2020 Côte de Nuits

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 that a number of growers choose to bottle separately, sitting at the southern end of the village. It has some firm structure in its savoy, grainy tannins, offering support to the fruit. This should age well.

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.

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, and in 2020 it was initially muscular and athletic, reminding me of Gevrey-Chambertin when tasted from barrel. A recent revisit (spring 2024) to this wine now in bottle reminded me how Pinot Noir has a remarkable ability to surprise. The powdery tannins and fleshy, energetic red-fruit freshness have knitted together seamlessly, and the wine is now an absolute joy. It undeniably retains the structure to age, and tastes easily twice the price it is. This is quintessential Marsannay, and quintessential Clair, and a hot contender for promotion to premier cru status.

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.

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.

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.

As the name suggests, this 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 2020 is agile and bright, with juicy flow, and floral detail.

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.

Les Suchots is one of Vosne’s most substantial premiers crus, famous for producing particularly long-lived wines. This shows brilliantly crystalline Pinot fruit - so pure, red fruited and ethereal. It’s an uncommon find in 2020 which can often feel darker than that. Bravo to Nicole for capturing this in an outstandingly elegant wine.

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 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 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 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 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 domaine wine comes from parcels around Maxime’s home village. There’s plenty of red fruit energy woven through the velvet-like tannins.

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.

The family’s garden extends out into the Chaumes vineyard, in the centre of the village. Their terrace has a great view of it, which is where Maxime likes to open an older vintage or two when you visit. This 2019 is supremely silky and supple, with deep berry fruit. It couldn’t be anything other than top class Vosne.

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.

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.

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 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.

This vineyard lies right in the middle of the village, and Ghislaine says because it lies in a little dip, it’s always a cool spot, giving it an edge in warmer years. In 2020, 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.

This comes from a parcel called Basses Mazières, just below Suchots. Smoky, spiced, and with an intensity on the palate promising great ageing potential.

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.

Clos de Vougeot might be a grand cru, but in the wrong hands it can be ungainly and heavy. In the hands of the Grivots, however, it is a finely woven, detailed and poised wine with beautiful power and length. Blood orange and violets perfume the nose, with a little tobacco spice and pepper on the palate spicing up the ripe red berry fruit. So sweetly tender, but also so powerful, with nicely detailed tannins.

This wine has earned a strong following for its superb quality, and will no doubt sell out quickly on release. It is suave and intense, with an opulent and dazzling freshness, and a complex profile of blood orange, rosemary, dark berries and smoke. It finishes with a beautiful length, lingering with aromatic beauty long after you have sipped it.

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 is always one of the prettiest in the Grivot cellar, and in 2020, it also has the structure and concentration to age gracefully. There is a sweet balance between the tannins and fruit, with fresh acidity and elegant body.

Aux Lavières is tucked just beneath 1er Cru Aux Murgers, on the Vosne side of the appellation, and it’s quite a step up on your regular village cuvée. This 2020 shows clarity, energy and density. What a wonderful wine this vintage. Excellent grip and length.

This is perennially one of the most in-demand wines in Burgundy. It is truly grand cru in stature in 2020. Profound, complex, with supreme and slick length.

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.

Alix’s Echézeaux is a blend of three plots across the grand cru. It shows an incredible level of intensity in 2020, with kirsch, menthol, dark spice, and black tea all vying for attention. The tannins give it magnificent structure.

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 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.

If you are looking for good value in Vosne-Romanée, you’re on the right track here. It comes from three well-placed parcels, including Aux Réas which extends on from the premier cru, along with La Colombière, and Au Dessus de la Rivière. There’s a grippy balance at play here between some blackberry fruit and some nicely herbal aromatics. It has a good, firm length with a high level of density for a village wine.

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.

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.

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.

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 small monopole vineyard sits opposite the cellar, and it’s where the heart of the domaine lies. It’s amazing, but undeniable, that in a line up that contains some of Chambolle and Vosne’s finest sites, this was the highlight of the cellar. It is so complete and composed, with a sensationally long finish. Don’t miss this.

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.

This is a blend of two parcels, one planted in the 1970s and 1980s, the other in the 1950s. It is raised in 50% new oak, which gives texture and luxurious depth.

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.

Fixin is a village just north of Gevrey-Chambertin, and is a source of increasingly interesting wines. They often display a dark, wild, brambly character. In this instance it is combined with the classic Méo silkiness.

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 lies just below La Tâche towards the centre of the village. It has produced a deep and concentrated wine that is complemented by some glossy, toasty oak. Wonderfully long finish.

This is the pinnacle of the Ponsot cellar: their most famous and emblematic cuvée, and the one most demanding of time in the cellar. It comes from two parcels: the first is from the Monts Luisants part of the vineyard, which is home to both the oldest (some are over 80 years old) and youngest vines in the blend. The tannins of Monts Luisants are structural and firm, and will gain in tenderness with age. The rest comes from the original Clos de la Roche parcel in the heart of the hillside, which adds expressive fruit to the blend. Less dense on the palate, but with a lithe and silky fruit core, it brings a perfect balance to the finished wine. In all, the cuvée draws from 3.4 hectares, and is vinified in 5 separate tanks. They continue through their élévage as distinct parts, only blended towards the end before bottling. The finished assemblage is one of profound complexity and depth, offering up violets, peonies, cassis, red currants, iodine, blood orange, and smoky spice. And through all this fruit concentration, the wine retains an arresting freshness. This is a staggering wine of utter brilliance, rich and resplendent.

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 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?

This is a blend of two parcels, Les Congées and Clos Solon, with an average vine age over 55 years. The deeper clay soils in these parcels means the vines were well protected against the summer drought. It has a very Morey character - black fruit and spice, with a faintly wild edge to it. Gorgeous, and incredible value.

This vineyard has the unusual honour of spanning grand cru (Clos de la Roche), premier cru, and village. Stéphane’s parcel lies right in the middle of the lieu-dit, and thus the premier cru sector. Only 400 litres have been made in 2020, so this brilliant wine will be scarce. It has satisfying richness and brilliantly proportioned freshness.

Another new addition to the Cathiard cellar in 2019. The 2020 feels slightly richer than the Chaumes, with some decadent berry depth and complex, weighted length.

This comes from a parcel between Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée, and contains 40% Gamay and 60% Pinot Noir. It is full of sweet spice and berry fruits with a lovely long finish.

This premier cru has an enviable exposure, similar to Clos St Jacques in Gevrey. These 65 year old vines were planted by Sébastien’s great-grandfather when he was a tenant farmer. Wonderfully cool blue fruit with some ripe acidity giving it lift and drive.

One of three new additions to the Cathiard cellar in 2019, along with two Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. This comes from a single parcel in Gevrey, Champ Franc. Spicy, grippy, and sophisticated in 2020.

A new addition to the Cathiard cellar in 2019. The vineyards Sébastien has taken on he says are in excellent condition, and now farmed along organic lines. This is a blend of several parcels with vines aged between 10 and 70 years. It is floral, bright, saline and charming.

This comes from five parcels in four different sites, and combined they make a spicy, fragrant, and incredibly long Vosne. It abounds with red berries and the scent of peonies.

Cherries and raspberries on the nose, some toasty warmth from a little new oak, and 2020’s ripe structure of fresh acidity.

Suchots of one of the largest and most famous premiers crus in Vosne-Romanée, just below Les Beaux-Monts and Aux Brûlées, with Echezeaux to its north, and Romanée-Saint-Vivant to its south. It makes a structured and spicy wine, with powerful length and wonderful balance.

This is the flagship wine of the estate, the one on which its considerable reputation has been built. Often the most closed in youth, it has the power and structure to evolve magnificently with time. Phenomenally complex and compelling.

This is drawn from a couple of parcels on the south side of the commune towards Fixin and Gevrey-Chambertin. Its fruit profile is quite nervous, with an edge of cranberry and pomegranate, and some brambly, structural tannins giving it the slightly wild edge you often find in Marsannay. Lots of cracked pepper on the nose. It has body and impact.

This remote east-facing vineyard sits at an elevation of 400m. Mark explained that on a crisp summer morning you can see all the way to Mont Blanc from here. Its position means, although bathed in morning sun, it does not have much hot afternoon sun, and fruit ripens slowly here. It is often picked last, and in 2020, the dark fruit and velvet tannins have a nervous edge, thanks to the high acidity. It is very complete and elegant in its own restrained style.

This comes from seven parcels around the village, including La Justice, Forneaux, and Clos Prieur Bas. It is so precise and lengthy, with a vibrant cherry red fruit that seems to go far beyond what a village usually delivers. It’s one of Mark’s favourites in the cellar, and we can see why. A small, well-judged amount of whole bunch adds just a hint of lift. It is a resounding success in 2020.

This parcel actually used to be classified as a village parcel, and winemaker Mark seems particularly fond of it. It is really fresh and vibrant, with a hint of Gevrey’s density and spice. It’s one of the best Bourgogne Rouges you’ll find.