Côte de Beaune 2021: New Releases

This vineyard is tucked up at the top of the village on the border with Auxey-Duresses. The cooler hilltop position helps the wine retain a terrific mineral drive. Just one barrel was made in 2021. Its 50-year-old vines produce concentrated stone fruit flavours and aromas, that when ripened to perfection, as in 2021, make for a fleshy, full, savoury wine with lots of impact. Wonderful.

The Saint-Romain from Olivier Leflaive comes from two plots, Sous le Château and En Poillange. It's lively and energetic on the nose, with aromas of waxy lemon with a little saline twist. The palate is fresh, precise and linear. This shows the very best of this up-and-coming appellation.

This village parcel is in the north of the commune, bordering Puligny-Montrachet. If you were to stand here and turn your gaze up the hill, you’d notice you are spitting distance from Bâtard-Montrachet, with only the thin sliver of Vide Bourse 1er Cru between. This wine has such a satisfyingly silky weight and a pleasing floral note on the nose . Its Chassagne roots show in the slightly nutty, savoury structure, and the influence of Puligny peaks through in the nervous, steely finish. It’s definitely more than an average village wine. Delicious.

You’d expect this wine to be one of the best in the stable: from home turf, made from a magnificent blend of grapes from all but two of the village’s lieux-dits in 2021. It is one of the most complete and compelling portraits of the village you’ll find, and it’s a wine to remind you that these Olivier Leflaive wines are not only the most benchmark example of their appellations, but also some of the most exciting in their category. This is everything Puligny should be, and more: tight, steely, nervous, and in 2021, fabulously concentrated in rich fruit with a long, chalky, mineral finish

Champlots is a steep site, just next to Frionnes, and can be back-breaking work for the pickers. They pick early in the morning here, both to preserve the freshness of the fruit and to give the pickers the benefit of the cooler morning temperatures. The vines are relatively young - just 15 years - and the limestone soils make a charming style of St-Aubin. This was aged in 1 year old oak and only one barrel was made in 2021 compared to six the year before. Slightly richer nose with floral and light spicy notes, this has some deliciously plump lemony fruit, fresh acidity, a mineral core and a lip-smacking saline finish.

This is 100% domaine-owned fruit from the tiny clos of just 1.7ha in the climat of Vergers on the Chassagne/St-Aubin border. Just three barrels were made in 2021. The nose is aromatic and attractive with lot’s to entice you in. The palate is elegant, with a powerful yet controlled saline freshness enveloping the concentrated nectarine stone fruit. Delicious.

Folatières’ place in the firmament of truly great Burgundian terroirs has been assured for many years. This 2021, produced in minuscule quantities (just one barrel to be precise), is crystalline, saline and amazingly long. It combines powerful concentration and elegance in one deft move. It has wondrous energy and is delicious now but should be magnificent after some years in the cellar, if you can wait.

Montagny is one of the top communes in the Côte Chalonnaise. Its many premiers crus are a source of excellent quality white Burgundies at reasonable prices. This wine is a blend of 4 different parcels, and is 100% barrel fermented, with 15% of it new oak in 2021. With an enticing floral and white peach nose, this has this wonderful tight fruit-based minerality and a textured, almost tannic structure, with a burst of lemon and peach fruit at its core. As ever, a smart buy.

This is a top contender for most popular wine on our list, from anywhere in the world. It captures everything we want from a classic Bourgogne Blanc, and its keen price means it sells out every year at en primeur. Most of its fruit is sourced from Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, and the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. The 2021 has a waxy lemon intensity on the nose, a great bite of freshness from both acidity and pithy minerality, with just a gentle hint of discreet oak (10-12% new oak this year) supporting in the background. There’s a lovely texture and great energy in this wine. All in all, there’s a lot going on here for a humble Bourgogne. Its following is well deserved.