in 2019. It feels more Vosne than Nuits with its dark cherry and raspberry density. Sensational structure.

Gevrey provides the structure and savoury stature, Maxime provides the silky texture and long, poised finish.

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 such a wonderful definition in 2020.

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. Considerable ageing potential.

This is one of Ghislaine’s greatest cuvées. The 2020 has an intensely aromatic nose. It is just so Pinot, bursting with gorgeous pomegranate aromas, a fresh red berry acidity on the palate, and brilliantly lacy tannins. Picked early enough to keep a wonderful freshness.

This wine’s power and energy usually dominate when young, but this 2020 is already showing wonderfully expressive smoky character. It may have the most structured tannins in the cellar, but it might just be the best.

Unlike some Côteaux Bourguignons which are a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir, this is 100% Gamay, from a parcel of very old vines the Grivots inherited via the Jayers, one of whom was married to Etienne’s father. When tasting, Etienne mentioned that Henri Jayer made him promise to never, ever rip out these vines. He has since kept his word, and it is now one of the wines that Etienne is most animated about in their whole cellar. It’s a more slender wine than the 2019, and is focused and vibrant with lively red fruits.

Beaux Monts is always one of the most impressive wines from this cellar. It is a beautiful vineyard in Vosne, and one of Etienne’s personal favourites. It is intense and energetic, with beautifully constructed tannins. The ageing potential is dialled up here. It is a wine of tremendous finesse already, but also one that promises much more in the years to come.

This single vineyard Côtes de Nuits-Village wine is a firm Lay & Wheeler favourite. In 2020 it has a pretty frame, built around fragrant, peppery red fruit. The palate has a straight and incisive mineral line, giving it wonderful freshness. This outplays many wines from grander communes every year, and 2020 is no exception.

Clos de Vougeot is a huge vineyard, so it matters where you’re placed. Jean-Marc Millot’s plot is in Grand Maupertui, which borders Grands-Echézeaux, often considered the finest part of the vineyard. This is a big wine in 2020, with black licorice, raspberry, and salty minerality. Ample and distinguished.

This comes from two sites in Vosne, one bordering Suchots (Hautes Maizières) and the other Clos Vougeot (Les Violettes). It has a fresh, bright drive, with a silky fluidity to the cherry fruit palate. Voluminous and sophisticated, and every inch of its prestigious communes.

This large seven hectare vineyard in the hills above Nuits-St-Georges has wonderful limestone soils, quite similar to those found on the hill of Corton, though with a much fresher climate, thanks to its elevation. The vines were planted in the 1970s and 1980s, and at full maturity are producing great concentration, and some interesting and complex layers in the wine. It is expressive, with vibrant acidity and some tannin oomph so sustain a long finish.

This premier cru neighbours Richebourg, and has a lot of limestone on the soil. This gives the wine great definition and drive on the palate. As ever, it is quite a broad-shouldered wine, with good stature promising ageing potential. But there is also Vosne’s classic velvet power in the fruit, matched with some toasty oak.

This vineyard is a monopole of the estate which has been in the hands of the family since 1860. Where the Brûlées is firm and structured, Clos de Réas is more lithe and supple, with a sophisticated flavour palette of blood oranges, crushed raspberries, and fresh rosemary. It is both opulent and refined.

These vines were planted in 1947, and the wine they have made in 2020 is exquisitely svelte, with exceptionally fine tannins. There is a controlled power within. Absolutely glorious.

There can’t be many village parcels with a better position than this. Indeed, the bottom half of the vineyard is premier cru. The top half runs above Les Fuées and meets with Bonnes-Mares at its northern edge. This wine has so much drive and precision, and a lovely pink peppercorn lift on the nose. 50% whole bunch is expertly judged. The wine shows absolutely no stress at all from the heat of the year. This is classical Pinot Noir at its best.

This is a Vosne with some punch. It comes from some excellent sites across the village, including Aux Raviolles, La Croix Blanches and Les Hauts Beaux Monts. It has a note of blood orange and sour cherry, and a long, finely textured length with pleasing grip.

This superbly placed vineyard is on the Vosne-Romanée side of the village. It is towards the bottom of the slope with deeper soils than the premiers crus above it. The wine feels so beautifully smooth, with a lovely deep core of sweet fruit. Classic Burgundy through and through.

These vines are around 60 years old and come from four parcels, which Maxime gives a very representative snapshot of the village. It has a beautiful nose, with a discreet violet aroma that opens slowly in the glass. The palate has a chalky length, and a really balanced juicy character. Utterly delicious.

Aux Boudots is a magnificent vineyard that borders Aux Malconsorts in Vosne. It produces some of the most luxurious and decadent wines of Nuits, with much of its neighbours character intertwined with its structured and muscular frame.

This vineyard is in the hills above Vosne, and enjoys a cooler microclimate thanks to its 437m elevation. There is a tiny bit of Pinot Blanc grown amongst Chardonnay here. The wine has a gorgeous lemon verbena zingy freshness, citrusy and lightly grassy, with a chalky palate.

This old vine parcel of Clos de Vougeot comes from two parcels in the Clos: one third from the Petits Maupertuis, next to Grands Echezeaux, and the rest from the parcel next to Grivot’s, just below Château de La Tour. It has a distinctly dark, brooding fruit profile, its muscular tannins drenched in cassis. Clos de Vougeot excelled in 2019, and this is yet another superb example. The vineyard’s propensity for large frame and broad structure are the perfect template for 2019’s ripe and lively fruit. This has a dialled-up intensity, and should age for decades.

This is one of the most complete Gevrey village wines you will find: multiple parcels scattered around the village which are vinified in three parts. One part comes from the light stony soil at the bottom of the valley, giving a cool elegance; the second is a cluster of parcels in the middle of the village on clay soil, giving body and structure; the third is a group of parcels below the grands crus, giving a complexity and finesse. The vines are all aged between 45 and 85 years, and the concentration and complexity this wine delivers for the price is hard to beat. It is a serious wine in 2020, with excellent depth of flavour and a distinctly dry, savoury finish.

This was the first parcel they converted to biodynamics in 1997, so this lovely vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin has now benefitted from over two decades of low-intervention farming. It is also planted with a north/south orientation, and has fared well in the recent series of warm vintages. 2020 is no exception. It is wonderfully aromatic and has a beautifully long, understated finish.

This is one of the best terroirs among Morey’s premiers crus, just below Clos de la Roche. It has the suavest touch of reduction on the nose, making it wild yet noble. Voluminous and rich, but with 2020’s freshness and delicious tannins. I ask this every year: is this the best value premier cru red to be found?

Stéphane’s parcel of 65-year-old vines lie right in the heart of the old Clos, the original part of the appellation. It shows delicate salinity and fragrant fruit depth. Truly grand cru. Understated but hugely impressive.