Côte de Beaune 2021: New Releases

This is the defining wine of this famous grand cru, the one to which everyone looks as the quintessential Corton-Charlemagne. The west-facing aspect of the hill means the vines enjoy the long rays of the afternoon sun, making for rich textures and a sumptuous depth of fruit.

The new Santenay from Champs Claudes, En Boichot and Prarons Dessous is named after its Jurassic geology. It also contains whatever Les Hâtes David was able to rescue this yearl. It is so red-fruited and floral - bursting with grenadine and red currant aromas. The palate is packed with concentrated red fruit laced with a touch of spice leading to a long, elegant finish. The floral character is a natural expression of these sites, and makes it a delicious introduction to the village for first-timers.

A blend of two parcels and now christened ‘Les Gryphées’ in honour of the fossilised oyster shells that abound. . 55% comes from a village parcel, while the other 45% comes from the 1er Cru Clos Rousseau vineyard, which is an extension of the vineyard of the same name in Santenay. This cuvée is so bright and energetic, with a crunchy texture and well-handled tannins, giving it bite, without any hard edges. This is vibrant, red-fruited, light-bodied, crisp Pinot Noir.

This was a stand-out among a strong line up of premiers crus in David’s cellar. It comes from a parcel which has some very hard limestone bedrock, though the wine is marked by its surprising suppleness. Elegant and alluring with spiciness and minerality entwined with small flowers and lovely weight, this has beautiful depth and an enchanting, beguiling, mineral, pure, long finish. This is delicious now but has the depth and concentration to improve even further in years to come.

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. 80% of the fruit is sourced from his home village of Meursault, with the balance coming from Puligny-Montrachet.

The Ballot-Millot vines sit at the top of the parcel, giving this Charmes atypical minerality, setting it apart from the richer examples produced further down the slope.

This is 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. Its production accounts for 40% of the domaine’s output, being drawn from many sites across the village, half of which are tucked up in the pocket of village vines that hug the premiers crus. The other half comes from the village’s border with Puligny-Montrachet.

Le Clou is planted at a precise elevation of 377 metres on chalky, rocky soil. Packed full of red cherry and peppery aromas, this is mineral, concentrated and has an impressive purity of fruit on the palate. This needs time to unfurl but the potential is considerable.

This gourmand, full-bodied and elegant wine is one of the sweet spots of the Comte Armand stable. As ever, it is a blend of two vineyards in Auxey: Les Bréterins and Les Duresses. Bréterins is steep, well-drained, with very limestone soils contributing savoury elegance; Duresses is clay-based and builds power and body in the wine. It has the savoury structure for good ageing potential, though it is still fragrant, silky and inviting in its youth.

This Volnay is so vibrant and aromatically spiced through with wild strawberry and cherry fruit. It is a blend of two parcels, Les Famines and Les Grands Champs, in the centre of the commune. There is a softer texture to the fruit. This is a finessed and balanced Burgundy with just enough of that sweet, scented fruit extracted to make it both tender and mineral.

We did not taste Le Montrachet as just 300 bottles will be produced.

The Grand Cru vineyard of Bâtard-Montrachet lies between the picturesque villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, home to the world's greatest white wines. Everything about this wine screams Grand Cru, from the elegant, enthralling nose of orchard fruit to the concentrated,weighty, energy-driven palate. It’s an astonishingly striking wine.

For many, this is the greatest site in Volnay. Marc-Olivier is lucky to have two parcels here. The ‘young vines’ are a mere 50 years old, and the old vines around 80. Their concentration and natural complexity are honed through the use of some whole bunch in this cuvée. It is a precise and exquisite expression, whose delicate power should not be underestimated. Ethereal.

This has the seductive nose of sweet red berry and cherry fruit and floral lift we love in Volnay. The site’s generous top soil makes for a wine of appealing charm, marking it out as one of the earliest drinking of the Buffet Volnay premiers crus. The fruit is completely destemmed, and the wine has a gorgeous, luscious, sappy texture on the palate. Cellar for a few years, then don’t hold back.

Like the Volnay Taillepieds, this is one of the smaller cuvées in the Buffet stable. It comes from the upper part of the vineyard, and is a stylish, seductive wine with a powerful, deep, and muscular drive. Its one-hundred-year-old vines are responsible for its dense layers of complexity. Unlike some of the Volnay premiers crus from this domaine, this wine will need some time, so tuck it away for a few years.

This Volnay is pale, fragrant, strawberry-scented, and a true success story of the 2021 vintage. It’s a blend of two parcels: the evocatively named Les Famine, whose paucity of soil makes the roots dig deep; and a small dash of a tiny lieu-dit, La Gigotte, which is nestled just beneath Mitans premier cru, and lifts this village wine up a notch. Grapes from both parcels were entirely destemmed, and the wine has a silky, agile, old-school charm that opens up as soon as you pull the cork.

Le Charmois is on a hill just next to Chassagne-Montrachet’s 1er Cru Les Chaumées and this cuvée comes from six parcels in the same plot. Its cool, poor limestone soil makes for a energetic, vibrant wine with great density of red apple fruit and a superb savoury freshness. Textured and elegant, with a long, fresh finish. Delicious and approachable now, there is also so much potential here for the future.

The domaine used to - technically - rent these vines from Jean-Marc’s mother, Lydie’s grandmother. She passed away three years ago and since then the domaine has inherited the two parcels, from which they make this explosively good wine. It has a power and depth that sets it apart from the premiers crus, with precision and length promising a superb evolution in bottle.

Jean-Marc makes some of the best Chassagne Rouge around. With old vines (as old as 70 years old) planted on the clay soil pockets from 5 different parcels around the village, he has produced a great example again in 2021. This old vine cuvée is perfumed with rich, red-fruit and spice, and has a pleasing sour cherry freshness on the palate.

Champs Claude comes from 4 different parcels of vines in Santenay, with an average age of 60 years. This is classic Pinot Noir - full of subtle, red fruit on the nose and fresh, balanced with a great energy on the palate. Brilliant value.

The 2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay Le Haut des Champs has a well-defined bouquet with nectarine and peach aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite saline in the mouth with a bitter lemon finish. Fine.

This is from three of the village’s best communal sites: Les Pierres (94-year-old vines), Mazures (40+), and Houillères (30+). The younger vines give lift, elegance and a vibrant drive, while the older vines give depth and power. In 2021, it is lightly floral and peachy on the nose, with a fresh yet textured palate. The finish is long, fine and saline.

Les Vergers sits at the northern border with St-Aubin, on the slope just above Les Chenevottes. The wine has buttery, almondy hints on the nose , detailed with white peach. Open and charming, there is elegant fruit concentration and a fantastic saline finish on the palate.

Les Chenevottes has slightly deeper soils than some neighbouring vineyards, and the 70-year-old vines, with their deep roots, have more safely endured the extreme weather of the past few years than some others. It is so mineral and precise , with almond and nectarine aromas on the nose, and a compelling, textured finish.

This vineyard bordering Pommard did once produce wines with some robust, muscular tannins. But now that they have reached 70 years old, the father and son team note how much the tannins have begun to soften, and become distinctly finer in recent years. In 2021, this is a little more serious and brooding in character. It’s all about energy and minerality, and at the moment the name feels almost onomatopoeic. Give this time to unfurl.

The fruit for this blend in 2021 comes from 75% Puligny and 25% Meursault. In spite of their Bourgogne classification, these sites are high quality, knocking on the door of village level, with shallow topsoil and lots of small stones, aiding drainage. It is a Bourgogne full of lemony freshness, delicious energy and enough salinity and grippiness in the finish that makes you want to continue drinking it! It remains a benchmark of the style.

Vignes Franches lies right in the middle of the Beaune Premiers Crus, bordering Clos des Mouches among several others. The third vintage for this cuvée, it has attractive cherry fruit aromas with an interesting herbal note. There is an elegance and depth to the crunchy, cherry fruit on the palate and a very fine and long saline finish.

The origin of the word "Cras" comes from "rocky hillsides", a term often used to describe a vineyard whose soil is made of rubble and pebbly stones. This parcel's soil is gravelly with a high quality red clay that is very typical of Pommard. Pretty cherry and wild raspberry fruit combine with rose petal on the nose. The fruit continues to sing on the palate and is juicy, sappy and generous with a long, mineral finish. This is lovely.

This is one of Meursault’s finest vineyards, shared amongst some of its greatest growers. Jean-Baptiste owns a 1.5 hectare parcel. Reaching this wine in the tasting marked a gear change - this has so much elegance, texture, precision and length. Outstanding.

The vines for this Aligoté are the grand old age of 87. They have produced an incredibly textural wine with rich concentration of red apple and bright saline energy. Fantastic.

Produced in every vintage since the foundation of the domaine, this 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay, produced from co-planted vines, is one of Burgundy’s bargains. The vines are now aged between 100 and 103 years. Fortunately they ripen at the same time, and are picked together. The wine has an energetic and fresh sour cherry character, with a light body, and fine-grained slightly crunchy tannins. Delicious

The 2021 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Aigrots wafts from the glass with an elegant bouquet of cherries, plums and cranberry fruit. On the palate, it's classic Pinot with slightly crunchy red fruit, terrific depth at the core, silky tannins, and a long, lingering finish.

This is the Pillots’ largest premier cru, and it lies just up the road from their cellar. It is the emblematic cuvée of the domaine, and a brilliant buy every vintage.

This village wine is 100% destemmed and has a sapid, redcurrant, spiced pomegranate character, with long, lightly structured tannins holding it together. This is a great entry point for one of Pommard’s most promising new voices.

First introduced in 2020, this cuvée is a blend of old and young vines mostly coming from the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. There's a precise, lean feel to the palate. This is classic Pinot Noir with juicy, bright, smooth red fruit that builds to a long, fresh finish.

Nicolas sees these vineyards, around Corgoloin just south of Nuits St Georges, as the future of his domaine. Land prices here aren’t impossibly high, yet the quality of terroir is terrific. It means he can make this enormously characterful and interesting wine for an outstanding price. The 2021 has a floral, peppery, cherry and damson character, both ripe and with a little crunchy tannic kick.Satisfyingly delicious.

These 3 parcels of vines are between 50-70 years old, and Nicolas has used 100% whole bunch on this wine, giving it a kirsch/cranberry fruit character. The tannins are really quite crunchy and energetic in their youth, but will stand it in good stead for ageing.

Nicolas has the oldest vines in this highly-rated premier cru. They were planted in 1904, and Nicolas plans to uproot them within the next year because the old vines have become so low-yielding. The wine has powerful and concentrated tannins, fantastic texture and elegant, floral,plummy aromatics to its fruit.

Dominique Lafon declassifies the fruit of young vines grown in the 4 hectare plot into the Volnay, meaning the 1er Cru Santenots-du-Milieu cuvée is the exclusive product of old vines.

Clos de la Barre is a 2.1 vineyard just behind the domaine which is a monopole of Lafon.

This cuvée has been made by Lafon since 2011, when the domaine bought the 1 hectare parcel. The clay soils make a wonderfully rich wine that never shows any heaviness

Monthélie is a small village just north of Meursault, producing deliciously crunchy red wines. With the added generosity of 2020, it's a must-try.

This is a blend of multiple parcels of older vines (that are a minimum of 45 years), which all share in common their mid-slope position. There is quite a lot of flat land and heavy clay at the bottom of Santenay which is less good, so this is an important distinction. These vines are all in the upper part of the village on limestone, and make for an aromatic, fresh, juicy and vibrant red wine packed with crunchy red fruit notes, layered with fine-boned, expressive tannins. Delicious.

Beauregard is one of Santenay’s finest premiers crus, lying at the eastern end of the village, near the border with Chassagne. It’s a particularly picturesque site, with a windmill in the vineyard - a good indication there is a steady breeze here, helping to keep the fruit cool as it matures. The limestone soil gives the wine a freshness and acidity that make it hugely appealing in its youth. Where the Vieilles Vignes is all about black fruits, this is scented with red berries: cranberries and red currants. Its tannin structure is particularly fine-grained, and its finish is long and graceful.

This delicious white comes from a 6 hectare plot grown on limestone soils. This is a new cuvée for Lay & Wheeler this year and one we are delighted to introduce. Aromatic with notes of freshly cut green apple on the nose. The palate is beautifully balanced, packed with juicy apple and citrus fruit, a lovely line of fresh acidity and a long, saline finish. Fantastic!

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

Like Les Clousots, this is a blend of two sites in Meursault rather than a single lieu-dit. It is a combination of Les Casses Têtes and Les Murgers de Monthélie. This cuvée has been bottled since 1996, and is a cornerstone of the Javillier range. It is always the straightest and more driven of the range. In 2021, this expresses a wonderful honeysuckle, floral and fresh stone fruit bouquet and there is a full and vibrant expression on the impressive finish. As ever, elegant and refined. Leave for a year or two before diving in.

This is a blend of two parcels in Meursault - the hillside vineyard Les Clous, with a touch of Les Crotots. Les Clous provides the body and drive, with Les Crotots, which sits just next to premier cru Poruzots, definition and zip. It is so concentrated with rich, luscious stone fruit in 2021, but it is also fresh, with a fine line of acidity running right through the palate. No new oak is used here; this wine is all about pure fruit expression, with a wonderful texture.