Alain Chavy has quietly been producing some very fine white Burgundy in recent years from his winery located behind his house on the outskirts of Puligny village. “July was dry and warm,” he explained just prior...
The 2016 Bourgogne Chardonnay, matured in used oak, has quite a powerful bouquet for a generic white Burgundy, leaping from the glass with chalky scents complementing the citrus fruit. The palate is fresh on the entry with...
86-88 NM The 2017 Bourgogne Chardonnay has a pleasant light green apple and lime scented bouquet. The palate is crisp and taut, and without any new oak contact (just one to five years old oak), it possesses a linearity and...
86-88 VM The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet is a blend of several parcels within the appellation and matures in 25% new oak with 30% in 400-litre barrels. It has a straightforward bouquet with fresh apple peelings and a subtle...
90-92 VM The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru has a clean, precise bouquet that is just missing a little energy at the moment - much like the Les Clavoillons. The palate is well balanced with a tad more weight...
89-91 VM The 2017 Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru matures in 30% new oak, feels very primal on the nose, not quite expressing the terroir with the clarity of its peers, at least at the moment. The palate is showing more...
96 WS / 94-96 WA The black cherry and blackberry fruit is wrapped in seductive, smoky oak. Though dense and muscular, this is also close to seamless, even at this early stage. The finish is energetic and vibrant, with a...
90 WS "A dark well of black cherry, plum and charred oak aromas and flavors are allied to equally dense tannins. Muscular, if a bit monolithic, with a spice and tar finish. Impressive, but for fans of the style. Drink now...
92 WS /16 JR Ripe, sweet cherry, raspberry, licorice and spice flavors permeate this expressive, intense red. Shows fine harmony and a lingering aftertaste of fruit, graphite, and spice. Best from 2018 through 2030. 50...
92-94 WA / 91-94 BH The 2015 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots has a clean and precise bouquet, quite intense with blackberry, crushed strawberry and crushed violet scents, the whole bunch component barely...
93 VM /16.5 JR The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru shows a lot of reduction on the nose that makes the fruit and terroir difficult to read at the moment. The palate probably indicates the potential more than the aromatics,...
91-93 WA The 2016 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots, which is completely destemmed, has a clean and precise bouquet with scents of blackcurrant pastilles, crushed violet and wet limestone aromas that feel harmonious. The palate...
91-93 VM / 90-92 WA The 2017 Fixin Les Crais comes from vines on ancient alluvial soils, in a single parcel of 1.30 hectares with vines aged between 10 and 80 years. Aged in 20% new oak, it has a very pure bouquet with...
From a .5 hectare monopole:Berthaut is the only one making wine from this small, half a hectare clos surrounded by a wall next to the Chateau de Gevrey, just below the Premier Cru Cazetiers. The vines average 40-60-year-old...
89-91 VM / 89-91 WA from parcels Planted in 1935, 1949, 1955 The 2017 Vosne-Romanée Village comes from two parcels: Les Réas and Rivière, next to Arnaux-Lachaux’s winery. The well-defined bouquet...
90 BH An exotic nose offers up notes of mango, viognier and lychee nut along with a mix of both yellow and white orchard fruit. Lush, even opulent flavors manage to retain reasonably good detail along with a discreet bead...
94 WS / 91 BH Tasting note: A relatively pungent nose reflects notes of lemon rind, quine, resin, apple and pretty floral-suffused aromas. There is excellent volume to the attractively textured and notably more concentrated...
89-91 BH Tasting note: This too is quite restrained aromatically with its mélange of pepper, earth and various dark pinot nuances. The rich and not especially dense medium-bodied flavors possess a velvety mid-palate,...
94 WS / 93 BH The lime blossom, citronella, vanilla and pastry flavors are fused to a gossamer texture and linear profile in this white. The clean lines and purity make for overall harmony, while the finish evokes lemon...
95 VM / 94 WA (production was half of normal in 2016; aged in 30% new oak and bottled at the beginning of April of this year): Pale yellow-green. High-pitched aromas of citrus peel, menthol, lavender and white pepper...
95 BH / 95 DE / 18 JR Tasting note: A brooding and much less expressive nose grudgingly reveals notes of both red and dark berries, earth, tangerine peel and spice nuances. This is even bigger and more powerful with its...
91-93 VM (just three barrels made): Bright medium red. Dark, complex nose melds black cherry, raspberry, licorice, minerals and rose petal. Plush, fine-grained and broad on entry, offering a captivating hint of sweetness,...
94 WS / 90-92 VM Shows terrific depth to the aromas and flavors of black currant, blueberry, graphite, earth and baking spices. Delivers weight and length, with overall balance and a long aftertaste that echoes the core of...
91-94 VM / 91-93 BH The Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St. Jacques 1er Cru has regularly been one of the stars in this range since it was introduced a few years ago. Dense, ripe and explosive in the glass, the Lavaux is stellar...
90 VM The 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard has a very attractive bouquet of plentiful raspberry and cranberry aromas that are well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red berry fruit. Nicely structured and,...
91 VM / 90 WA The 2018 Pommard Auprès du Clos, which is a "fantasy name" rather than a lieu-dit, underwent two pressings à pieds. The nose offers ripe raspberry, wild strawberry, pressed rose petals...
96-98 VM / 96 DE / 95 WA / 93 BH The 2017 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was matured in around 80% new oak, the barrels toasted “chauffe blonde”. Jacques Devauges mentioned that the wine needed oxygen ingress during...
94-96 WA 2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Amoureuses, which contains 20-25% whole bunch fruit, has a surprisingly understated bouquet when considering both the precocity of the vintage and the esteemed vineyard in...
95 WA / 94 BH / 18 JR The 2015 Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux is fabulous, wafting from the glass with notes of wild berries, orange peel, cinnamon, rich soil and espresso. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample...
95 JM / 93-95 WA / 92-94 BH / 16.5++ JR The wine spent 8 weeks in the vinification vat from which it has emerged as a beautifully graceful wine. Rich glowing imperial purple. The nose suggests power but without losing the...
89-91 BH / 89-91 WA / 88-90 VM Tasting note: A very pretty and elegant nose merges notes of spice and floral elements with those of red and dark currant. There is fine richness to the relatively full-bodied flavors that...
96 DE / 95 VM / 93-96 BH / 93-95 WA / 18+ JR The older vines in de Vogüé's extensive 7.2ha in Musigny date back to 1953 and make a wine that's considerably weightier than the young-vine cuvée. This is...
87-90 BH / 89 VM Tasting note: Reduction presently flattens the underlying fruit. On the plus side there is both good detail and unusually good refinement to the succulent yet tension-filled flavors that exude a fine bead...
87-89 BH / 88 VM Tasting note: As it often is at this stage, this is much more aromatically restrained; indeed today it's almost mute and only grudgingly offers up lemon-tinged green apple aromas. The supple, round and...
89-91 BH / 89-91 VM Tasting note: There is just enough reduction present to impede saying much about the nose other than the underlying fruit appears to be ripe. The delicious, rich and solidly voluminous flavors...
88-91 BH / 90 VM Tasting note: This too exhibits enough reduction to render the nose difficult to evaluate. More obviously mineral-driven middle weight flavors possess both excellent detail and intensity while coating the...
91 BH / 91-93 WA Note: from 40+ year old vines planted in shallow, high clay content soil sitting on a bed of solid rock; 15 hl/ha Tasting note: A notably fresh nose features aromas of kirsch, spice, red currant and herbal...
94 BH / 94 WA Note: from 40+ year old vines planted in shallow, high clay content soil sitting on a bed of solid rock; from yields of 11 hl/ha in 2016Tasting note: An overtly floral nose combines notes of rose petal, violet...
95 VM / 18 JR Bright red-ruby. Wonderfully sappy scents of black cherry and boysenberry are considerably more expressive today than those of the 2016. Suave and spicy on the palate, showing compelling sweetness to its red...
95+ VM / 91-94 BH / 17+ JR Dark red-ruby. Incredible nose melds black raspberry, licorice, Asian spices, minerals and cocoa powder. Densely packed and powerfully structured but the wine's finesse of texture ensures a...
94 BH / 91 WS An unusually high-toned nose also displays a touch of wood that sets off subtle lower register notes of earth and humus that carry over to the textured and relatively supple medium weight plus flavors that...
93 BH / 92 VM / 90 WS A beautifully layered nose of purple fruit, violets and soil tones leads to exceptionally rich, velvety and sappy medium weight plus flavors that brim with dry extract that does a fine job of buffering...
94 WS / 93 BH / 93 VM / 18 JR A dense, well-structured style, yet with ample black cherry, blackberry, violet and iron flavors for balance. This red unfolds nicely, leaving a complex finish that introduces an accent of...
89-92 VM / 89-91 WA / 89-92 BH Very dark color. Lively aromas of blueberry and violet. Juicy and intense, with very ripe, sweet dark berry and chocolate flavors framed and enlivened by brisk acidity and saline minerality...
91-93 VM The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru is a blend of Les Pitures and Les Mitans as usual. It has an attractive dark cherry and crushed strawberry bouquet with fine mineralité, though not powerful. The palate is...
92-95 VM / 93+ WA / 91-94 BH (the entire bottom of this vineyard was fried by frost, according to régisseur François Duvivier): Bright, dark red-ruby. Medicinal blueberry and licorice aromas are lifted by a...
92-94 VM The 2017 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru is tasted from two barrels. It demonstrates wonderful grace and precision with mineral-infused cranberry and wild strawberry fruit. There is a sense of vitality...
94-96 VM / 94 WS The 2017 Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru is the famous crown jewel monopole of the domaine, ostensibly the rear garden with its own spring. Initially it is showing some reduction on the nose, although...
92-94 VM / 92+ WA / 91-93 BH Bright ruby. Blackberry, licorice and violet on the perfumed nose. Fine-grained and suave, but with terrific inner-mouth floral lift giving the middle palate a sense of energy. The wine's...
92-94 VM The 2017 Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru has an expressive bouquet with veins of blue fruit that strafe the vibrant raspberry and crushed strawberry. Here there is fine mineralité tucked just underneath. The...
93-95 VM / 91-93 WA (the yield was down 25% due to the frost): Very dark ruby-red. Pure, high-pitched aromas of blackberry, violet and crushed rock. A step up in sucrosité and pliancy, offering an almost voluptuous...
90-92 VM / 89-91 WA (two-thirds vendange entier; 25% new oak): Bright, full red. Distinctly limestone-driven aromas of raspberry, earth and smoky minerality. Silky, sappy and impressively concentrated, with black raspberry...
93-95 WA / 92-94 BH The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is one-third whole cluster, less than in recent years according to winemaker Brian Sieve, with almost 50% new oak. It has a beautiful bouquet with scents of...
93-95 WH / 91-94 BH / 90-92 VM Back to Clos-du-Roi and to a more controlled and refined wine. Is it the vineyard? Or the de Montille style? Or a bit of both? It’s an intense and delicate young wine – fine...
91-93 WA / 90-93 BH The 2016 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey includes two-thirds whole cluster fruit, matured in 50% new oak. It has a fragrant bouquet with hints of crushed violet suffusing the red berry fruit, more...
91-93 WA / 92 VM / 90-92 BH The 2015 Pommard 1er Cru les Pezerolles has quite a dense, rich bouquet with cassis-tinged red berry fruit, actually more like a Volnay in style. The palate is medium-bodied with fine...
Volnay is the stronghold of the family estate. This modestly-sized appellation of 207 hectares, entirely devoted to Pinot Noir, is nestled on the middle of the slopes and composed of a terroir dominated by clay, marl...
94-96 WA / 92-95 VM / 92-94 BH The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru les Taillepieds, 100% whole cluster with around 30% new oak, offers impressive precision and focus on the nose, lively cranberry, wild strawberry and pomegranate scents...
92-94 VM / 92-94 WA / 91-93 BH (one-third vendange entier; 40% new oak; just racked following a very late malo): Healthy medium red. Compelling aromas and flavors of redcurrant, iron, rose petal and minerals. At once silky...
89 VM / 89 WA The 2016 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Blanc Les Clous Aimé has a potent asparagus and pear scented bouquet, a touch of toffee apple in the background. The palate is fresh on the entry with a...
89 WA The 2017 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Les Clous Aimé unfurls in the glass with scents of waxy orchard fruit, nutmeg and some leesy top notes of freshly baked bread and yeast extract. On the palate, the wine...
89 WA The 2018 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Les Clous Aimé is showing nicely, wafting from the glass with aromas of pear, citrus oil, white flowers and beeswax. Medium-bodied, elegant and racy, it's bright and...
90 VM "The 2016 Bourgogne La Fortune has a lovely raspberry and blackberry bouquet with a subtle sea influence coming through with aeration. The palate is surprisingly structured for a Bourgogne Rouge with black pepper and...
93 DE / 90 WA / 90 WS Pierre de Benoist says that he wants bitterness in his wine and, in the best possible way, he gets what he wants: this is racy and refined, its greenness and salinity balanced by pretty white fruit...
The Grand Echezeaux are situated right at the point where Clos de Vougeot, Le Musigny and Grand Echezeaux come together - nearly 70 year old vines produce one of the potentially great wines of Burgundy. Bruno also makes...
90-92 WA The 2014 Chambolle Musigny 1Er Cru les Gruenchers comes from almost 30-year-old vines. It has a well defined if not complex bouquet, unfurling with black cherry and wild strawberry scents. The palate is nicely...
90-92 WA / 89-91 VM The 2015 Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Mont des Oiseaux is the same vineyard as the Petit Arlot, which is to say that it still comes from the younger vines in Clos de l'Arlot. At the time of my visit, the...
93-95 WA / 94 BH / 91-94 VM The 2015 Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos des Fôrets Saint Georges includes around 55% whole bunch and is actually a blend of six different cuvées. What is interesting is that the...
The wines from this small estate are all organically farmed estate wines. Domaine de la Denante takes its name from the stream, La Denante, which runs through Davayé. About 80 per cent of the domaine is white. The...
95 DE / 93 WA / 18 JR Produced from what is nearly a monopole grand cru - Domaine Taupenot-Merme owns 0.004ha - Clos des Lambrays is always marked by its 90% whole bunches, but the style is very well done in 2017 under new...
90 WS / 88 BH A lean, lime-infused style, with some reductive, sel gris and iodine notes playing off the stony mineral element. Fine length. Decant now, or cellar for a few months. Drink now through 2024. 2,000 cases made,...
92-94 VM (from En Orveaux; "Réserve Personnelle" in indicated on the neck label): Bright red-ruby. Vibrant, complex aromas of tart cherry stomp, mint and red licorice. Suave on entry, then tighter in the middle,...
91-94 VM (two-thirds of these vines are among the oldest of the appellation, according to Laurent; vinified with a small percentage of whole clusters; just a single new barrel of this juice): Red-ruby. Fruit-dominated...
95 VM / 18.5 JR The 1999 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru is a wine that I had not tasted since just after bottling when I rhapsodized upon its sumptuousness. Now, as it approaches adulthood, I am still totally enamored by...
99 BH Everything that I saw from cask made it into bottle intact and words remain inadequate to describe just how good this wine is as the '99 is a classic La Tâche in every respect with its incredibly pure,...
98 VM / 96 WA / 18.5 JR An absolutely stunning wine, the 1999 Romanée St. Vivant is also deeply informed by vintage. Layers of flavor burst from the glass in all directions in a wine that captures the essence of...
96 BH Tasting note: This is more restrained still though aggressive swirling eventually coaxes the gorgeously broad-ranging nose to reveal an even more floral and spicier mélange of red and dark currant, Asian-style...
91+ VM / 90 BH Aromas of blueberry, violet, coffee and leather. Not a particularly fleshy style but juicy and energetic, with lovely precision and acid spine to the intense black cherry and violet flavors. Finishes peppery,...
90-92 WA The 2015 Gevrey Chambertin Le Clos, which comes from vines located near the church inside the village, veers more towards red fruit on the nose: strawberry pastilles and redcurrant, a touch of orange sorbet. The...
95 BH / 94+ VM This is also quite aromatically restrained with its compact and dense mélange of freshly turned earth, humus, spice and plum-scented nose. There is excellent ripeness displayed by the bold,...
94 DE / 93-95 WA / 92-95 BH Powerfully complex and brooding nose of dark fruits, cloves and liquorice. Fresh, sleek attack, very concentrated and tannic. The burly, muscular character doesn't lack elegance or drive. Pungent...
94-96 VM / 95 DE / 91-94 BH / 18 JR The 2018 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a gorgeous bouquet of dark cherry fruit, black currant, crushed stone and light iodine aromas, very pure and seductive. The palate is medium-bodied...
93 BH / 92+ VM / 17+ JR / 90-92 WA Deep ruby color. An ultra-spicy and attractively fresh nose is composed by openly floral, Asian tea, plum and black currant scents. There is a lovely sense of energy to the fleshy and...
92-94 WA / 91-94 BH The 2015 Echézeaux Grand Cru was demonstrating a pleasant, subtle reduction like the Les Brûlées that after racking will disappear by the time of bottling. I like the delineation and...
18 JR / 93-95 WH / 91-93 BH Deep cherry red. Less open than the Brûlées and a hint of smoky reduction adding complexity at this point, very slight and attractive. Under that there’s pure, sweet red and...
17++ JR / 92 BH / 90-93 VM / 90-92 WA Dark purple. Wild on the nose, very vibrant. Rich and sweet underneath. Exuberant. This is flag-waving stuff somewhat in Leroy gourmand style though without quite the depth and base...
17 JR / 94-94 WH / 90-92 BH Mid cherry red. Smells richer, deeper and riper on the nose than the Clos d’Eugénie, generous dark-red fruit. You hardly see the oak the fruit is so alive. Ripe and rounded on the...
93-95 VM / 90-92 BH / 17 JR The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées 1er Cru contains 60% whole cluster. It has a crisp, focused bouquet of vivacious raspberry, morello cherry, crushed chalk and light marine...
16.5 JR / 87-89 WA From Vigneaux and the bottom bit of Brûlées because they don’t reckon it’s up to premier cru standard – a little bit rustic. And young vines. Racked and in tank. No whole...
16.5 JR / 87-90 BH Bright cherry red. Gentle aroma of zesty dark-red berries. Very cold sample but still fragrant and lithe and finely textured. ‘Good to have this vintage while we wait for 2015 and 2016’, says...
89-91 BH / 88-90 VM / 16.5 JR Moderate wood influence surrounds the overtly spiced and ripe plum, dark currant and violet scents. The attractively textured, rich and sappy medium weight flavors possess very good depth on...
17 JR / 90-92 WA / 89-91 VM 60% whole bunch. Just six barriques. Not a registered name; a commercial name. Racked and in tank. Just beside the winery and walled. Deep garnet. Sweet and fragrant in a floral sort of way...
17 JR / 90-91 WH / 89-91 BH Richer and spicier than the village wine and shows the whole-bunch component. Bramble, suggests Michel Mallard and he’s spot on. Slightly floral. So fragrant. There’s a little more...
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