France

Burgundy

Burgundy, the mythical home of wines made from Pinot Noir & Chardonnay … don’t forget AligotéGammay too!

Located in the middle of France on the eastern side. There is no other wine region that has been defined in such incredible detail. Each vineyard has been named and classified. Within these vineyards their are also Lieux Dits  referring to a specific part of a vineyard or region recognized for its own topographic or historical specificities.

This detailed definition allows for the equally detailed exploration of terroir. Hereditary tittle law in France has seen vineyards split between siblings generation after generation. Many incredibly small parcels producing only enough grapes to yield a single barrel of wine exist. This further extends our ability to see terroir in action vs the hand of the maker with many of the great vineyards having dozens of owners each producing minuscule volumes of wine.

The opportunity to taste them side by side is becoming increasingly difficult as scarcity drives prices up!

The most famous and coveted wines are the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of the Côte de Nuits and Côte du Beaune. Together they form a narrow escarpment running north-south over a distances of less than 50kms.

Much further north the Chardonnay from Chablis stands comfortably on it’s own two feet with some delicious mineral, fine wines with insane ability to age.

To the south excellent wines are produced in the Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais, home to Chardonnays of exceptional value & personality.

Further again the Gammay from Beaujolais represents some of the beast value wines from Burgundy.

We’ve shared a series of articles in the Wine Bites Mag “Getting Your Head Around Burgundy” deep diving into the region.

Where marginal climate saw a high proportion of tough vintages in Burgundy. In ability to rippen grapes is less often a problem today. Catastrophic frosts and hail storms more of an issue.

Filters & Sorting

Rounder, plusher than the 2016. A lovely differentiation between vintage that still sees the qualities of clearly very fine house at play. None of the reduction Meadows noted on first release is present now. A little more time is needed for this to show it’s full colours at the moment. A little more savoury with the same fruit energy at play. As seems to be the case for the Domaine there is a harmony that you don’t always see in Burgundy. Superb drinking.
$242
$232ea in any 3+
$222ea in any 6+
A mildly toasty nose is comprised by notes of red and dark cherry, raspberry and newly turned earth. The rich and caressing medium weight flavors are at once succulent but powerful while delivering fine length on the decidedly firm but not really austere finale. This too offers very fine quality in a built-to-age package.Allen Meadows, Burghound
$242
$232ea in any 3+
$222ea in any 6+
Fascinating drinking here. More down the strawberry line. With excellent harmony. This is divine, violets and underlying savoury notes. Another excercise in textural difference. Arvelet so even fine and plush, derrière building in structure, Fremier super high quality tannins with a very slight mid-palate prominence and wonderful length of tannin.Drinking these wines side by side is a demonstration in the diversity of Pommard, a celebration of the differences between vineyards.
$242
$232ea in any 3+
$222ea in any 6+
A cooler and quite pretty nose combines notes of plum, red and dark raspberry along with spice and floral top notes. The finer and more seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that possess a lovely sense of underlying tension, all wrapped in a bitter pit fruit-inflected finish. This firmly structured effort could use a bit more depth, but more will almost certainly develop over the course of time. Good stuff here. ♥ Sweet spot Outstanding Drink 2030+Burghound, 92 Points
$242
$232ea in any 3+
$222ea in any 6+
A brooding and still very primary nose offers up liqueur-like notes of dark cherry, raspberry, anise and a hint of wood. There is excellent verve to the utterly delicious flavors that also possess excellent delineation before concluding in a mineral-laden and sneaky long finale. This is lovely and worth a look. ♥ Outstanding Drink 2028+Burghound, 91 Points
$242
$232ea in any 3+
$222ea in any 6+
Domaine SC Guillard Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux 2019
A Classsic!

Domaine SC Guillard Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux 2019

Pinot Noir | Gevrey-Chambertin, Côte-de-Nuits

‘Les Corbeaux’ is bordered one side by the Grand Cru Mazis Chambertin! Takes me to a very happy place! ‘Les Corbeaux’ is bordered one side by the Grand Cru Mazis Chambertin and the other by the village of Gevrey. The 2018 is deeply colored with juicy and vibrant fruit characters of cherry kernel, cassis, liquorice, blackberry and plum, tannings are silky and fine, but as the wine opens they build and become more and more savoury and the purity and length of the palate just pushes on and
$245
$238ea in any 3+
$231ea in any 6+

Domaine Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin La Princée 2021

Chardonnay | Saint-Aubin, Burgundy

La Princée is a blend of 10 small village parcels from across just under three hectares. One-third of these vines are now over 60 years old, and the remainder were planted in 1985 and 2000. All the parcels are in the cooler, east-facing Saint-Aubin combe (valley), on chalky/mineral soils. It is therefore no surprise that this is a racy white Burgundy with great energy and a limestone-rich personality.“Aromas of white flowers, lemon oil and toasted nuts introduce the 2021 Saint-Aubin L
$245
$235ea in any 3+
$225ea in any 6+
The domaine holds two priceless hectares in Valmur, which makes it (we’re guessing) one of the largest holders of this Grand Cru, which sits between Grenouilles and Les Clos. With the 1934 plantings in La Pièce au Comte now replanted, Valmur houses the domaine’s oldest vines, planted in 1947, along with some vines planted between 1962 and 1974 and another parcel between 1995 and 2000. Just as significant is the exposure: Bessin’s parcel lies on the southern side of the Grand Cru, in
$245
$235ea in any 3+
$225ea in any 6+
A wonderfully spicy nose offers up its aromas of both red and dark raspberry, violet and soft floral nuances. There is once again a lovely texture along with fine detail to the more refined middle weight flavors that deliver very good persistence on the youthfully austere and slightly grippy finale. 2030+Allen Meadows, Burghound
$246
$236ea in any 3+
$226ea in any 6+
We really sense the aromatic freshness of the Chardonnay coming from its acidity and the minerality from its mainly mineral terroir. All nurtured by oak notes mainly from foudres in which this wine was vinified and matured. The Margoté plot is located to the South of the Rully appellation. This area is cold and windy. We can almost smell the wind while tasting this wine.The palate is powerful with a round and precise texture full of contained energy. The « mineral » finish is the terroir
$247
$237ea in any 3+
$227ea in any 6+
Located to the north of the Premiers Crus de Rully hill, the vines here are cultivated on one of the warmest terroirs of Rully with a South, South-eastern exposure.This exposure translates itself with notes of white flowers, honey and fresh citrus fruits.On the palate, it is the energy coming from the alliance of the Chardonnay and the terroir of the Rabourcé which surprises, with an aromatic freshness enhanced on the finish by light bitter notes creating a beautiful expression of salin
$247
$237ea in any 3+
$227ea in any 6+
The nose is refined, persistent and offering ethereal aromas of peach and mandarin, supported by an enjoyable oak presence.The palate is fresh and the definition of terroir becomes clearer as the tasting progresses. Rich flavours linked to aromas from Chardonnay, then you move to bitter skins associated with the bitterness from new barrels which render the wine very salivating. This length extends the quality of the fruit and the expression of terroir, together with almost marly notes, refre
$247
$237ea in any 3+
$227ea in any 6+