Burgundy is the spiritual home of two of the planet’s most famous grape varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. At Chardonnay’s epicentre are three small villages south of Beaune; Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault. They produce undisputed, elegant, benchmarks for Chardonnay growers around the globe.
The home of Pinot Noir is a little bit more stretched. The Cote d’Or certainly. Many aficionados would lean towards the Cote de Nuits – although why deny the greatness of Volnay and Pommard on the Cote de Beaune? Some go further and tune in on the strip between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin. Some writers go further still and describe the village of Vosne-Romanee as the absolute epicentre,
The Côte d’Or – Where is it?
The Cote d’Or is split into two sub-sections. The Cote de Nuits, a slope that runs from the southern suburbs of Dijon down through Nuits-St-Georges to the village of Corgoloin just north of Beaune. The Cote de Beaune runs from Ladoix-Serrigny, in the shadow of the hill of Corton down to just south of Santenay.
The Pyramid of Quality
Concept of Terroir
A sense of place. The exact geographical location where the wine is from. The geology, the soil, its aspect in relation to the sun and its exposure to the elements. The best vineyards are generally those where the locals noticed the snow would melt first. Not too low on the slope, where it can be muddy or marshy and not so high up the slope where it is colder and windier. These specific sites and their hierarchy have evolved over centuries into the Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) classification system.
Regional – Bourgogne Rouge. Generic Pinot Noir. Also includes the Hautes-Cotes de Beaune and Hautes-Cotes de Nuits.
Village – The name of the village – can carry the name of a single vineyard, a lieu-dit.
1er Cru – the village followed by the name of the 1er Cru vineyard.
Grand Cru – Top of the pyramid of quality – just the name of the Grand Cru vineyard.
The Cult of Burgundy
It is possible to get really in-deep with Burgundy. It’s a natural realm for anoraks and geeks. The history of the vineyards and their smallness, parcellated and divided by Napoleonic Law, creating a multitude of small growers. The French tax system also creates an environment of constant re-distribution. When a parent dies, the sons and daughters often have to sell some of their vines to pay death duty.
Then there’s who’s hot, who’s not. How the vintage affected the exact micro-climate in that vineyard. When the grower chose to pick. There is an almost endless stream of Burgundy gossip. The web is thick with Burgundy blogs, bulletin boards and chat rooms.
At its best Burgundy should be about elegance and finesse. Subtle and sensual. Mercurial and complex. The ultimate Pinot Noir? Certainly the benchmark for the grape variety. Many of the most influential New World winemakers have made the pilgrimage to Burgundy to worship at the altar, find out how they do it there and occasionally sneak a cutting from La Romanee-Conti back in their luggage. You can often come across Pinot Noir vines in California with some Burgundian roots.
Negoce vs Domaine bottling
Until the end of the 1970s almost all Burgundy was sold by Negociants – the Negoce. Growers would sell their grapes, or the must or barrels of finished wine to the large houses who would finish the wine off, bottle and distribute. There has been an ever-increasing trend for growers (Domaines) to bottle their own wine. While there are a couple of decent Negociants, in our opinion the best Burgundy comes from the growers themselves. If you have to sell a barrel to the Negoce to fund cashflow, are you really going to sell them your best one?
Mugnier (Chambolle-Musigny)
At the heady, top shelf end of Chambolle, we have Jacques-Frederic (Freddy) Mugnier, a genius producer with legendary status. Burgundy on the world stage. If you never taste this man’s wines you will have missed out. Pinot Noir reaches the heights here, instantly distinctive, utterly seductive.
Quietly spoken and modest, Freddy takes us to taste each year in his original, small cellar and his still-shiny new cellar, which was built to absorb “Clos de la Marechale”, the 1er Cru vineyard at the southern end of the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. At the end of 2003, “Clos de la Marechale’ reverted from a 100 year lease to Faiveley back to the Mugnier family, trebling their holdings overnight. Trebling and troubling (at the time) – quite a leap in volume and a leap in the dark economically. From the first vintage (2004) onwards, the wine has always been delicious. Plumper and bigger than his Chambolle-Musigny bottlings maybe, but exquisite none-the-less.
He insists that good wine is made in the vineyard, and that it is his job as winemaker “not to mess it up” once the grapes are harvested.
How to describe the wines? “Strawberry drenched satin”, “Velvet wrapped strawberries with a dusting of sugar”, and other over-the-top descriptions are not out of place here. “A wine does not need to be heavy to create intense sensations,” he says.
Freddy Mugnier grafted some Chardonnay onto some of his old vines at the lower end of Clos de la Marechale, “to make some white wine for my wife”. He makes very little and we are delighted to get an armful of bottles each year.
In fact, we gratefully accept our allocations from Freddy in their entirety every year. All of his wines have an ethereal beauty; Chambolle-Musigny, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuees, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Marechale Rouge & Blanc, Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Musigny Grand Cru. Just don’t ask about Les Amoureuses.
Paul Pernot (Puligny-Montrachet)
Weathered face, gnarly hands and never seen without his flat cap – he’s 70-ish and still very much in the driving seat. Every time we visit Paul Pernot in Puligny-Montrachet a few kilometres south of Beaune, we are struck by the sheer elegance and stunning quality of his wines. One of the top handful of growers in the village – his Pulignys have exquisite delicacy and poise but with the structure to age gracefully.
Monsieur Pernot’s Pulignys are assembled from several parcels including some vines between 40 and 45 years old. A complex mix of nuts, a touch of honey, tangerine peel and wild white flowers. Tightly wound in the nose when young, large-scaled in the mouth. The epitome of classy white Burgundy.
His Bourgogne Chardonnay is from vines planted in 1975 with a small track separating them from Villages vines. He also adds one rocky parcel de-classified from the 1er cru Champ Canet vineyard. The Puligny is an assemblage from several parcels with vines between 40 and 45 years old. Always with a fabulous, ethereal perfume, wonderful depth and poise and a hint of 1-2 year old oak (used firstly by the Batard and the Bienvenues-Batard). The Folatieres vines were planted in 1956. He treats them to 30-40% new oak. The wine is concentrated and has a massive finish. His Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is quite a different balance, less upfront in the nose than the Folatieres but seriously enticing. An explosion in the mouth, a complex mix of nuts, a touch of honey and wild white flowers. The Batard needs time. It is all it should be – tightly wound in the nose when young, large-scaled in the mouth. If you can bear to wait 5-15 years your patience will be repaid, but, if you can?t wait, pour into a decanter for an hour before serving.
Famous for his elegant white Burgundies he also has some parcels of old vine Pinot Noir. This is traditionally made, mature, old-school Pinot, dripping with smoky, autumn fruit.
“Les Reversees” is a small vineyard on the outskirts of the mediaeval town of Beaune. Its character is usually described as plump and rustic.
“Clos du Dessous des Marconnets” is a tiny walled vineyard, a monopole, owned solely by Monsieur Pernot, on the slope above the mediaeval town of Beaune.
Denis Pere (Pernand-Vergelesses)
In the two and a half (plus) decades we have had The Winery, we spent the first decade looking for good Pernand-Vergelesses and finally found what we were looking for. A small family Domaine run by Christophe and Valerie Denis. Pernand-Vergelesses is sandwiched between the hill of Corton and the village of Savigny-les-Beaune. The Denis family make a spread of Pernands in red and white at Village and 1er Cru level, some Corton Grand Cru and a delicious Cremant de Bourgogne (a classic Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend). Their basic Bourgogne Chardonnay, Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune always punch well above their class.
Recent vintages have been getting scarcer thanks to some dreadful luck with Mother Nature. Hail. Floods. Unseasonally late frost. The last five years have been almost biblical. Luckily for us, Christophe and Valerie always manage to keep some to one side for The Winery.
Pierre Guillemot (Savigny-les-Beaune)
The fabulous label led to a chance purchase in a fancy Delicatessen in Miami South Beach. The silky, pure, traditional style of its contents led to a phone call which led to a visit in August (with an exhaustive, half day tasting), which led to us cramming several cases into our van in Burgundy on our latest trip.
Three generations of the Guillemot family live in, or just off, the village square in Savigny-les-Beaune north of Beaune. When we visited in August, grandmother, mother and grandson were bottling and packing cases while father Pierre was scrambling here and there to prepare everything for the imminent, early harvest. Grandfather was having a lie-down. Grandson, fresh out of the local wine college, the Lycee Viticole in Beaune, took us through the entire line up. White Savigny, Bourgogne Rouge, Savigny at village level, multiple Premier Crus and their Grand Cru Corton. All in multiple vintages. Their style may seem elegant and silky and ethereal, but they all have classic Savigny structure – a tannic backbone that, coupled with the fresh Pinot acidity, gives all their reds enormous aging potential. A point amply demonstrated when he hauled out a 1991 in August and a 1992 in October.
Stephanie Mosnier (Chablis-Beine)
Stephanie Mosnier gave up her job in logistics to come home and take over her father Sylvain’s domaine in the small village of Beine when he retired. Her husband, Christophe, who works with a dynamite company, is a keen gastronome and was happy to support the move. Stephanie makes top-class Chablis – tightly-wound, concentrated and crystal clear, a wonderful balance of fruit and fresh acidity. She makes Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Vieilles Vignes and two 1er Crus, Beauroy and Cote de Lechet.
Michel Lafarge (Volnay) BIODYNAMIC
The quiet village of Volnay has around ninety-five growers and Michel Lafarge plays a central part in its history. He was mayor of the village, as were his father and grandfather. Famous for his reds, the 2006’s are the epitome of Volnay finesse and rich elegance. Lafarge also makes a very elegant, quietly classy style of Meursault from the Volnay end of the appellation. Other highlights in his freezing cellar were the finest Beaune Greves we’ve tasted – a rare treat, considering he makes just one barrel. There seems to have been a seemless succession from Michel to his son Freddy but nobody really knows who does what. Biodynamism remains a touchstone for us. The compelling organic system based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and the lunar calendar is winning over growers everywhere. Burgundy seemed resistant until some high profile growers such as the former Mayor of Volnay, Michel Lafarge, switched. It came as a surprise to us that 80 year-old Michel and his son Freddy had converted as long ago as 2000. Everything is so understated and discreet. Who knows who does what in their cellar, the quality is seamless and peerless. This is their Volnay Selectionees – their favourite barrels, better parcels, generally older vines, up a notch from their basic Volnay. Silky like crushed velvet. Sensual, elegant and feminine.
JN Gagnard (Chassagne-Montrachet) ORGANIC
Burgundy is the undisputed, elegant, benchmark for Chardonnay growers around the globe. At its epicentre are three small villages south of Beaune; Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault. Chassagne-Montrachet is the smallest of the three.
We were first converted to Jean-Noel Gagnard’s wines in the 1990s: the 1992s and 1994s remain etched in our memories. Honey and hazelnuts. Honeysuckle and marzipan. A balance of exquisite delicacy and power. Almost two decades later, we finally met Caroline Lestime (Jean-Noel’s daughter) who has been making the wine since 1989. Everything fell beautifully into place and we are proud to have her wines on our shelves.
She has 11 hectares; 90% white, 10% red. She stopped using herbicides in the vineyards in 2000 and has been working with the soil gurus Lydia & Claude Bourguignon’s son Emmanuel. Caroline has been organic since 2010.
We were particularly taken with two 1er Crus; Champs Gain in white and the Clos St Jean in red. The tiny Clos St Jean was originally established by Nuns attached to the Benedictine Abbey in Autun.
Clos des Poulettes (Corgoloin)
It’s not often you come across a grower in Burgundy with 16 hectares in the Côte de Nuits that you haven’t heard of before – let alone such elegant examples of Pinot Noir. It was a tip from our German-based English friend Stuart Pigott that piqued our interest.
Helene Michaut returned from her IT career in London and Paris to take over the estate after the untimely death of her sister in 2009. The property can trace its history back to the era of Louis XIV. For the past six generations the domaine has passed down the female side of the family. Men have been involved, notably Helene’s Grandfather and Father. Helene’s grandfather, Lucien Audidier, was from near Vienne in the northern Rhone and rose to director of agricultural services for the Landes and Loir-et-Cher regions. When Helene’s father Francois Audidier took over in 1994, he planted some blocks of Chardonnay and modernised the cellar. Bit by bit Helene has made her mark. She bought a nearby temperature controlled cellar in 2015, and instituted a more gentle wine-making regime.
Her super elegant Cote de Nuits Villages 2017 grabbed our attention. No fewer than four Nuits-Saint-Georges kept us riveted: Les Vallerots and three 1er Crus Vaucrains, Clos des Poulettes and Chaboeufs. Clos des Poulettes is a monopole, with walls on three sides (still defined as a ‘Clos’). The vines were planted by her grandfather and father. The vineyard is unusually steep and can’t be worked by tractor. Helene decided to use horses. She also has a tiny parcel of Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots.
In March 2023 we were back to pick up lots more of the 2017 Côte de Nuits that flew following our first order. Helene had made it clear that we had to taste some of the 2022s, particularly the whites. Oh my! We could immediately see why she was excited. We were too. We scooped up some of these gorgeous 2022 whites in August 2023. Hats off to Helene and also to Fernando who has worked at the domaine for 30 years…so far.
Sirugue (Vosne-Romanee)
Those of you who are familiar with our shelves of Burgundy may have come across Noellat from the village of Vosne-Romanee in the Cotes de Nuits. Vosne-Romanee is a name that makes Pinot lovers go misty eyed.
Alain Noellat’s daughter Sophie did a very short stint with us as an intern. This unfortunately coincided with some serious love-sickness. She had fallen in love with Arnaud Sirugue, the son of another wine-making family, from around the corner, less than 100 metres from her home. That, plus the extreme contrast between her quiet home village and a flat in Brick Lane, made her revise her plans. Shuttle forward 18 months and the two were married in the summer of 2013. Baby Oscar was born a year later. Mother, father and baby are all doing well!
An unexpected benefit for us, as the romance unfolded, was a re-awakening of our interest in the Sirugue family’s wines. We tasted when we next visited and were impressed. They are elegant, focused and very pure. The Vosne-Romanee Villages is from two parcels in Maizieres (in the corner near Les Suchots and Grands Echezeaux) and Les Violettes (adjacent to the Clos Vougeot). Their Vieilles Vignes, from 50-60 year-old vines, is one of our favourites – precise, deep and concentrated. Their 1er Cru is Les Petits Monts, located immediately above Richebourg.
Trapet-Rochelandet (Gevrey-Chambertin)
We have been keeping a close eye on Trapet-Rochelandet for a few years and finally started in 2021. Meet Laurent Rochelandet and his wife Anne. It’s a story of multiple incremental tweaks over several years. We loved the 2014s, the Gevrey-Chambertin Carougeots 2014 in particular. 2018 and 2019 go from strength to strength. From Bourgogne Aligoté, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir up through the Gevrey-Chambertins, the range is a delight.
Nicolas Cheveau (Pouilly)
In southern Burgundy, near Macon, the primal presence of the two jagged rock faces of Vergisson and Solutre dominate the skyline above the tiny village of Pouilly, the village that time forgot. When we first visited, the whole Cheveau family, from grandparents to grandchildren, gathered in the doorway to watch the hot-shot wine merchants from London taste their wines. At that time, Nicolas Cheveau made Mâcon, St-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé. Joined by his wife Aurélie, much has changed since then. There’s a swanky new-ish, much more accessible winery on the approach to the village. There are also multiple new bottlings; three Mâcon, one Bourgogne Blanc, one St-Véran, no fewer than eight separate Pouilly-Fuissé bottlings (five of them 1er Cru) three red and one white Beaujolais.
Thierry & Charles Drouin (Vergisson)
If you find yourself on the Autoroute des Anglais, the Autoroute that becomes the Autoroute du Soleil, driving towards Lyon or further south, and you look right as you pass Macon, you will spot two magnificent cliff-shaped rocks; the Roche de Vergisson and the Roche de Solutre. It is difficult not to be impressed by their primal presence. La Roche de Solutre is a protected, pre-historic site used by human civilisations from 35,000-10,000 BC. Pre-historic humans used the rock for hunting, driving herds of wild horses over the edge of the cliff. Lovely. More recently it was made famous by Francois Mitterand, who would make an annual ritual ascent to the peak.
Less than 2kms away, as the crow (or pterodactyl) flies is the Roche de Vergisson, a rock with a friendlier history. Between the two is an amphitheatre-like bowl which cradles the Pouilly-Fuisse vineyards. Slap bang in the middle of the bowl with a view of both rocks is the Drouins’ home and winery.
Thierry Drouin’s son Charles has taken over much of the workload recently and is doing an excellent job. They make a Macon-Bussieres, a Saint-Veran and a spread of Pouilly-Fuisse bottlings. Oak is used very carefully and never dominates. The wines are refined and, at the top end, the Vieille Vigne du Bois d’Ayer (from a half hectare parcel of 65 year-old vines) and the single vineyard En Buland (from the slope below the Roche de Solutre) are exquisite.
Baccate (Beaune)
Jean-Marc Dufouleur is a Wine Commissioner in Beaune. He is also the owner of Baccate and makes wonderful fruit liqueurs. Peche-de-Vigne (Vine Peach), Framboise (Raspberry), Myrtille (Blueberry), Mure (Blackberry) and, of course, Cassis (Blackcurrant) – the base of a true, classic Kir.
What’s a Kir? It is an aperitif made with white wine and a splash of Cassis. To make a Kir Royale you substitute the white wine with sparkling wine or Champagne. It was originally made with Bourgogne Aligote, the “other” white wine of Burgundy – usually neutral, thin and sharp and which there wasn’t much demand for. Cassis (also widely made in the region) was added to it to disguise the taste and the drink was named after Felix Kir, the Mayor of Dijon who is generally credited with popularising it after the Second World War.
Jean-Marc also has Pinot Noir vines in Morey-Saint-Denis and bottles his own wines as the Domaine de Monts Luisants.
Anne-Francoise Gros and Francois Parent (Pommard)
The marriage of Anne-Francoise Gros from Vosne-Romanee on the Cote de Nuits and Francois Parent from Pommard on the Cote de Beaune brought together some amazing vineyards under one roof. Although all the wine is now made by Francois with Anne-Francoise concentrating on “Le Marketing”, they still keep their separate labels.
Richness and purity of fruit are the hallmarks here.
David Dubuet (Monthelie)
Young, twenty-something David Dubuet veered onto our radar with his 2004 vintage and we have been following this boyish, rising star ever since. Less well-known than its immediate neighbours, Volnay and Meursault, Monthelie can offer refined, rarely-seen whites and pure high-toned Cote de Beaune Pinot. The winery has been in the family for longer than David or even his Dad can remember. Best guess, two centuries. The Domaine has just 6 hectares, which is still plenty to keep the family busy. In between caring for their new baby, David’s wife Aurelie still works at her parents’ hotel/restaurant, the Hotel du Centre in Meursault.
He makes Monthelie in both white and red, Meursault, Bourgogne Rouge, Beaune “les Epenottes” from close to Pommard border and Monthelie 1er Cru “Champs Fulliot”. Brand new, from the 2010 vintage is lovely, pure Auxey-Duresses. The Monthelie Rouge comes from 4 parcels of 30 year-old vines around the village. Always easy to like. Pure, bright, pristine, high-toned Pinot fruit, supple tannins, intense and concentrated. A cavalcade of summer fruits, strawberries and cherries to lift the chill.
Chicotot (Nuits-Saint-Georges)
It was the early naughties when we first visited Chicotot. Georges showed us the wines from the barrels and would sneak out for a cigarette from time to time. His wife Pascale was, shall we say, less present at that time. We were intrigued by the wines. We bought some. They had a wildness about them. They were butch, masculine and took their time to reveal their inner charm. Ten years passed before we plucked up the courage to visit again. The dynamic had shifted somewhat in the meantime. Georges’ name was still on the label but Pascale seemed in charge, with their son Clement also playing a part.
The heart of the domaine centres on Nuits-Saint-Georges itself. With parcels in some of the best-known, most highly-regarded vineyards on the south side of the town; 1er Crus Vaucrains, Pruliers and Les Saint-Georges (a vineyard many feel is almost Grand Cru level). Some not quite so well-known 1er Crus such as the fleshy Les Rues de Chaux (just outside as you leave the town going west and up the hill) and Aux Thorey (on the Vosne-Romanee side of the town). They have Village level Les Plantes aux Baron just below Les Saint-Georges and two on the Vosne side; Les Charmottes and Aux Allots.
The average age of their vines is 70-75 years (with the exception of the upper part of Aux Thorey which was nuked by frost and replanted in 1985). They produce a Bourgogne Rouge which always seems to be sold out regardless of when we visit. Recently they have been quietly accumulating small parcels outside the commune of Nuits-Saint-Georges; Ladoix, Aloxe-Corton and, from the 2014 vintage, Beaune and Pommard.
For a while in the late 1980s-early 1990s, along with several other growers (including Etienne Grivot, François Labet of Chateau de la Tour and Comte Senard), they were followers of Guy Accad, a well known, controversial consultant (now often reframed as “Guru” to suit the almost Cultish analogy) and who fell from favour in the 1990s. Accad is best known for his fermentation technique which involved a very long cold maceration of the must before fermentation was allowed to proceed. This produced wines with more colour and a more forward perfume when young. Critics suggested that different vineyard terroirs were difficult to distinguish – drowned out by the stamp of the method – and some suggested that the wines would not age. Others, such as Clive Coates, felt that over time they would age just like any other Burgundy. Certainly, in our experience, wines made using the Accad method in that era have turned out fine – neither better nor worse.
Although many of Accad’s former clients are uncomfortable talking about him today, he should probably be acknowledged as one of the first, along with Claude Bourguignon, to have worked on the soil in the vineyards – essential after years of rampant use of chemical pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers.
Accad beat a retreat from the region by the mid 1990s and most of his clients eased back from the more extreme parts of his technique.
The wines still have some wildness but somehow seemed a tiny bit more approachable. Pascale Chicotot, originally from Alsace, is more direct than many in the region – “don’t leave it so long next time” she said. Alrighty. We bought some. And then we bought again.
Chantereves (Savigny-les-Beaune)
We met Tomoko Kuriyama a couple of years ago. She’s a friend of Eva Fricke and we would often bump into her on the Rheingau while she was working as winemaker at Altenkirch in Lorch. She moved to Burgundy recently to start a mini-Negociant with her boyfriend Guillaume Bott, who is winemaker at Simon Bize in Savigny. We tasted in their temporary cellar, a chill-room in a corner of a wooden case manufacturer between Beaune and Savigny. 2010 is their first vintage. The courtiers (who work behind the scenes putting grape sellers in touch with buyers) have a soft spot for Guillaume, so their first collection had some surprisingly serious Appellations – Meursault and a sensational Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Morgeots, for example. We were quick to load their first bottling, a delicious, classic hazelnutty, village Meursault into the Winery van, making us their first export sale.
How did Tomoko come to be in Burgundy? Winding back, she was born in Tokyo in 1968. Her first husband was German and when her kids went to Uni in Germany, she had to find something to do. She learnt German, thought about Uni herself, then thought about wine. Living the Franken side of Frankfurt she knocked on the legendary Paul Furst’s door. Although he didn’t take her seriously at first, he did take her in eventually. She became an apprentice and did everything. After three years with Furst, she went to Geisenheim, then to Breuer in Rudesheim, then to the amazing, biodynamic grower, Peter-Jakob Kuhn in Oestrich-Winkel, before landing the job at Altenkirch.
Guillaume Bott was born in Dijon and lived in Beaune where he went to the Lycee Viticole for five years. he says he was a poor student. He did stages at Vannieres in Bandol and Sauzet in Puligny before moving to Bize.
Tomoko and Guillaume have now moved in together and collaborate in every area. Clearly, with their pedigree, they have a bright future ahead of them!
Francois Labet – Chateau de la Tour (Vougeot)
The only Clos Vougeot made within the walls of the Clos. Suave, affable Francois Labet has a fantastic holding of old vines, many over 100 years-old. Even his normal bottling is made from 65 year-old vines.
Michel Noellat (Vosne-Romanee)
On one of our visits, almost a decade ago, everywhere we went on the Cote was gearing up for the annual Festival of St Vincent, the Saint of Wine. This involves decorating houses, shrubbery and trees with colourful paper flowers followed by processions. The Noellat brothers were clearing up after the St Vincent Festival in Vosne-Romanee. After the procession, they were this hosts for St Vincent himself. Based in the village of Vosne-Romanee, the Noellat brothers Alain and Jean-Marc inherited the Domaine from their father Michel in 1989. They have a great range from Bourgogne Rouge, Fixin, a charming Village Nuits-St-Georges (from the Vosne side), several Vosne-Romanee 1er Crus up to Clos Vougeot and Echezeaux. They have just 0.47 of a hectare in two parcels in the Clos Vougeot, one from their father and one from their aunt, Madame Corbet-Tremblay. Both are very nicely positioned. All their wines are made in an upfront, plump style with concentrated, brambly fruit and minimal oak.
Alain Noellat’s daughter Sophie did a very short stint with us as an intern. This unfortunately coincided with some serious love-sickness. She had fallen in love with Arnaud Sirugue, the son of another wine-making family, from around the corner, less than 100 metres from her home. That, plus the extreme contrast between her quiet home village and a flat in Brick Lane, made her revise her plans. Shuttle forward 18 months and the two were married in the summer of 2013. Baby Oscar was born a year later, followed by another boy, Victor, in January 2016.
Oronce de Beler – La Maison Romane (Vosne-Romanee) BIODYNAMIC (very low S02)
Meet Oronce de Beler, La Maison Romane, Vosne-Romanee. He is a micro-Negociant. Buying grapes from a handful of growers and vinifying them himself in a tiny cellar he rents from DRC in the back streets of Vosne. Originally from Paris, he’s been doing it for a decade.
He makes, super-swish, distinctive, voluptuous Marsannay “Longeroies”, Fixin “Les Clos”, Gevrey-Chambertin “La Justice” & Vosne-Romanee “Aux Reas”.
Oronce has a herd of pigs – if 3 qualify as a herd. He makes ham. He also has two horses, Prosper & Quarto, a plough that he designed and made himself and which he rents out to other growers for traditional ploughing between the vines.
Vincent Latour (Meursault)
Vincent Latour and his wife Cecile live just off the village square in Meursault. They have a spread of vineyards in Meursault, Saint Aubin and Volnay. Over the last decade Vincent has eased off his use of new oak and his vines are older. Although nothing has changed in terms of ownership or who holds the reins, the domaine has changed name from Latour-Labille to Vincent Latour. On a recent visit, we were blown away by his “basic” Bourgogne Blanc – in our opinion better than many growers’ grander Meursault. Vincent also has several grander vineyards – among them; Meursault Poruzots, Charmes, Perrieres and Goutte d’Or.
Cyril Audoin (Marsannay)
We were pleased to have been the first in the UK to have heard about Cyril Audoin. On one of our visits to Burgundy he treated us to lunch in a tiny vineyard workers’ bistro and was horrified when one of his own very old bottles was corked. Luckily for us, he ran back to fetch a replacement. Not much white wine is made on the Cote de Nuits and his white Marsannay impressed us so much that it has become a firm Winery favourite. Cyril, now in his late 20s, started making wine when he was 12. Swashbuckling Cyril is something of a local Casanova – every time we visit, he seems to have a different (always drop-dead gorgeous) girlfriend. He told us that he has recently bought a love shack in the quiet village of Chambolle-Musigny. Lock up your daughters!
Berthelemot (Meursault)
Brigitte Berthelemot had been in the world of finance and decided to switch careers. After studying in the Loire she came to Burgundy and snapped up two small Domaines who were selling up, Yves Darviot and Jean Garaudet. The vineyard real-estate is dreamy; Beaune-Greves, Beaune Clos des Mouches, Pommard Noizons, Monthelie, Meursault-Charmes. She and her cellar master Marc Cugny are making pure, clean Burgundy – modern, yet not marked by oak.
Huber-Verdereau (Volnay) BIODYNAMIC
Three years ago, we were having a cosy chat with the legendary Anne-Francoise Gros who is considering switching to Biodynamism when her son walked in. He was doing an internship with Thiebault Huber-Verdereau in Volnay, who was already Bio. Sounded interesting, so we hot-footed it over to the tiny Domaine.
Former sommelier Thiebault Huber, originally from Alsace and a disciple of Marc Kreydenweiss, inherited some vines in the village of Volnay from his Grandmother. It wasn’t such a difficult choice – should he buy some vines in Alsace or move to Burgundy to make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? Despite being a small Domaine of just 8 hectares, he has 34 different parcels of vines spread across 5 villages. To avoid chemical run-off, he has agreements with each of his 60 neighbours to treat the first adjacent row of their vines. The neighbours now prefer picking those rows, with the deep, healthy fruit and it may only be a matter of time before they make the switch to Bio themselves.
Jouard (Chassagne-Montrachet)
There aren’t many growers in Chassagne-Montrachet and we’ve been on the lookout for years. A chance call to the Jouard brothers by the church paid off. A Russian dealer had cleared them out of village Chassagne, but Francois did have a tiny bit of their intense 1er Crus for us: Morgeot, Les Chaumees-Clos de la Truffiere and Maltroie. People talk about minerality with Chassagne-Montrachet, yet these seem more exotic, wild even. Toasted hazelnuts, incense, herbs and orange peel.
David Juillard – 36eme Ouvree (Hautes-Cotes) ORGANIC
Our search for Biodynamic Burgundy brought us to David Juillard and his 36eme Ouvree. It was a slippy slidey drive in the thick snow up on the Hautes Cotes de Nuits to meet him at his father-in-law’s winery where until recently he made his super-sleek saturated reds; a fabulous Bourgogne Rouge (made from Morey Saint Denis fruit) and two intense Nuits Saint Georges, Aux Thorey and 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges.
Largeot (Chorey-les-Beaune)
After an internship in Australia, Marie-France Largeot and her husband, Remy Martin (yes, really!), took over her father’s Domaine in Chorey, just north of Beaune, seven years ago. She makes lovely, plump, often precociously juicy Pinots from vines in Savigny, Aloxe, Chorey and Beaune.
