Burgundy

d'Angerville Volnay Champans 1er Cru 2016 (1.5L)

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...

d'Angerville Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

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...

Alain Chavy Bourgogne Blanc 2015 (750ML)

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...

Alain Chavy Bourgogne Blanc 2017 (750ML)

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...

Alain Chavy Puligny Montrachet les Folatieres 1er Cru 2017 (750ML)

92-94 WA / 17.5 JR The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru, Alain Chavy’s favourite amongst his Premier Cru Puligny, has a taut, stony bouquet that shows a little more vivacity than the other Premier...

Alain Chavy St Aubin en Remilly 1er Cru 2017 (750ML)

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...

Arnoux-Lachaux Nuits-Saint-Georges 2010 (750ML)

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...

Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er Cru 2015 (750ML)

96 DE / 91-93 WA The Clos des Chênes is the king of the cellar in 2015: a wine of grand cru quality, made from the fruit of low yielding old vines. Notes of black cherry, elderberry, woodsmoke, dark chocolate and...

Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Volnay Santenots 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

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...

Blain-Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Clos St Jean 1er Cru 2017 (750ML)

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...

Blain-Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot Rouge 1er Cru 2017 (750ML)

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,...

Blain-Gagnard Le Montrachet 2005 (750ML)

93 BH Tasting note: This is the most elegant and refined wine in the range and while the nose is presently rather reserved, it offers notes of clove, anise, white flower and green apple that complement to perfection the...

Bruno Clavelier Chambolle Musigny La Combe d'Orveau 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

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,...

Chandon de Briailles Corton Bressandes Grand Cru 2016 (750ML)

94 WA / 91-94 VM / 91-93 BH The 2016 Corton Bressandes Grand Cru is also showing extremely well, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis, ripe plums, dark chocolate, dried flowers and spices. On the palate, it's...

Chateau de Puligny Montrachet St Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly 2015 (750ML)

90-92 WA / 89-92 BH The 2015 Puligny Montrachet is actually 80% declassified vines in the Chalumeaux vineyard. It has an expressive, granite and slate-tinged bouquet that is nicely focused, more intense than many village...

Clos De Tart Grand Cru 2016 (750ML)

99+ VM / 97 WA The 2016 Clos de Tart Grand Cru, cropped at 35hl/ha, is the first year farmed biodynamically. This was completely breathtaking in barrel, and now, in bottle, nothing has changed in that respect. It has an...

Clos Frantin Chambolle Musigny les Amoureuses 1er Cru 2015 (750ML)

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...

Comte de Vogue Bonnes Mares 2015 (750ML)

97 DE / 95 WA / 95 BH / 94 VM Deep red, almost to the embarrassment of the winemaker, but it's on account of the small berries and ratio of skins to juice. Heady and sumptuous nose, with cherries and black fruits,...

Comte de Vogue Musigny VV 2017 (750ML)

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...

Comtes Lafon Macon Milly Lamartine 2016 (750ML)

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...

Comtes Lafon Macon Prisse 2016 (750ML)

88 BH / 87 VM Tasting note: Smoky aromas of white orchard fruit and lemon peel lead to rich, opulent and seductively textured flavors that possess sneaky good length on the delicious and balanced finish. This too would make...

Comtes Lafon Vire Clesse 2016 (750ML)

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...

Confuron-Cotetidot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015 (750ML)

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...

Courcel Pommard Grand Clos Des Epenots 1er Cru 2008 (750ML)

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...

Courcel Pommard Grand Clos Des Epenots 1er Cru 2015 (750ML)

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...

de Montille Clos Vougeot 2016 (750ML)

 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...

de Montille Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru 2016 (750ML)

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...

de Montille Pommard les Pezerolles 1er Cru 2015 (1.5L)

 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...

de Montille Volnay Taillepieds 1er Cru 2015 (750ML)

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...

de Montille Vosne Romanee les Malconsorts 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

93-96 VM / 93-95 WA / 92-95 BH (vinified with two-thirds whole clusters and aged in 60% new oak; no frost damage here but the yield was just under 40 hectoliters per hectare): Healthy dark red. Explosive aromas of black...

de Villaine Bourgogne Blanc les Clous Aime 2016 (750ML)

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...

de Villaine Bourgogne Rouge Cote Chalonnaise la Fortune 2016 (750ML)

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...

de Villaine Bouzeron Aligote 2017 (750ML)

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...

Desaunay-Bissey Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015 (750ML)

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...

Domaine de l'Arlot Mont des Oiseaux 2015 (750ML)

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...

Domaine de l'Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos De Forets St Georges 2009 (1.5L)

94 WA / 92 BH 'Outstanding' The 2009 Nuits St. Georges Clos des Forets Saint Georges comes across as dark, brooding and totally intense. Black cherries, tar, licorice, smoke and menthol are some of the many notes that are...

Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2016 (750ML)

96 WS / 96 JG / 93-95 WA A racy style, defined by bracing acidity propelling the black currant, blackberry, iron, earth and spice flavors to a lingering conclusion. Balanced and full of energy, this needs time to really...

Dominique Laurent Echezeaux VV Grand Cru 2015 (750ML)

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,...

DRC La Tache 1999 (750ML)

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,...

Drouhin Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

93 DE / 93 JS / 93 WS This premier cru blend, like its Vosne-Romanée counterpart, is very fine this year, offering up a lovely nose of creamy red fruit, venison and forest floor. On the palate the wine is...

Dugat-Py Bourgogne Halinard 2011 (750ML)

Dugat-Py Pommard Vieilles Vignes 2011 (750ML)

89-92 BH Not surprisingly the nose is completely different compared to that of the Vosne as the floral elements are less pronounced with more earth character to the red currant aromas. There is excellent richness and...

Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

94 BH / 93 VM Tasting note: Vestiges of post-bottling sulfur don't completely mask the otherwise elegant citrus, white pear and acacia blossom aromas. The detailed, intense and concentrated medium weight plus flavors...

Eugenie Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2015 (750ML)

93-95 WA / 92-95 BH The 2015 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a perfumed bouquet with dark cherry fruit, blackcurrant and briary tinged with fine mineralité - hints of cold stone percolating through with time. The...

Eugenie Echezeaux Grand Cru 2017 (750ML)

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...

Eugenie Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Aux Brulees 2017 (750ML)

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...

Eugenie Vosne Romanee Village 2017 (750ML)

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...

Eugenie Vosne Romanee Village Clos D'Eugenie 2017 (750ML)

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...

Fabien Coche Bourgogne Blanc 2015 (750ML)

This family-run domain, based in Meursault, was created by Julien Coche in1940 and began as just one hectare of vines. His son Alain took over from him, expanded the holdings, and earned a high reputation for the vintages he...

Faiveley Bienvenues Batard Montrachet 2012 (750ML)

89-92 BH The highly expressive nose features notes of honeysuckle, pit fruit and olive oil hints. There is excellent vibrancy and lovely delineation to the seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that possess a refined...