2022 Burgundy En Primeur White Wines
White Wines by Producer
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Chablis |
Domaine des Hâtes
Pierrick Laroche's father farms cereals, and was not very concerned with his family's vineyard, the production of which was sold to the co-operative. Pierrick took them out of the co-operative, and 2010 was his first vintage making wine under his own label.
Pierrick is clearly a very talented winemaker. He currently manages 25 hectares of vines in Petit Chablis, Chablis and Premier Cru, with additional fruit being bought to make his Beauroy and Grand Cru Bougros.
In preparation for bottling under his own name from 2010 onwards Pierrick stopped using pesticides and herbicides in 2009 and has since then manually worked the soil - this great change in practices has seen superb results in the quality of fruit he is now picking.
It is all about freshness and precision here. Classical, deeply mineral wines. Picking perhaps earlier than some of his neighbours Pierrick captures beautiful acidity and brightness of fruit - he then loves giving the wine a long élevage in tank to build texture and weight and complexity. He is not averse to using oak - but it is done at a very minimal level, not systematic - but always sympathetic to the vintage. The Premier and Grand Cru wines do go into oak - but no new wood - and a greatly reduced number of traditional smaller barrels - with Pierrick preferring to use the more subtle Demi-Muids for the majority of the wines' élevage. The results are bright, elegant wines but with a real shape and feel - classical, but interesting Chablis.
2021 CHABLIS Domaine des Hâtes
After tasting Pierrick's Petit Chablis - this is a delicious 'step-up'. Much fresher feel, and so much brighter. The wines here can be generous and charming but never far from that dream of mineralAfter tasting Pierrick's Petit Chablis - this is a delicious 'step-up'. Much fresher feel, and so much brighter. The wines here can be generous and charming but never far from that dream of mineral driven Chablis - in 2021 they do not disappoint. The village Chablis has great breadth and a clean drive. pear and firm peach notes dominate the mid palate, before a brighter cleaner sweep comes through, keeping this more traditional and more classically Chablisien. This is a very satisfying effort. L&S (Nov 2022)
In Bond
2021 CHABLIS 1er Cru Butteaux Domaine des Hâtes
Aged all in wood - but no new oak this year. Pierrick has also selected to use mostly larger format barrels and 75% ages in Demi-Muids (600l) - with only 25% in traditional 'pieces' (228l). ThisAged all in wood - but no new oak this year. Pierrick has also selected to use mostly larger format barrels and 75% ages in Demi-Muids (600l) - with only 25% in traditional 'pieces' (228l). This pared back approach suits the vintage well and the Butteaux has great Chablis character. Upright, fresh - but with great feel and an almost supple texture, for the vintage. Firm stone fruit and gentle blossom florality meet a more chiselled finish - ending nicely fresh. Nothing lean here - just a charming, classically structured and impressive 1er Cru Chablis. L&S (Nov 2022)
In Bond
2021 CHABLIS Grand Cru Bougros Maison des Hâtes
Delicious. Just what we're looking for. Again not thin wines here - there is super texture. Sleek and almost plump feel to the yellow-fleshed peach hit perfectly tethered and straightened with a fineDelicious. Just what we're looking for. Again not thin wines here - there is super texture. Sleek and almost plump feel to the yellow-fleshed peach hit perfectly tethered and straightened with a fine thread of lemon zip. There is great line and length here, that belies the cool vintage. Nicely concentrated on the palate - this thanks to the small harvest says Pierrick, which helps to intensify the flavours. This is broad for 2021 and generous - but no slouch - and it delivers everything you could hope for from a Grand Cru Chablis. L&S (Nov 2022)
In Bond
Domaine Adhémar et Francis Boudin
Domaine Adhémar & Francis Boudin, also known as Domaine de Chantemerle, has supplied L&S since our very first list. Adhémar, who sadly departed on his 96th birthday, was a well-known personality, never short of a story. He was in the leading group of the pioneering growers who cleared scrub and planted some of the original Chablis vineyards. It was hard, and he only stopped keeping cows alongside ('if you didn't have a cow or two you died of hunger') in the mid-1950s. It is astonishing to think that the Premiers Crus were only defined in 1975.
Adhémar was the first to bottle the macabrely-named 'Homme Mort' Premier Cru separately, (it is usually sold as part of la Fourchaume) after a geologist confirmed his belief that it closely resembled the soil structure and exposition of the Grands Crus. The name is as a result of the discovery, when the vines were originally planted, of the body thought to be that of an English soldier from the Hundred Years’ War.
Francis Boudin, now aided by the next generation, his daughters Angélique and Virginie, as well as Angélique's husband, continues to make wines that are, for Chablis, rich and yellow gold, fatly concentrated, unoaked and pure, with a mildly buttery edge rounding out that minerally, stony ethereal Chablis character. These are wines which can be consumed with enormous pleasure in their first year after the harvest, or kept (even the simple Chablis) for several years.
Domaine Agnès, Didier & Florent Dauvissat
Domaine Agnès & Didier Dauvissat was founded in 1986, and is based in the village of Beine at the eastern end of 1er Cru Beauroy. Agnès and Didier planted all their vineyard themselves. This amounts to around 10 ha now, made up of 3.5ha of Petit Chablis, planted on hard Portlandian limestone soils full of marine fossils on the plateau above Fyé, 4.5 hectares of Chablis planted in the villages of Courgis and Fyé, on south-facing slopes which are the southerly continuation of the slope of the Grands Crus, and finally a 2 ha plot or 1er cru Beauroy which is above the lake slightly toward the eastern side of the middle of this Premier Cru, and exposed to the south-west. The vines are now reaching full maturity and producing what is obviously some very high-quality fruit.
Florent, Agnès and Didier's son, has now joined the domaine and seems to be something of a wine-making talent - as Neal Martin wrote in his 2019/2020 Chablis report 'Could Florent Dauvissat be the next great winemaker to bear that famous surname?'. The wines are made in completely classical way, in stainless steel and aged on the lees for 12 months.
Domaine Denis Pommier
Founded when the Pommiers inherited 2 hectares of vines in 1990. Isabelle and Denis bottled their first wine in 1994 and now have 18 hectares of vineyards, which are run according to biodynamic principles (which have sadly cost them dearly in terms of lost crop in 2016 and 2017).
The Petit Chablis is a model of brisk freshness - made entirely in stainless steel. The two named 'lieu-dits' of Chablis 'village', Les Reinettes and Croix aux Moines, are about a hectare in total. It's a north-facing slope which catches the sun late in the day. Reinettes is on pure Kimmeridgian clay, under Croix au Moines, which is on a thinner soil at the top of the hill, both in the same sector as Côte de Léchet. The Premiers Crus benefit from a small amount of barrel-fermentation and élevage. The Troësmes (a small parcel within the larger premier cru 'Beauroy' which the Pommiers think deserves to be identified by its correct name) is relatively rounder, while the Côte de Léchet is the one for fans of the slatier, crystalline side of minerality. Keep either of the premiers crus four to six years.
Domaine Drouhin Vaudon
The Beaune-based merchant Joseph Drouhin has restyled its Chablis Domaine 'Domaine Drouhin-Vaudon' to emphasise its ties with and holdings in (38 hectares) the Chablis vineyard. The Moulin de Vaudon, an 18th Century watermill straddling the Serein River, close to the Grand Cru vineyards of Chablis, is the headquarters and the source of the name. It is the largest estate in Chablis entirely farmed biodynamically.
Domaine Moreau-Naudet
A domaine of 25 hectares, of which 3 are in Petit Chablis, 11 or 12 in Chablis, 3 in Vaillons, 2 in Forets, 1.6 in Montmains, 0.86 in Montée de Tonnerre, and 0.58 in Valmur. (Yes, this does not make 25 - there are further parcels of young vines in the Courgis sector - Beauregards, Côte de Jouan and Goulotte, which are currently sold in bulk).
Virginie (Mimi) Moreau has long since proven to be more than equal to the task of taking over from her husband Stéphane. Stéphane, who was influenced by Vincent Dauvissat (who recommended him to us many years ago, and who remains an influence here) was vigneron whose star burned very brightly, and the domaine continues along the lines he set, working organically, hand-picking, aiming for optimum maturity while avoiding any botrytis influence.
The cellar-work is also masterful, using 30% barrel-élevage for all the Premier and the Grand Cru, but not in such a way that oakiness can readily be detected in the wines (all the barrels are steamed rather than charred and there is no new oak except for in the straight Chablis, and then only one barrel per 100hl in order to age it prior to using for the Premiers Crus).
Mimi's daughter Neil (Nelle) is a bright new addition to the team here and together there is a calm confidence in what they are doing, and the wines - full of racy character, textural depth and complexity, seem to be better with every vintage.
Domaine Solange Tribut
Solange Tribut is the daughter of Laurent Tribut, whose excellent Chablis we have sold successfully for years, and the niece of the highly regarded Vincent Dauvissat. The family tradition for expressive yet pure Chablis is safe in her hands. Her wines are very classically shaped. Light on their toes - pithy with lovely citrus highs and great clean lines. Super value wines with great heritage.
Domaine Laurent Tribut
Laurent Tribut is married to Vincent Dauvissat's sister, Marie Clotilde. When he started he made his wines in the Dauvissat cellar in Chablis, but now this small family-run domaine is based in Poinchy. Laurent has now officially retired and has handed over to three of their four children (Solange, Adeline and Gabriel), with Solange taking the lead in the winery. With Laurent’s guidance the future here looks very bright.
With just 6 hectares the quantities are small - but the quality of all the cuvées is extraordinary. Pure, powerfully driven, classically shaped there is more than a passing similarity to the wines of his brother-in-law, the head-line grabbing Vincent Dauvissat. Buyers will enjoy these long-lived wines with some time in bottle too - they have a great ability to age and patience will pay off.
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
A domaine of 12.7 hectares, comprising a hectare each of the Grands Crus Clos and Preuses, 3.7ha of Premier Cru Forest, 1.3ha of Vaillons, 0.4ha of Séchet, .3ha of Montée de Tonnerre, 3.3ha of Chablis, 1.1ha of Petit Chablis, and .6ha of Irancy (red).
Vincent Dauvissat remains one of the (if not the) leading lights of Chablis, and his wines are always in high demand and limited volume.
Vincent's grandfather Robert was the first to start bottling under the family name in 1931 and he uses the same cellar today - but the family have been growing grapes here since the 18th century. Today his single-minded determination in the vineyard, where he follows biodynamic principles (without certification) followed by very subtle use of old oak barrels as part of a long élevage, produce some of Chablis' most age-worthy and fascinating wines.
Domaine Adhémar et Francis Boudin
Domaine Adhémar & Francis Boudin, also known as Domaine de Chantemerle, has supplied L&S since our very first list. Adhémar, who sadly departed on his 96th birthday, was a well-known personality, never short of a story. He was in the leading group of the pioneering growers who cleared scrub and planted some of the original Chablis vineyards. It was hard, and he only stopped keeping cows alongside ('if you didn't have a cow or two you died of hunger') in the mid-1950s. It is astonishing to think that the Premiers Crus were only defined in 1975.
Adhémar was the first to bottle the macabrely-named 'Homme Mort' Premier Cru separately, (it is usually sold as part of la Fourchaume) after a geologist confirmed his belief that it closely resembled the soil structure and exposition of the Grands Crus. The name is as a result of the discovery, when the vines were originally planted, of the body thought to be that of an English soldier from the Hundred Years’ War.
Francis Boudin, now aided by the next generation, his daughters Angélique and Virginie, as well as Angélique's husband, continues to make wines that are, for Chablis, rich and yellow gold, fatly concentrated, unoaked and pure, with a mildly buttery edge rounding out that minerally, stony ethereal Chablis character. These are wines which can be consumed with enormous pleasure in their first year after the harvest, or kept (even the simple Chablis) for several years.
Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
Frantz Chagnoleau and his wife Caroline Gon, who was until 2022 also the winemaker at the Comte Lafon Mâcon operation, are rising stars of the Mâconnais. Together they have a small domaine consisting of 3.5 hectares of Mâcon in a single block in Saint Albain, and several small plots in Viré Clessé, Saint Véran and Pouilly Fuissé, making up 6.8 hectares in total. All the vineyards are organically farmed (Ecocert certified).
Great care is taken at harvest to pick at the optimum moment for sugars, acidity and aromatic precursors, and they will stop the picking between parcels if they think that the ripening is not even across the whole domaine. Grapes are manually picked into 25kg cases, so as to get whole, undamaged grapes to the winery. After careful pressing, a very non-interventionist vinification takes place with natural yeasts in oak foudres.
The wines are kept on the lees to preserve freshness until the beginning of summer, when they are racked and lightly filtered, before bottling before the next harvest, except for some of the top wines which are aged for another six months in tank in order to develop fully. The wines are in a style which is bright and incisive, expressive and pure - and well worth seeking out.
Domaine Barraud
We still see Daniel Barraud when we visit but today his children Julien and Anaïs are at the helm here. They have vineyards in Vergisson that are mostly high up under the famous rock (Vergisson lies between the two dramatic cliffs of the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson). The vineyards here are significantly higher than those of Fuissé, and are consequently later-ripening, and the wines often have a more solid structure - but they each have their own distinct characters, from the Puligny-like directness of the La Roche to the fat richness of the 'en Buland', via the mineral force of the Crays.
All the wines are made keeping close to the tenets of bio-dynamics - not for the sake of it - but because over the generations experience has taught them that these principles really are the best way forward - as such they only ever bottle on a waning moon. All the wines see some barrel ageing apart from the Chaintré, which is aged in foudre (2/3) and tank.
As Allen Meadows wrote on www.Burghound.com 'I have said this before, but I will say it again: no one makes better wine in the Mâconnais than Barraud. There are a few domaines that produce wines that are sometimes just as good, ... but none of them surpasses the quality he consistently produces. If you aren’t familiar with the wines, you owe it to yourself and your pocketbook to check them out.'
With the 2022 releases this 11 HA domaine is now officially certified organic. Formalising the way they have been working for years.
The Barrauds have four vineyards that have been upgraded to Premier Cru status: 'En France', 'Les Crays', 'Sur la Roche', and la Verchère, although this last one will change its name to 'La Maréchaude' but retaining the parcel name of Verchère too. It's one of those oddities of such classifications that the vineyard which has consistently produced the Barraud's best wine for all the years that we have known them, 'En Buland', is not classified Premier Cru status as it faces north - this is electric in 2022.
P & M Jacqueson
The domaine was founded in 1946 by Henri Jacqueson and passed to his son Paul. Marie joined her father in 2006 and since 2015 she and her brother Pierre run the estate, now known simply as P&M Jacqueson. The domaine consists of 18 hectares of vines, mostly in Rully, but also 5 in Mercurey and some in Bouzeron. The team also tend vines owned by their neighbours and make some beautiful wines from other peoples' fruit that they themselves have worked all year.
Traditional methods meticulously applied inspire everything they do: the grapes are harvested by hand and vinified in classical fashion, before an élevage in barrel (up to 25% new wood for the reds, just 20% for the 1er Cru Whites). The domaine has become adept at a sophisticated use of barrels, the élevage here is key to the quality they consistently achieve.
Domaine François Raquillet
François took over the running of this estate from his father, Jean, in 1990, with his wife Emmanuelle. Records show that the same family have made wine in Mercurey since the 1600s, and Francois is the eleventh generation. His daughter Jeanne is also now heavily involved, her passion is really viticulture - so she works mostly in the vineyards for now but will be the 12th generation at the helm of this stellar property.
With eleven hectares under vine, François has substantially reduced yields, introduced higher quality oak barrels (up to 50% new wood for the Premiers Crus) and significantly increased the quality of wines made at this domaine. François explains he tries to avoid over-extraction at all costs - his one aim is to deliver the beautifully pure fruit profile he gets out of the old vines - this he does with great success. It is a wonderfully transparent style - combined with good mid-palate weight.
Thankfully there were smiles all around this year and the sad story of the terrible run of vintages here (in terms of yield) has finally paused. After 2020's slim yield of 35hl/ha, followed by the pitiful 23hl/ha in 2021. 2022 is back to a more normal level in the 40s and 2023 also was a good productive season for this domaine - finally! These wines are great value across the range.
Domaine François Lumpp
François Lumpp started as a grower in the family domaine in 1977, but then separated from his brother and set up on his own with four hectares of vines in 1991. He and his wife Isabelle have gradually grown the vineyard to reach nine and a half hectares. They are delighted that they have now been joined by their daughter Anne-Cécile who is running the estate day to day now, assisted by her brother Pierre.
François remains a passionate viticulturalist and the family places great emphasis on making the wine in the vineyards, which are farmed with minimum intervention to allow the terroir to express itself fully. In practice this means very careful choice of plant material to give the highest quality results - often at the expense of yield. The mantra is certainly quality above quantity at this estate which has helped lock it in as an address to note for all lovers of fine Burgundy. It is no surprise that wine critic Tim Atkin MW described François Lumpp as the 'the best producer in Givry.' All the Lumpp wines offer great value for money - year after year.
Jean-Marc Boillot
Jean-Marc's daughter Lydie and son-in-law François Alzingre have worked alongside him and effectively run the domaine, and are now being joined by their children. Alongside the wines from the family's own vineyards, They also run a successful négociant business, vinifying wines from the Côte Chalonnaise with huge aplomb. In Montagny in particular, the wine is the best we have found in the appellation, and remarkably consistent from year to year.
Domaine Anne Gros
Anne Gros joined her father François at the family domaine in Vosne Romanée in 1988, having given up her arts studies in favour of viticulture and oenology at Beaune and Dijon, she took charge of the domaine in 1995 and has been joined now by 2 of her children Julie since 2015 and Paul since 2017. The Domaine now has 7 hectares of Pinot and Chardonnay. Anne describes herself as being 'wary of certainties and keen to preserve her freedom'.
In the vineyards Anne practises viticulture influenced by organic and biodynamic principles, and the vineyards are ploughed and fertilised with compost, but although she believes that the long-term health of the vineyards are best preserved by such methods, she likes to maintain the freedom to use conventional treatments when necessary.
In the cellar, the wines are classically made, in cement tanks for the reds, and stainless steel for the whites. They are then aged in barrel for up to fifteen months, with 80% new wood for the grand crus, 50% for the village wines and 30% for the regional wines. Anne is quietly meticulous and almost obsessive about cleanliness in her cellar, which perhaps is reflected in the delicacy and restrained tension in her wines, which have aromatic clarity, limpid precision, sheer joie de vivre, lively balance and persistence.
Domaine Remy & Fils
A family domaine that extends back five generations to 1853, but which Joël has modernised considerably over the past twenty years, installing new fermentation and ageing equipment. Over the years his vinifications have changed, and the wines have a lot more immediacy and precision. The quality of fruit is not in doubt, as lovers of his Bourgogne Rouge from year to year will attest, and a lot of work in the vineyard contributes to this, including leaf-thinning towards the end of the growing season. In the winery he has installed a vibrating sorting table, and the only filtering is by a lens filter at very low pressure to avoid de-naturing the wines. All offer quite striking value.
In 2016 Joël was joined full-time by both his children, Maxime and Manon. There is a renewed air of excitement and ambition here. They are moving to slightly longer élevages over eighteen months, with four to five months in cuve at the end.
Joel hunts finesse and has been working on tannin structure for years. Picking at right time, using his vertical press - 'artisanal perhaps' says Joel but you can control it so closely - very gentle extraction is possible. Less Pigeage too. It's clear these efforts are all paying off!
Domaine Berthelemot
Domaine Berthelemot is the creation of Brigitte Berthelemot, who is, by all accounts, something of a tour de force. Brigitte has, in a very short space of time (starting in 2006), knocked together a domaine of 15 hectares, spread over 45 parcels.
The basis of this spread was Domaine Garaudet in Pommard, but then they also took over Domaine Allexant. Charles Allexant was a bouilleur de cru (distiller of marc) who went round the villages plying his trade and who knew the Côte well, and also the vignerons for whom he distilled. In 1957 he bought a first vineyard in Volnay, and others followed, so that he built up a patchwork from Gevrey to the Côte Chalonnaise.
The final piece of the jigsaw was the purchase of Domaine Marey in Pernand.
The vinification is overseen by Brigitte's son Thomas, after he worked alongside cellarmaster Marc Cugney (who has now retired) for a number of years. The reds are picked into small cases in which they are transported to the winery - and vinified in stainless steel after a 4 day cold maceration. Extraction is gentle and mostly by remontage. The wines then go into barrel with a maximum of 20% new wood. The whites are pressed, and after a short débourbage, are put in tank, where they begin their fermentation. Once the fermentation is under way, they are moved to barrel, with a maximum of 25% new wood.
The domaine is certified organic since the 2021 vintage
Domaine de la Choupette
The Gutrin brothers' domaine was created when the twins joined forces in 1992 - it's based in the middle of Santenay, with Jean-Christophe in charge of the vines and Philippe in the winery. Perrine Gutrin runs the 'front of house'. They have vineyards in Puligny (three hectares), Chassagne (half a hectare) Maranges (one hectare) and Santenay (seven and a half hectares) - eight hectares of red and four of white in all. The vineyards are worked traditionally with ploughing rather than chemicals for weed control and to encourage the roots to go deeper. Yields are initially controlled at the pruning and with de-budding, and finally a green harvest as necessary. The domaine is certified HVE 3 ('High Environmental Value') from the 2022 harvest.
Whites are classically made with élevage in barrel for a year with up to half new wood. They are playing with the specification of the barrels, looking for a 'discreet toast'.
The reds are de-stemmed and macerated cold for a week before the three week fermentation at around 28C, then the temperature is allowed to rise to around 33C to stabilise colour and tannins. This gentle vinification is aimed at making fruit-forward wines, which are then aged in barrel for twelve to eighteen months using a mix of new and up to three-year-old barrels.
Domaine Thomas-Collardot
Jacqueline Collardot and her son Matthieu own and run this exciting 'micro-domaine' in the heart of Puligny-Montrachet. Matthieu completed his studies in 2019 and joined Jacqueline permanently, just in time for the harvest. Now they are working together we look forward to a slightly bigger production - as while she worked alone she was limited to what she could achieve on her own, with excess grapes being sold on.
At only 2.5ha, this is an artisan project, allowing them to give unrivalled time and care to every parcel she has. Jacqueline inherited these vineyards from her father’s Domaine Thomas Pierre in 2010 after he retired and is slowly raising the profile with her incredible care and attention. Although there may not be much quantity - the quality is impeccable. These are classically shaped, bright wines that express their various Puligny terroirs perfectly.
From 2020 the domaine is now organically certified. They still use their horse to plough the vineyards - but going forward, they are planning on doing this only every two years as they worry the process is a little rough on the soil to be done every season. Huge thought has recently gone into the élevage too. The time in barrel has been reduced to just 12 months rather than the 18-24 they were doing previously - this coincides with a study they were doing of 5 different coopers to try and ascertain which plots work best with which barrels. They have begun to introduce larger barrels of 350l - and to have more new wood in the cellar.
Domaine Joseph Colin
Joseph Colin is one of the four children of Marc Colin (the others being Pierre-Yves, Damien and Caroline), who had a large domaine with vines in Saint Aubin, Santenay, Chassagne and Puligny. Pierre-Yves left the family domaine in 2005 and after that Joseph was an important member of the team there. After making a token 1800 or so bottles on his own account in 2016, he started in earnest with 2017, with seven hectares of vines, from which he makes an astonishing nineteen different cuvées.
Most of the vines he has in Saint Aubin are young, but by limiting bunches to six or seven per vine, he manages to control the yields. With plenty of time to learn his craft at Domaine Marc Colin, he has developed into a confident winemaker. He experimented with sulphur levels in the wines at the family domaine, so coming to his current view that the wines should be left the longest time possible without added S02, perhaps adding some at racking, but if he feels there's still enough C02 after racking, he will not even add any at that stage, so as to develop 'wine at its purest', but he is keen to say also that he has no standard recipe - he will adapt to each wine. In 2020 he again used no S02 until just before bottling, but he's clear that if there's some botrytis, for example, he will add it earlier. Generally nothing is either fined or filtered. He is very aware of biodynamics, but says that the tides are more important than just the phase of the moon, and that he places less importance on whether it's a fruit or flower day - for him the important thing is not to manipulate a wine when it's tasting good - you must do it when it's not showing well.
Joseph is a very bright new prospect for lovers of precise, pure white Burgundies with fresh acidity and crystalline definition.
Domaine Fernand & Laurent Pillot
The origins of the Pillot family in Chassagne can be traced back to the eighteenth century, when they seem to have been coopers more than vignerons. In the nineteenth century they abandoned barrel-making in favour of enlarging the property in Chassagne. Fernand and Laurent, who is the fourth generation, added to it again in 1992, and then in 2001 Laurent's wife Marie-Anne inherited half of her family's property, the Pommard domaine of Pothier-Rieusset, and Laurent and his father bought the other half. The domaine now stands at 14.5 hectares of vines across almost the whole length of the Côte de Beaune from Santenay to Beaune.
The Domaine is worked according to organic principles and is ploughed – no chemical weedkillers are used. They have also been members of the Dephy-ECO-phyto group, which works to reduce the number of treatments using copper sulphate, since 2012. In 2021 they began the process of organic certification.
Laurent has always managed to pack in a lot alongside his running of the vineyard. He has his own plane which he flies to all corners of France, used keep and hunts hawks, and conducts the Chassagne brass band as well as dabbling in Mayoral duties - on top of being a father of three, Anaïs, Adrien and Eugène. They are all mad about the alps and disappear up the mountains at regular intervals.
Laurent's eldest son Adrien has been travelling the world making wine all over the place for the last few years having completed his training in Beaune. Bringing back lessons learnt in Australia, South Africa and California (and from a stint at Lea & Sandeman). During harvest Adrien is now the one in the winery while Laurent takes charge of the picking team. The wines have long been L&S favourites in both red and white - they represent excellent value, and they age very well too, despite being attractive young. The whites are precise and pure, and not lacking for body and generosity, while the reds are velvety and juicy, beautifully balanced even if drunk young on their expressive Pinot fruit. The domaine was rightfully heralded in Decanter Magazine as 'an address that deserves to be better-known'. Great value and real pleasure across their range.
We discussed Adrien's wish to do a longer élevage for the whites, but the problem that if you take the wines out of barrel that means keeping them in vats with floating tops, and they are not mad about the practicality of that. For now most are bottled after a year, but the Vide Bourse and Grandes Ruchottes will stay in barrel until the spring. They use little SO2 to begin with, gradually stabilising the levels once the wines are back in tank, and still finishing with low levels. They like ripe grapes: 'there's a kind of fashion to be the first to pick in Burgundy - they want to keep the freshness but all they get is acidity and tannin'. For the reds, they don't do massive extraction - 3 pigeages only in the middle of the fermentation, but they do a lot of pump-overs.
Adrien is now in the winery and Laurent orchestrates the picking. Adrien has already made some changes to the vinification and the quality here taking another step up.
Domaine Henri Germain
Jean-François Germain was joined in 2018 by his daughter Lucie - who is now helping to run this small (7ha) domaine.
The Chassagne vineyards came through his mother, a Pillot, and Jean-François is married to François Jobard's daughter (sister of Antoine), so they are quite intertwined with some of our other producers. The Poruzots comes from the rows next to Remi Jobard's. In terms of winemaking the Germains are always happy to let nature take its course, and in the vineyards they follow as natural a system of viticulture as possible (organic, not certified).
These are concentrated, tightly wound wines from one of Burgundy's coldest cellars. Alcoholic fermentations can take months and the malolactics are often late, so they have always gone for long élevage in old barrels, always for two winters, and the Premiers Crus usually for 22 months. Slow to develop, they show wonderful crystalline purity. New wood is used very sparingly, just to replace barrels sold when they get to ten years old.
Domaine Rémi Jobard
Rémi has been making small qualitative changes ever since he took over here. The entire vineyard is cordon-pruned, so yields are naturally limited. There has been no use of fertiliser since 1994, and the vineyard is grassed-over to encourage the vine roots to go deep. The domaine has been certified organic from 2008. He says that the two most important things are the absence of weedkiller (and thus the necessity to plough, which cuts any surface roots and makes the vine go deeper) and not adding any fertiliser which again makes the roots go deeper to find nutrients.Rémi has two vast presses, to enable him to press very slowly over six hours, and this has resulted in a big jump in finesse. The élevage now lasts nearly fifteen months, so as to allow the wines to develop slowly and to avoid fining. As a result these are wines which take a moment to show, but which reward the patient with complexity and great depth of flavour.
Rémi made a move from traditional barrels to foudres made of a mix of French, Austrian and Slavonian oak, constructed by Austrian cooper Stockinger, and having added a new one (or two) each year, there's barely a normal barrel left. He likes the way the wines develop in these large volumes, in which the 'oaking' effect is minimised.
We are again very excited about Rémi's two red wines this year, both of which are excellent.
Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot
Jean-Marc Boillot left the family domaine to be winemaker to Olivier Leflaive for five years. Then from his maternal grandfather Étienne Sauzet he inherited much of the vineyard of the old Domaine Sauzet, in some of the best vineyards of Puligny. With this holding and others from his paternal side, he set up his own business, and he has been responsible for over 50 vintages. His daughter Lydie and son-in-law François Alzingre have worked alongside him and effectively run the domaine, and are now being joined by their children.
With the belief that a vine reaches its full potential when 40 years old, the team look after their old vines carefully, and those in La Garenne and Combettes are still those planted by J-M's grandfather Étienne Sauzet. Vines are planted to a minimum of 12000 vines per hectare, and the vineyard worked by ploughing to encourage the plants to have deep roots. They are trimmed quite high at 1.2m to leave lots of leaves for photosynthesis, and also to shade the bunches from direct sun exposure which might burn them.
Great care is taken over the date of harvest, with careful controls of ripeness made over a period of three weeks prior to starting. The grapes are harvested manually, and placed in small cases for transport to the winery, where they are pressed as whole bunches. The juice is allowed to settle out in tank and then transferred to barrel for fermentation with the fine lees. Batonnage once a week during the 11 months of barrel-aging helps the wines to feed and fatten on the lees. They normally use between 25 and 30% new wood. The domaine makes wines that show well young, with sometimes citrussy, sometimes with complex exotic fruit aromas, always with the core of minerality, and they age well too.
Domaine Comte Armand
A domaine totalling nine hectares, of which the most important part is a magnificent five hectare monopole of the Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux, which was put together by Nicolas Marey in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (along with the DRC Romanée Saint Vivant 'Marey-Monge'). These vineyards were all sold, except for the Clos (it now been enclosed by a wall), which came to Jean-François Armand as a dowry when he married Nicolas' daughter in 1826. The Volnay vineyards were added in 1994, followed by parcels in Auxey Duresses.
The current Comte Armand is a lawyer living in Paris, but very supportive of the régisseurs who have looked after this domaine for the thirty years or so that L&S have been buying here. The 1980 vintage, made by one of the many Rossignols of Volnay who was in charge at the time, was for us a great introduction to the possibilities of the great Clos des Epeneaux vineyard. Then came the era of Pascal Marchand, a young Quebecois who came to do a harvest with Domaine Bruno Clair and just never left. He began a period of radical restructuring and the introduction of organic and then biodynamic farming, while making very dark, dense and long-lived wines. Benjamin Leroux, hugely respected amongst growers who approach things from an organic or biodynamic point of view, then took over, and refined this approach and changed the way the parcels of vines are divided up for harvesting, paying less attention to just the age of the vines, and more to the underlying soil types. Claude Bourguignon was employed to provide a full geological survey of the Clos as the basis for this. Under Benjamin the wines of the Clos gained in finesse and precision, while still having the depth and richness expected of a great Pommard.
Both Pascal and Benjamin were keen to expand beyond the confines of the Clos, and the Domaine also has vines in Volnay, and, a particular enthusiasm of both Pascal and Benjamin, in Auxey Duresses, where they are convinced of the great potential of some of this village's undervalued and neglected terroirs. Paul Zinetti, who had worked with Ben for four years, took over in 2014.
The vineyard is cultivated organically (ECOCERT certified) and biodynamically. The grapes are entirely de-stemmed, but left intact, for a five to eight-day cold maceration before the fermentation, which lasts five to ten days, and then the wine remains in the fermenters for between three and fifteen days, depending on the vintage. In most years, the total time with skin contact will be around four weeks, which is longer than most. The wines will then be aged in barrel for between eighteen and twenty-four months, with new wood limited to 30% for the wine from the old vines of the Clos, down to none at all for the village wines.
Paul said from the outset that he wanted to make a less tannic wine in the Clos, and one which is more about aromatic length. In this he is continuing the route that Ben was following, but perhaps taking it even further.
Domaine Henri Boillot
Henri Boillot was in reflective mood when we visited in November - clearly moved by the wonderful 2022s that we tasted together but also mindful of the cellar brim-full with 2023s. He was at ease, and despite his busy schedule - 'I will receive friends from every corner of the world this month' had time to talk about everything from his Syrah themed Birthday party - (a washout incidentally, and Pinot soon took over!) his views on the shortcomings of some Clos wines compared to some Monopole sites. As ever his approach, steeped in history yet with a very open mind to finessing his craft, has made some stellar wines in 2022. The whites are layered, textured juicy and characterful - and Guillaume’s reds continue to improve every time we visit, they are a real triumph this year, tasting better than ever.
A domaine which dates back to 1885, but which began properly in the early years of the 20th century under the current Henri's grandfather (also Henri). His son, Jean, was the one who really developed it. Henri arrived in 1975 and worked his way up, becoming the winemaker. In 2000 he began the building of the new winery at the bottom of Meursault, and he then bought out his brother and sister to keep the domaine as one, renaming it from 'Domaine Jean Boillot' to 'Domaine Henri Boillot' to avoid confusion with his brother Jean-Marc's domaine.
After six years working alongside his father, Guillaume is the 'chef de culture', i.e. heads up the vineyard team, and has been entirely responsible for the vinification of the reds since 2012. Henri continues to make the whites which he likes to be 'straight, taut, precise, pure and elegant'. Guillaume's input has resulted in red wines that have gained in definition and energy, without losing the luxurious velvety richness and fruit depth that they have always had. From 2018 he expanded his use of vinification intégrale in which the reds are vinified in the barrels they will be aged in - the cellar being equipped with 140 barrels with stainless steel doors in the ends, all made of wood they bought for the purpose, which has been dried for three years. Labour-intensive and time-consuming though it is, Guillaume clearly believes it is the way to more precision in the wines, and the difference is noticeable.
The Domaine has roughly equal surfaces of red and white, and of which just under 4ha is the Monopole vineyard of Clos de la Mouchère, a walled enclave within the premier Cru Puligny Perrières. After the 2018 acquisition of small parcels in Latricières and Échezeaux, the Boillots bought the vineyards of Domaine Henri Darnat early in 2019, bringing in a new monopole Clos in Meursault, the Clos Richemont, part of 1er Cru les Cras.
Henri Boillot
Henri Boillot complements his domaine wines with a small range of négociant wines of superb quality in very limited quantities. A few of the wines are offered here - an opportunity to buy some of Burgundy's rarest appellations from a top source.
Domaine Faiveley
The Faiveley family are the largest vineyard owners in Burgundy, owning around 120ha, spread across the Côtes de Nuits, Beaune and Chalonnaise and encompassing everything from generic Bourgogne up to the grandest of Grand Crus. Their own holdings supply the grapes for 5 out of every 6 bottles made by Faiveley, the balance being bought in from carefully selected contract growers.
Faiveley has been more and more impressive in recent years, and the combination of winemaker Jérôme Flous and an entirely new winery are taking them onwards and upwards year after year.
Joseph Drouhin
Despite the size of their vineyard holding, not all Drouhin's wines come from their own domaine, but most of the other wines do come from long-term contracts, such as exists with the Marquis de Laguiche wines. In all but name these wines are 'Domaine' wines, and the vineyards are cared for and the wines vinified with exactly the same care.
Domaine Joseph Drouhin
Joseph Drouhin, founded in 1880 and still family owned, are one of the most well-respected names in Burgundy, especially through their flagship wine, the iconic Clos des Mouches.
A huge part of the Drouhin production comes from their own domaine fruit (78 hectares), and much of the rest comes from contracts such as that with the Marquis de Laguiche, who shook hands with the grandfather of the current generation, agreeing to let him manage his vineyards which included an important part of Le Montrachet; this collaboration endures. Today, the fourth generation is at the helm
Small refinements continue to be made here. The presses have been changed - a reversion to basket pressing for the reds, and for whites the presses are open - along with a number of other growers they are following the trend to think that slight oxidation of the juice before fermentation is not a problem and may add complexity as well as avoiding later problems of premature oxidation in bottle.
For the reds there has been the introduction of selective whole-bunch fermentation in the Côte de Nuits wines. The house style remains one that 'emphasises the natural elegance of great Burgundies' as they describe it. The domaine is all cultivated with an organic and biodynamic approach.
Thibault Liger-Belair Successeurs
The lack of the word 'domaine' in the name signals that this is a négociant wine from Thibault Liger-Belair. Thibault buys the grapes he picks having tended the vines with his own team, so that the wines are domaine wines in all but name.
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair
The steady progression of this domaine has been fascinating to watch as Thibault gradually refines his approach to each parcel of vines. Viticulture is biodynamic (since 2005), yields low but not ludicrously low, everything is pragmatic, so that he should be doing just what is necessary and no more. He uses 40-50% new wood maximum, with wood chosen and aged by him, and barrels made with almost no toasting.
The wines are bright, pure, focused, aromatic and elegant without lacking anything in the way of stuffing. There is a range of wines produced from rented vines or from bought grapes, sold under the separate 'Thibault Liger-Belair Successeurs' label. To each parcel the team brings great experience and there is a coherence across the range, so that the whole enterprise can be regarded as one.
Domaine Christian Clerget
A domaine of 6 hectares, with 8 appellations, run by Christian, Isabelle and their daughter Justine Clerget from their house in the northern end of the little village of Vougeot, which is really in the commune of Chambolle. They have been organic (certified) since 2017, Justine having insisted on it when she joined them, but it sounds as though she was pushing at an open door, because Christian is entirely committed to this approach and clearly believes that good wine starts with the vines.
At harvest the grapes are picked into small cases for the short trip to the winery which really is right in the middle of their holdings. They adapt to the vintage conditions, so that they did 2 pigeages in total in 2019, whereas in 2017, they did one a day throughout the fermentation. In 2018 they did some whole bunch fermentation, but reverted to their normal complete destemming in 2019. At the end of the alcoholic fermentation Christian decants into tank, allows the wine to settle for ten days, then puts the wines into barrel where they stay without racking until bottling. They are using about 30% new wood on the villages and 40% on the Chambolle Charmes and the Échézeaux, and the wines stay in barrel for a long élevage of 18-20 months.
Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron
Domaine ‘JJ’ Confuron is named after the father of Sophie Meunier, who now runs the domaine with her husband Alain Meunier. Gradually they are handing it over to their son Louis.The domaine goes back to the marriage in 1926 of Jean Confuron de Vosne and Anne-Marie Bouchard de Premeaux, starting with the vines that they both inherited. Together, they acquired more and started selling their own bottled wine in the early 1930s. Jean died in 1965. They had two sons, Christian and Jean-Jacques, who worked together until 1980. Jean-Jacques set up his own estate in 1981, but he died in January 1983. From then on it was his wife Andrée Noëllat and his daughter Sophie who took care of the estate. Sophie met Alain Meunier at the Lycée agricole in Beaune and from the 1985 harvest they worked together. In 1988, Andrée received one hectare of vines from her grandfather Charles Noëllat's domaine, which included the important parcels in Romanée St-Vivant, Nuits Boudots and Vosne Beaux Monts.
Since Louis has taken over the winemaking there have been some changes, but as they have no fixed 'recipe' it is hard to be precise - the levels of new wood seem to have dropped slightly, and like a lot of growers Louis has used some whole-bunch fermentation. On the whole they are relatively early pickers, and the wines have a generous depth of fruit. Although they have been organic since the 1990's Louis is concerned that the soils are still not in the best of health, so he is trying grassing over - but is concerned that this can mean competition for the vines and lower yields. In general he's trying to improve biodiversity in the vineyards, but says that they are going at it by feel, with small changes to see what works - a very practical hands-on approach. He spends 80% of his time tending the vines, and is working to make the plants more resistant to disease and rot.
Jasper Morris was impressed on his visit to taste the 2022s "This may be the best range of red wines I have seen from the domaine, where Louis’ fine-tuning over the last few years is paying dividends in terms of precision and purity."
