2017 Late Releases

Intense, powerful, and structured, yet with beautiful juicy berry fruit and a lovely sense of focus. Is this as good as Pinot gets?

Intense, powerful, and structured, yet with beautiful juicy berry fruit and a lovely sense of focus. Is this as good as Pinot gets?

So opulent and spicy on the nose, the Clos de Bèze in 2017 lives up to expectations. Notes of wild berries, and a cool and mineral finish. So complex.

So opulent and spicy on the nose, the Clos de Bèze in 2017 lives up to expectations. Notes of wild berries, and a cool and mineral finish. So complex.

The 2017 Gevrey is such a fragrant and fresh example of this stunning village. Loads of juicy fruit, and a mineral, mouthwatering finish.

From the tiny monopole of the Clos des Ruchottes, this has such energy and purity, and a beautifully long and silky finish.

For most people, this is Grand Cru quality: we couldn’t agree more. Stony, mineral, yet with explosive and exuberant fruit, there’s a texture and complexity that lasts an age.

For most people, this is Grand Cru quality: we couldn’t agree more. Stony, mineral, yet with explosive and exuberant fruit, there’s a texture and complexity that lasts an age.

Showing the interplay of the cool air from the combe, and the warmth of the site, this is such a charming wine in 2017. Overlooked at your peril.

Silky, suave, with a coolness and balance to the fruit. The finish is fragrant and long: this is a very, very good Grand Cru.

Bought at the same time as De Montille’s Malconsorts, the first vintage was 2006. This is so complex and powerful, but with the energy of 2017. A wonderfully balanced example.

From high up the Vosne slope, this has notes of wild berries, plenty of floral notes, and also a touch of citrus. Beautifully balanced.

An outstanding cuvée here, this has dark yet energetic fruit, and plenty of mineral tang. There’s silky tannins and a very long finish.

Notes of wild fruit and spice on this classic Morey. There’s a hint of gravel, and plenty of freshness on the finish.

Undoubtedly one of Maxime’s best cuvées, it comes from the top of the Vosne hillside. Nervy and vibrant, there’s such a sense of latent power here. Love the top notes of wild flowers and crunchy berries.

Maxime owns four different plots of Vosne for his village cuvée. This is spicy and fine, with crunchy berry fruit, yet a sense of richness too.

Maxime’s perfectly located conservatory looks out onto Chaumes: the vines surround the house. Classic Vosne, this has beautiful red berry fruit and plenty of spice, and just a hint of violets on the nose.

Opulent for the vintage, but maintaining beautiful acidity, this is so pure and so expressive. A tour de force.

Boudots is a beautiful Nuits Premier Cru, next to Malconsorts. Dark berries and notes of fennel and crushed rocks swirl from the glass. There’s beautiful acidity on the finish, that makes the mouth water.

The cool, chalky-soiled village of Saint-Romain, which enjoys a higher elevation than most surrounding villages, is an excellent source of fresh, crisp whites these days. This has delicious notes of pear and ripe lemons on the nose with a vivid line of acidity threading through the palate. So quenching.

White from Morey may be a rarity, but this is probably the best. It comes from a monopole of the domaine and, unusually, is made entirely from Aligoté. Creamy apples and lovely focus, with plenty of marzipan and a finish that’s driven and that lasts an age. Stunning in 2017.

Ponsot’s Corton-Charlemagne might be one of the ripest and most full-bodied from this famous vineyard, but in 2017 that’s beautifully balanced with the freshness of the vintage. This is focussed and precise, but with enjoyable, charming tropical fruit, and a silky finish.

Typically a leaner style from Morey, it comes from the Monts Luisants plot on the top of the hill. There’s juicy berries here, with a volume that fills the palate, but also loads of focus and a saline finish that lasts an age.

Based in Morey, this village level wine is firmly a benchmark. It comes from the very top of the hill, above the Monts Luisants Premier Cru, and in 2017 has stunning wild flowers, crunchy dark berries, and just a hint of spice on the finish.

This is taken from a plot just below the Route Nationale in Chambolle, and it’s absolutely delicious. Crunchy berries, that fill the mouth with juice, and a salty, moreish finish, make a wine you’ll just want to drink.

Typically a leaner style from Morey, it comes from the Monts Luisants plot on the top of the hill. There’s juicy berries here, with a volume that fills the palate, but also loads of focus and a saline finish that lasts an age.

The oldest vines here are 80 years old, and the average age is 60. Spicy and stony. Baked earth, cinnamon and hot gravel on the nose. The palate fills the mouth. So much volume and amplitude, but with focus and grip and lovely elegant fruit.

The oldest vines here are 80 years old, and the average age is 60. Spicy and stony. Baked earth, cinnamon and hot gravel on the nose. The palate fills the mouth. So much volume and amplitude, but with focus and grip and lovely elegant fruit.

A monopole of Comtes Lafon, this vineyard sits in the heart of the village of Meursault, behind the family’s house. This is spicy yet focussed, with incredible clarity to the fruit. Lovely texture here.

Lying towards the north of Meursault’s clutch of premiers crus, Porusots has a slightly leaner quality than vineyards like Charmes or Perrières. All about finesse, there are delicate floral notes and amazing fragrance.

Perrières has long been held in high regard, in some estimations being placed behind only Le Montrachet itself in the pantheon of Chardonnay vineyards. Its stony soil (it was formerly the site of a quarry) and perfect south-east exposure produces wines of wonderful concentration and power. Grand Cru quality.

A third of a hectare, mainly planted in 1953, this is an incredible wine. Such a rarity, a thrill to try.

One of Meursault’s great vineyards, Charmes’ wines are generous and approachable, noted for their rich fruit. But in 2017 that’s beautifully balanced with extra focus: an incredible Charmes this year.

A vineyard situated politically in Meursault, but labelled as Volnay when it produces red wines. Santenots du Milieu indicates the finest part of the larger Santenots vineyard, of which Comtes Lafon own nearly half, and this is simply brilliant. Such an elegant Volnay, with floral notes and beautiful acidity.