2020 Côte de Nuits

This plot was once considered in the same breath as Chambertin and other great sites, so it now constitutes a real bargain. It is crunchy, vibrant, and spilling over with abundant raspberry aromas, with a light, sophisticated vegetal note, giving the red fruit freshness a savoury precision.

Sweetly scented with crushed raspberries and toasty lift. It has Vosne's suave, silky tannins, and velvet-like structure.

This vineyard lies just next to some of Nuits-St-Georges’s finest premiers crus, at the top of the hill, sheltered by the fringe of woodland above. Its 100% whole bunch means this is a Nuits with a soft, silky core, though its natural freshness provides all the tension it needs to give it structure and style.

This Vosne has a deep, luxurious colour. The nose and palate display a fluid elegance, with the little crunch of tannins twinned with silky fruit culminating in a nicely poised finish. Salty and refined.

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 is bursting with fresh berry charm: think crushed raspberries and wild strawberries. The tannins are so silky that they slip across the palate, making it a smooth and juicy mouthful. This will drink well from early on, so don’t be afraid to start drinking as soon as it arrives.

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.

This comes from various parcels the domaine owns around the village. It is red raspberry fruit all over. It has some fine, grippy tannins and vibrant acidity.

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.

If Les Crais is her father’s cuvée, then this is Amélie’s. The wine used to go into their village blend, but Amélie has been bottling it separately since 2013. The vines are now 70 years old, and she likes to use a little whole bunch in the blend. It is a fulsome wine of handsome proportions, with tender red fruit, savoury spiced tannins, and a long satisfying finish.

This wine has been bottled as a single vineyard cuvée by Amélie’s father for many years, and remains the flagship wine of the estate. This vineyard is scarcely over a hectare and sits right in the heart of the appellation, just below the village itself. The alluvial soils, particularly at the bottom of the parcel, are well-draining. The vines are aged between 15 and 70 years, and the 2020 shows a bright and fluid texture, with wonderful drive and the energy of red fruit and saline freshness.

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.

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.

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.

Whilst most of the vineyard is terrassed (and goes into the blend bearing that name), a small half hectare section is not, having been planted in 1984. It might be difficult to farm, and very hard work to harvest, but it’s well worth it for the wine it produces. It is rich in berry fruit, with a wonderful structure that sees a seamless marriage between fruit, body, tannin and acidity. There is so much purity and energy here. A crystalline snapshot of the more elegant side of Nuits.

What a Bourgogne Rouge this is. It comes from a parcel in Nuits-St-Georges, at the south end of the commune, not far from Les St Georges. The soils here are stony and poor, not as deep as some Bourgogne vineyards can be, and make a superbly balanced wine, sweetly fruited and with a wonderful fluidity.

A rare Vosne-Romanée from Axelle whose vineyards mostly lie in Nuits-St-Georges. As gorgeous as it is scarce, with deep velvety fruit and a long, refined finish.

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 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.

This is arguably the best placed village parcel in the whole of Gevrey, sandwiched between Griotte and Charmes-Chambertin. However, it is made in minute volumes: just one barrel in 2020. It’s juicy and fine-boned, with such vibrant acidity, silky tannins and a sense of purity. There’s a hint of the cherry fruit you might expect from this corner of Gevrey, and a finish that is impressively long. So much more than a simple village wine.

One of a rare breed, a Nuits St Georges 1er Cru blanc. Only 900 bottles are made every year. Full and fleshy, with a bright, mineral drive.

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.

A classic example from this cooler region in the hills above the Ladoix-Serrigny in the Côte de Beaune. It is peachy and smooth, quite grapey in style, with lovely roundness and a silky texture.