Côte de Beaune

Amongst a strong line up of premiers crus in David’s cellar, this is always our favourite. It comes from a parcel with a hard limestone bedrock, producing a wine that is marked by its surprising suppleness. This is the work of a winemaker at the peak of his abilities, coaxing an ephemeral beauty from his Pinot: floral, fresh, and mineral. A definite buy.

Les Hâtes sits in the middle of the village, surrounded by premiers crus on well-draining soil. It makes for a floral, ethereal style of Pinot with lovely proportions. This floral character is a natural expression of the site which David sees emerge every year. 10-15% whole-bunch is brilliantly controlled here. A contender for the best price:quality ratio on the list this year.

Charles Ballot is making some of the greatest Chardonnays in Burgundy these days, and his Bourgogne Blanc is an excellent place to get a taste of the style on offer at this address. 70% of the fruit is sourced from his home village of Meursault, with the balance coming from Puligny-Montrachet. It was easily one of the best Bourgogne Blancs we tasted this vintage.

Smooth, silky, bright and incisive. This wine is outstanding. The vines sit at the top of the parcel right next to Lafon’s. This location gives a dialled-up minerality, setting it apart from the richer examples produced further down the slope. As classical as they come in Meursault.

Charles Ballot’s Narvaux sits in a sweet-spot for Burgundy buyers. It has the character, definition, energy and complexity placing it far above a village wine, yet a price that falls well below that of a premier cru. This makes it a very smart purchase. Furthermore, Narvaux is acknowledged as one of Meursault’s finest lieux-dits. It has a racy, luscious vitality: both ample and energetic. Exactly how we like our Meursault.

The village Meursault from this address delivers a hell of a lot in the glass. It is drawn from parcels scattered around the village, and offers up a concentrated and precise structure, with buoyant energy.

The village Meursault from this address delivers a hell of a lot in the glass. It is drawn from parcels scattered around the village, and offers up a concentrated and precise structure, with buoyant energy.

This Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru offers up a different angle on the Ballot-Millot style: a firmer, chalkier line runs through it, with an orchard fruit crunch in the background.

This Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru offers up a different angle on the Ballot-Millot style: a firmer, chalkier line runs through it, with an orchard fruit crunch in the background.

Along with Genevrières, you can rely on Perrières to be a sensational wine from Charles Ballot. It shows sophisticated reduction, with limestone bite on the palate and a mineral flourish on the finish. Scintillating.

The vines in Genevrières are over 80 years old, and the wine has a gravitas and presence. It shows weight and persistence, gorgeous amplitude and fabulous length.

This magnificent wine is only made in tiny quantities. There is superb precision on the palate, which is vibrant and mouth watering with a chalky structure. This complexity is no surprise, given that Les Caillerets is one of the finest sites in the village, with particularly stony soils, producing tense, vibrant, acid-driven wines.

La Maltroie is one of the larger premiers crus in Chassagne, and is often one of the most restrained, backward wines in Alex’s cellar. The vines sit right in the middle of the village, opposite the cellar. It has a savoury, smooth length, and a tight, refined power. It feels young, and will enjoy a long life ahead.

Morgeot borders Santenay at the south end of the village, and is not only the largest premier cru in Chassagne, but the largest cru in the Côte d’Or. Alex’s parcel has the benefit of old vines - 50 years old, and their concentration combined with Alex’s practice of long, slow fermentation has resulted in a smoky, textural, delicious expression.

This is always 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. It represents the lion’s share of his cellar, and is drawn from many sites across the village, half of which are tucked up in the pocket of vineyards that hug the premiers crus. This gives the wine its body and structure. The other half comes from the village’s border with Puligny-Montrachet, and from here comes the wine’s linear energy. Effortlessly pure and persistent.

This is always 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. It represents the lion’s share of his cellar, and is drawn from many sites across the village, half of which are tucked up in the pocket of vineyards that hug the premiers crus. This gives the wine its body and structure. The other half comes from the village’s border with Puligny-Montrachet, and from here comes the wine’s linear energy. Effortlessly pure and persistent.

This is one of our most in-demand Bourgogne Blancs, and with good reason. It’s a window onto the style of one of the Côte de Beaune’s hottest winemakers of the moment. It’s racy, and fresh, with a burst of citrus fanning out across the palate. It is the epitome of refreshing, balanced, and delicious Burgundy. As with all his wines, Alex looks for energy rather than too much ripeness in his Bourgogne. You will never regret having a few bottles of this in the cellar.

Sur Gamay is a little known premier cru, but it’s rather well positioned, finding itself between Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, Champlots, and Chatenière. It’s beautifully expressive, with a vibrant, pure and balanced length.

This is gorgeously vibrant and fresh, but with excellent depth and persistence. The energy comes from the elevation of the vines around Nantoux, but that depth and complexity is down to a careful technique Boris uses in the cellar. He keeps the fine lees from the previous year to add to the current year’s wine. It’s a practice used by Coche Dury and gives autolytic complexity and noble reduction. It also keeps the acidity in the wine. It’s a labour of love, but worth it. This is a terrific Aligoté with bite and precision.

This Coteaux Bourguinons is made from 100% old vine Gamay grown in Nantoux. Boris said, amazingly, the Gamay was barely bothered by the mildew that destroyed the Pinot Noir next door. This is an exceptional Gamay, with fluidity and grace in its easy, juicy core, and fresh, balanced finish. Some of the vines are getting on for ninety-years-old, and the concentration and kick this gives to the wine is notable. This is a top pick in 2024.

Just like the Aligoté, this undergoes the Coche treatment, with fine lees from the previous year integrated into the new, adding savoury, autolytic depth. It is amazingly vibrant and energetic. It comes from a single parcel up near the domaine.

Le Clou is a single vineyard in Nantoux sitting at a precise 377 metres elevation. Its soil is similar to Volnay, with chalky, rocky topsoil over a limestone marl bedrock. Boris has reduced the whole-bunch from 100% down to 60% this year, and the result is a Clou which is more open in its youth, with a juicy, easy flow. It has a fine, elegant aroma of red berries and cinnamon spice, with silky tannins and impressive concentration on the poised finish.

The Bignon parcel has red clay soil, not dissimilar to that found in pockets of Pommard. It usually produces an easy-going, fruit-forward wine, but the 2024 has some serious structure in there. It might need a little more time than the Clou, but it will reward the patient.

This comes from a blend for the domaine’s young vines with a small dash of extremely old vines, from multiple parcels scattered around the village of Nantoux. It has a crunchy acidity giving it a fresh profile, which is twinned with the ripe blueberry/raspberry fruit character. It shows a spiced, grippy and fine length.