Côte de Nuits 2018

From the Les Champs Traversins part of this vineyard, high on the hill and noted for a fine expression of Echézeaux. Silky and spicy, with loads of energy behind a powerful core of dark fruit.

This, from where his winery is based, is one of his benchmarks. Very pretty fruit, with nicely silky tannins and a tense yet concentrated palate. Plenty of power here, but with Hautes-Côtes freshness.

Sweet and red-fruited on the nose, with silky tannins and some wonderful depth on the palate. This is a great example of the amplitude and tension found in the 2018s.

This comes from the very highest point of the Mazoyères section of Charmes, and has remained crunchy and finessed, with stunning energy on the finish. Brilliant from Cyprien.

This tiny-yielding vineyard might produce, in our eyes, the best Fixin there is. A really beautiful nose of delicate flowers, with crunchy and cool fruit, and excellent volume and amplitude. This is beautiful.

Their most important holding, they have a full hectare in a vineyard of just nine - ten hectares total. It’s one of Gevrey’s premiers crus that’s a grand cru in all but name. Wonderful nose. Soaring dark cherry and also red berries. That interplay of riper fruit and also cool mineral notes. Amazing focus on the palate, but also such volume that fills the mouth.

This high premier cru is always one of our favourites. You really feel the limestone here, giving purity and vibrancy to the palate. There’s notes of iodine and sea spray, and a lovely floral lift on the finish. Beautiful.

Beautiful cherry fruit. Delicate, fresh, lovely purity and also plenty of juicy berries on the finish. Very saline and defined.

This monopole in the heart of Vosne is now undoubtedly back where it should be: among the appellation’s very finest wines. The vines average 50 years old thinks Nicole. Spicy and elegant, finesse yet power on the nose. It grows, with citrus fruit, cinnamon spice, pomegranate, grapefruit and fresh almonds. Such salinity on the palate, very fine and juicy, with unfurling notes of cherry, darker fruit, and spice. Complexity, volume, and length.

Nicole always shows this after the Vosne premiers crus at the estate, such is its power and intensity. This is textured and grippy, with lovely savoury top notes, and just a hint of iron oxide on the finish.

This comes from four different plots. It’s spicy and silky, with beautifully juicy and finessed tannins. Such a beautiful Vosne.

From high up the Nuits slope, on the Vosne side of the village, this is cool, mineral and dark, with a really suave finish.

Made from old vines, planted in 1955, with low yields, this is spectacular - one of the best Bourgognes we know. Energetic, focussed, and with such amplitude. Delicious.

65% of this comes from Rouges du Bas, the rest from the Quartier de Nuits section of the vineyard. Voluptuous, intense, and soaring, this is stunningly beautiful and open in 2018.

Incredibly pure in 2018, notes of baked earth, wild berries, and lots of floral notes all swirl from the glass. The palate is finessed and very pure, with a finish that lasts an age. Brilliant.

Down towards the bottom of the hillside, there are still quite a lot of stones in this vineyard, of which they have 0.72 hectares. Ghislaine picked it on the 26 August. Iron oxide and rose petals, and so much energy here. This is really brilliantly focussed: it was picked at the right time.

From the Bons Batons vineyard just across the road from Chambolle itself. Notes of rose petal and fresh berries, with citrus and a hint of pomegranate. This is a beautifully pure, finessed Chambolle.

Incredibly open and refined on the day we tasted, this is Chambolle personified. Peppery and pure, with silky tannins and notes of violets and red berry fruit. This is really finessed and saline, with an impressively long finish.

Taken from plots in Comblanchien, this has fast become one of our favourite bargain reds. Fresh and silky, and surprisingly long for a wine of this price.

“Bousselots” means “little bumps”, but this premier cru’s clay-rich soils make for a rounded and approachable Nuits-Saint-Georges. Complex and generous, with plenty of cool fruit coming from that clay in the soil.

From the Vosne side of Nuits, bordering the town.This is silky but with plenty of grip and structure. Long: a very good village wine.

A crunchy, refreshing Bourgogne from a talented winemaker, this has lovely fragrance and precision on the finish.

In 2018, Charles’ Vosne has intense strawberry fruit and loads of spice. This is very long and defined for a village wine.

Les Murgers is one of the finest positioned vineyards in Nuits, in the heart of the hillside on the Vosne-Romanée side of the town. This is intense and dark in 2018, with lovely, mineral tannins. Shows the best of both villages.

The Grivots’ Pruliers is a wonderful example of how Nuits from the south side of the village can clearly show its origins, without being rustic. Notes of baked earth and dark fruit, with definition and silkiness on the finish. A very serious Nuits.

Beaux Monts is always one of the most impressive wines from this cellar, and this is silky on the palate. Deep, dark and voluptuous, there are beautiful tannins and such poise here. This has incredible intensity of fruit, but also such vibrancy and life.

From seven different terroirs, this has beautiful spice and dark, ripe, textured fruit on the palate. There’s just a hint of cassis on the long, energetic finish.

From the Vignes Blanches section of the vineyard, noted for its chalky soils, as well as Cruots, bordering Vosne. Suave and intense. Opulent fruit with such resonance, this is intense and silky, with very good tannic development. Mineral and long and saline. Profound.

From the Vosne side of Nuits, always an impressive cuvée. You really feel the rock in this outstanding village cuvée. Savoury and mineral, there’s a juicy, fruity finish.

A mix of three plots: 0.7 hectare in Echézeaux Du Dessus, 0.15 hectare in Poulaillères and 0.15 hectare Clos Saint Denis. Incredibly silky and saline, with finesse and purity. There’s grip here, and also opulence to the fruit. A touch of wild flowers on the finish keeps it lifted and pure.

The plot in Suchots is next door to Sébastien Cathiard. In 2018 Alix’s Suchots is one of the picks from this vineyard. It remains fresh and lifted, as well as real power and weight of fruit. Wonderful balance.

Powerful, focussed, intense and pure. This is wonderful. It’s a shame there’s so little.

Four hectares, owned entirely by Michel since 2014. East facing, steep slopes with soils that resemble those of Grand Cru Corton. Wild and saline, this punches well above its weight.

This is a blend of four parcels across the northern sector of the commune, as it borders with Vosne-Romanée. Robust yet juicy.

A premier cru neighbouring Richebourg. You feel the limestone here. Spicy and smoky, with wonderful concentration and energy. There’s a really long, saline finish. This is hauntingly beautiful: a wonderful wine.

From three plots: La Colombière, Au Réas, Au Dessus de la Rivière. Spicy and intense, there’s real power to the fruit here. Yet Michel has reined in this intensity beautifully, making a poised Vosne.

From a vineyard above Vosne, at 437 metres in altitude. Very fresh, saline, with lots of pithy fruit and grip on the palate. This has a real texture, and an impressive finish.

There’s a wonderfully cool and mineral fragrance that swirls from the glass here: wild berries and lavender and thyme. There’s dark minerals and crunchy berries. This is complex and unfurling.

Fruit sourced from a single parcel in Gevrey-Chambertin makes one of the best Bourgognes we know. Beautifully fresh fruit, with loads of energy and drive, and a beautifully silky, refined finish.

From five parcels in four different sites, this Vosne is spicy, fragrant, and incredibly long. Beautiful energy on the finish.

40% Gamay with the rest Pinot Noir, from a 38 year old vineyard. This has excellent density in 2018, with crunchy berries, enjoyable grip, and an enjoyably long and fine finish. Very well made.

Aux Murgers is close to the border with Vosne, and has some of that appellation’s signature elegance. Half the vines are 70 years old, the other half 50+. Dark berries and tons of salinity here, this is a mineral, dark yet expressive Nuits. Silky tannins define the finish. Beautiful.

So delicate and perfumed on the nose, this is a beautiful Bourgogne. Notes of wild flowers and plenty of wild berries. Delicious.

It comes from a plot a mere 20m from echezeaux.This is silky and spicy, with such precision and freshness alongside the richness you’d expect from Suchots. The best Suchots this year?

Complex, powerful, yet with unfurling complexity and a grippy texture, Les Malconsorts is a simply beautiful wine. Everything you’d hope from.

The Reignots vineyard is high on the hill. 21 year old vines. Such fragrance on this Reignots: you really feel the altitude of the vineyard. Nervy acidity and fragrance on the finish.

70 year old vines here. There’s coolness to this, as well as power and intensity. This is so well balanced, and incredibly long. A lovely example of a rarely seen premier cru.

Delicate and fine with lovely tannins. Fresh, with intense yet pure fruit, and soaring aromatics. Salinity brings back that opulence. Balance is stunning.

Mazoyères is part of the Charmes vineyard, so this could go into Romain’s Charmes. But it’s hugely different from the Charmes cuvée. Wildness and coolness, with incredibly refined, silky tannins. Bravo.

From a vineyard high up the slope, this balances wild and opulent fruit, and also loads of citrus elements. This is complex, fragrant, and very long and intense. Very Chambolle, and very good indeed.

From the only premier cru that borders Chambertin or Clos de Bèze, this is beautifully balanced in 2018.This has dark berries and cool mineral notes, and also a touch of opulent spice on the finish. Silky and suave, and pleasingly cool.

Rognet and Hautes Mourottes. Beautiful nose, elegant, and fine, and beautiful creamy palate. Fresh and elegant, saline and nervous, wonderful energy here. This is really, really good. A bargain.

Tawse’s Mazis has become their signature, and this clearly shows why. Really mineral on the nose, with notes of wild berries and such nervous energy. This is transparent and detailed. Beautiful.

Lovely creamy nose, notes of baked earth and a touch of pepper. Nice liquorice character, with plenty of spice on the finish. Very good energy, with zip and mineral tang on the finish.

60 year old and 25 year old vines. Nice touch of reduction. There’s almost a Nebbiolo character here, lovely tannins, pure red fruit and plenty of citrus, lovely depth and life. Very pure and long, and beautiful focus. This is one for the cellar. Lovely balance.

Treux & Rouges du Bas. 100% new oak. This is very pure and mineral, opulent and lovely texture. Really good length, lovely texture and finesse. Very pure fruit: this is a gorgeous Echézeaux again.

Only two barrels made, one of them new, from 65 year old vines, right in the heart of the vineyard. Really wild and energetic, lovely silky tannins. There’s a glossy palate, with tons of vibrancy and length. Saline and fresh, and a beautifully focussed finish.

This comes from a parcel just below Clos St Denis, bordering the road. Creamy nose, deep and dark and brooding. Plenty of wild blackberries, and hint of burnt brambles, too. There’s plenty of power here, with a fine thread of acidity holding it together.

Feel the whole bunch on the nose, very lifted and pure, and incredibly fresh, lovely silky fruit, spicy and very Vosne. Really nice freshness and purity on the palate, with that spicy, lifted fruit, and excellent volume. Among the first to harvest: a great decision.

This vineyard spans the entirety of the hillside, from bottom to top. Quite dark and balsamic, with plenty of small berry fruit: mulberries and dark cherries, and then a very fine and pure palate. Really good acidity on the finish, with violets and just a hint of cured meat. Very complex: this is an outstanding Clos des Forêts.

This vineyard spans the entirety of the hillside, from bottom to top. Quite dark and balsamic, with plenty of small berry fruit: mulberries and dark cherries, and then a very fine and pure palate. Really good acidity on the finish, with violets and just a hint of cured meat. Very complex: this is an outstanding Clos des Forêts.

A cuvée which blends fruit from Clos des Lambrays’ young vines and the premiers crus Clos Sorbé, La Riotte, and Le Village. This is wild and spiced, with notes of violet and rose petal, and plenty of spice and wild berries.

The 2018 Clos des Lambrays is a tour de force. Notes of wild berries and spice, and a silky, grippy palate. This is so long, complex, and vibrant. Such a baby, this will be a truly great wine.