Côte de Beaune

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

An energetic and vibrant Bourgogne Blanc: it comes from parcels across Santenay and St-Aubin, wonderful fleshy fruit on the mid-palate paves the way for an impressively long finish. It is deliciously zesty and refreshing.

This is the most linear and precise of Bruno’s premiers crus, with a zippy line running through the palate. It is tightly mineral and intricate, and in fact, feels quite a lot like a Puligny, yet there is a depth and texture to the fruit that draws you back to Chassagne. Saline and enduring in the finish. Outstanding.

This is a fantastic example of village Chassagne, with bright, vivid nectarine fruit character and a sumptuous, silky palate. It gets its intensity from the old vines (some are approaching 70 years) from nine parcels scattered across the village. A smattering of new oak gives it structure and support. Long and satisfyingly saline finish.

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

This is a secret gem to know about. It’s made from a blend of young vine fruit and some incredible old Aligoté Doré grown in Meursault (c.100 years), whose tiny, golden berries are packed with vibrant flavours. This is a particular highlight in the cellar, and clearly outpaces their Bourgogne Chardonnay.

This gourmand, full-bodied and elegant wine is one of the sweet spots of the Comte Armand stable, with surprising ageing potential. It often does well in lighter years, so in 2024 we could be in for something special. It is a blend of two vineyards in Auxey: Les Bréterins and Les Duresses. Bréterins is steep and well-draining, with limestone soils contributing savoury elegance; Duresses is clay-based and builds power and body in the wine. Its particularly fine tanning structure is what sets it apart from the village wine.

The primary reason this cuvée is not more celebrated and well-known is that it is simply produced in tiny quantities, particularly so in 2024. It is the most fine-boned and restrained wine in the cellar, its charm derived from its elegant restraint. Its high proportion of old vines make a concentrated and deep wine.

This Volnay shows delicious freshness, length and tension. Pillowy, gently spiced red fruit leads to a silky, aromatically complex palate, spiced through with wild strawberry fruit. It is a blend of two parcels, Les Famines and Les Grands Champs, in the centre of the commune.

This is an important vineyard both in terms of its size (a substantial 5.23 ha) and its historical stock of old vines (some now over 100 years old) which are used as a source of top quality massale selection by nurseries: its plant material is simply supreme. High-density planting and old vines means low yields are the norm, and sadly in 2024 only 10hl/ha were achieved here. This Clos feels on point: powerful, svelte, profound, and intense. It is truly one of the greatest vineyards of the Côte de Beaune.

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-east-facing slope, with poor limestone soils, yields a wine with superb power and tension. But this is only achieved when the parcel is picked at just the right moment. Céline says she watches it like a hawk, catching it before the fruit ripens into the tropical spectrum.