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Justerini & Brooks Burgundy 2022

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BURGUNDY 2022 SURFING THE SOLAR WAVES

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CONTENTS

STORING YOUR WINE

ALLOCATION AND CONTACT

12

13

MÂCONNAIS

15

LES HERITIERS DU COMTES LAFON

16

CÔTE DE BEAUNE

19

BACHELET MONNOT

CÔTE DE NUITS

59

JACQUES-FRÉDÉRIC MUGNIER

60

HENRI GOUGES

62

ROBERT CHEVILLON

64

SYLVAIN CATHIARD

67

JEAN GRIVOT

70

MÉO-CAMUZET

73

DOMAINE DU COMTE LIGER-BELAIR 76 GEORGES ROUMIER

79

20

GHISLAINE BARTHOD

80

JEAN-NOËL GAGNARD

24

PERROT-MINOT

81

PAUL PILLOT

26

ROBERT GROFFIER

84

ETIENNE SAUZET

28

DROUHIN LAROZE

86

CHÂTEAU DE MEURSAULT

30

BRUNO CLAIR

88

PIERRE GIRARDIN

32

CECILE TREMBLAY

92

GÉNOT-BOULANGER

34

DOMAINE DE MONTILLE

38

PRUNIER BONHEUR

40

CÔTE CHALONNAISE

95

MARQUIS D’ANGERVILLE

42

DOMAINE DE LA FOLIE

96

DOMAINE DE LA COMMARAINE

44

JOSEPH DROUHIN

46

REMI ROLLIN

49

FOLLIN-ARBELET

50

TOLLOT BEAUT

52

CHÂTEAU DE MARSANNAY

55


BURGUNDY 2022

A YEAR THAT MADE PRODUCERS SMILE THE WEATHER

Big grins greeted us at every address we visited in November 2023. “If I could have a year like this every year, I’d take it!” Sebastian Cathiard remarked. “It was a happy harvest” beamed Cecile Tremblay. “This is the ‘new’ classic” echoed Benoit Riffault of Sauzet.

Looking at the weather data, the vintage is one of unique and exceptional conditions – the second hottest since 1947 after 2003; one of the driest, with a deficit in every month except June, (which saw over double the normal rate), and a harvest that might have been the earliest on record were it not for 2020.

And truth be told, their grins were met with grins of our own. This is a superb vintage, at times even a “great” one. It is rare in that it offers both quality and quantity combined with genuine terroir definition and a proper respect for the hierarchies of appellation.

And yet somehow, through a combination of experience, short lived yet mitigating weather events, crop size, and perhaps the natural adaptation of the ingenious vitis vinifera, we appear to have on our hands a newly imagined vision of what a warm vintage can look like.

It was a year in which “surprise” was a word on everyone’s lips. Surprise at the freshness in the wines, surprise at the moderate alcohols, surprise at the transparency and aromatic register that characterises the wines of 2022. It was a solaire and at times very dry year, one that saw most producers begin their harvest in August – yet the wines have a breezy joie de vivre about them that is impossible not to be charmed by. For all the sunshine this vintage received, we simply did not encounter any ‘hot’ flavours in two weeks of tastings. There was nothing cooked, baked or shrivelled – nothing tropical, nothing caramelised. Indeed the general tone of the reds was florality, red fruits, and salinity, while the whites ranged from citrus to white fleshed orchard fruits,salt and occasionally roasted nut notes. The textures have a gloss to them, one that can only come from the sun’s warm rays, matched to tannins at the silkier end of the spectrum; the product of skins made pliant by timely rains. Over the course of two weeks of tasting at over 40 domaines, we found quality up and down the Côte, into the Hautes Côtes and down into the Côte Chalonnaise. It is a vintage that seems to offer equal excitement in both reds and whites.

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BURGUNDY 2022

PRESCIENT FACTS - 2022 is the driest and sunniest year since the start of the Century: +285 hours of sunshine, +1.4% temperatures and rainfall -16% (versus the longterm average) *(source: BIVB)

- Early August is warm and dry, providing excellent ripening conditions. Perfectly timed rains arrive on the 14th and 20th of August relaxing the grapes prior to harvest.

- A warm March is followed by a cold start to April, raising the spectre of frost. To everyone’s great relief, damage is minimal.

- Almost all growers reported sugar and acidity levels progressing in a linear fashion towards harvest, making for a happy and calm vendange, carried out under blue skies. The health of the crop is excellent, meaning sorting tables only need to be used sparingly.

- A very warm May propels the vines to a flowering that is the 4th earliest in the 20th century. - June sees vastly above average rainfall, concentrated in a few deluges – charging the vineyards with water but also causing flooding in parts of the northern Côte de Nuits

- Harvest commences as early as the 23rd August. - Yields are for the most part ‘correct’, or in other words, rather good compared to recent averages. These yields are one of the keys to the freshness felt in the wines.

- July and August are hot and dry, though with virtually no extreme heatwaves over 35 degrees and nighttime temperatures that are generally cool and comfortable.

- Potential alcohols are moderate – mostly falling between 12.5 and 13.5%.

- A few unlucky communes get hit with hail – amongst them Gevrey-Chambertin and NuitsSt-Georges

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BURGUNDY 2022

THE SKILL OF THE VIGNERON: SURFING THE SOLAR WAVES – PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT One of the things about surfing is that no two waves are the same. The same goes for vintages. The vagaries of a season are infinitesimally complex and detailed. The requirement to predict and react means winemakers and vignerons need to be diligent servants to the weather one day, and visionary seers the next. Of course, reading the runes for clues to the weather ahead is an inexact science, so what makes this task more feasible is experience. And the one type of season growers are becoming more practiced at is the warm one.

In other cases, like 2022, we find deep and multidimensional wines that appear to have harvested all of the beneficial rays of the sun while simultaneously managing to offer a measure of immediacy. With their dreamy textures and engaging vivacity, they don’t require a crystal ball, yet they also have all the requirements to age. As we’ve mentioned, yields are certainly a defining factor – one that’s all too often taken out of vignerons’ hands. But so too we also found many growers talking about their new higher canopies – providing shade while allowing for earlier ripening. We spoke to many who are happy to harvest on acidity as much as anything else, chaptalising if needs be. And of course, growers are now far more prepared for the previously unimaginable – with August harvests now occurring with regularity, preparedness has taken on a new level of meaning by mid-August.

2022 is undoubtedly a solaire vintage. To suggest otherwise would be simply untrue. A vintage like this experienced in the last century would have gone down as a rare occurrence. It would probably have been lauded and would almost certainly have resulted in extreme wines; the sorts of singular wines that, when done well, continue to provide pleasure beyond their 50th birthdays. The likes of 1923, 1947, 1959, 1966 were all hot vintages that yielded true vins de garde. These were years that gave great ripeness in an era when true ripeness was never a given (the constant battle against rot was what generally forced the hand of the vigneron and determined the harvest date.)

One of the features of the 2022s that appealed to us most was the way they appear to be entirely happy in their own skin. These do not feel like wines that have been brought into being via combat with the sun’s rays and aggressive, evasive measures. Seldom did we encounter wines that felt like they had been harvested earlier than they should have been, picked on the run from the sun, or wines that had sacrificed their aromatic purity in the wait for physiological ripeness. Vine and Vigneron appear to have played their hands calmly in 2022.

Today, vignerons have different challenges. Rot is much less common, but sunburn and excessive sugar accumulation ask other questions of those tending Burgundian vines. The 21st Century’s run of warmer vintages, starting at 2003 and reaching a crescendo in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 has forced growers to address the question of how to achieve balance and maintain elegance in both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while producing wines that can be enjoyed at 5, 10 and 20 years old. In some cases mother nature produces wines whose concentration and density are unavoidable, wines that demand extended ageing in the cellar. 2020 is one such vintage. They’ll be very good with age, but patience is going to be key as they are likely to remain impenetrable for years.

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BURGUNDY 2022

VINIFICATION There’s not a great deal to say about vinification in 2022. “Easy” was the word most winemakers used when asked how things had progressed in the cellar. Very few had to resort to much sorting, such was the health of the crop; stems were ripe and allowed generous amounts of whole bunch fermentations for those so inclined. There are thrilling examples of wines fermented both with and without stems in 2022. Most growers reported easy extractions, many favouring a gentle approach, while the natural juice to skin ratio of the grapes allowed for easy to work tanks. Malo-lactic fermentations generally went through at pace. Few talked about much of a change to élevage, with the majority of growers following their natural rhythms – be that giving the wines a second winter in barrel or tank, or bottling earlier to preserve freshness.

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BURGUNDY 2022

THE RED WINES OF 2022 What fascinated us in our tastings was that despite the sunny nature of the vintage, these wines wear their terroir on their sleeves. You can taste the vineyards – clearly marked. If there’s a vintage stamp, you feel it in the textures, the tannic profiles and the overall charm of the wines – but beyond that, the markers of site are writ large.

Most used tasting notes: aromatic, supple, luminous, red fruited, dark fruited, spicy, suave, salty, fresh, deep, long, translucent, persistent, layered and glowing. The Pinot Noirs of 2022 are captivating. To continue with our surfing analogy, they have an effortless energy to them with textures and tannins that glide across the palate leaving trails of flavour in their wake. They almost never seem heavy. Growers and vines are clearly adapting to the newfound conditions – through canopy management techniques, approaches to soil health and picking dates – and yet what really sets this vintage apart is the yields people reported. A full crop ripening under exceptionally sunny weather is in many respects, the dream scenario. Yes there were challenges; to young vines; to those planted on the drought susceptible rootstocks of 161 and 189; and to certain vineyards on the poorest shallowest soils. But for the most part, the vines took 2022 in their stride. Countless growers reported healthy green canopies at harvest, relaxed skins, plenty of juice in the berries, and stable acidities. Malic acids, as is so often the case after a sunny season, were low, and as a result most reported easy malo-lactic fermentations, that in some cases were done before Christmas.

Pleasingly too, the hierarchies are properly demarcated. Complexity, dimension, precision, elegant intensity, weightless impact; all the things that set Pinot Noir apart become magnified the deeper you delve into the Côte’s greatest terroirs. Are these wines to be laid down? At the top end, unquestionably yes. But will we be able to approach them young? Unquestionably yes. The finest wines of the vintage will be profound examples of their type in years to come. For the Bourgognes and village wines, we tend to agree with Etienne Grivot – these are more serious than they at first appear, and yet, will also probably repay drinking a little too early rather than a little too late.

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BURGUNDY 2022

THE WHITE WINES OF 2022 Time and again we found ourselves contemplating the whites long after the wine had left our mouths. There’s plenty of potential for length in the 2022s; a gentle persistence that allows the best wines to haunt the palate with an unfolding range of flavours – a facet that we’re excited to follow as they develop in bottle.

For 2022 whites: white fruited, citrus, saline, layered, deep, fine, building, long, textured, polished, nutty, calm and persistent. If the reds carve their flavours across your palate, the whites seem to be a calmer proposition – languid long boarders delivering lengthy waves of lush flavour perhaps? They’re not explosive, nor are they heavy, but they have a sense of persistence and volume that makes them hugely compelling. There’s shapeliness to many of the whites in 2022, one that brings to mind the whites of 2020, though the younger vintage seems to be a more relaxed and less concentrated offering. There is a similar fresh juiciness to the 2022 whites as in the reds this year. Yields again played a vital part in the final balance of the wines.

Ageing of whites is a more baggage laden subject. In short, in the current Burgundian purview, these ought to offer plenty of capacity for ageing. Their depth and persistence is impossible to ignore and should allow for plenty of improvement in bottle.

With a healthy crop, there’s great purity to the whites in 2022. Top line flavours tend to occupy the white fruit, citrus and salt end of the spectrum, while their silky textures suggest a natural creaminess that should appear with a few years in bottle. Just as with the reds, terroir is clearly defined; the stonier terroirs offer up plenty of cleansing minerality, while those on richer soils are not weighed down, but have instead clearly profited from the extra access to water their deeper soils provide.

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BURGUNDY 2022

CONCLUSION To conclude, there are perhaps two ways of looking at vintage such as 2022. For the pessimist, this is yet another August harvest; a sign that the growing seasons in Burgundy are changing, with hotter, drier conditions becoming the norm, with growers having to confront the fact that 100 days between flowering and harvest is perhaps an out-of-date model. These shorter, drier seasons, particularly those which culminate in August harvests, are a challenge both for the wine makers and the vines themselves. Early starts put the vines at risk of frost damage, while for the growers, harvesting in August is a game of skill that involves fast moving metrics and correspondingly smaller harvest windows, not to mention a much greater chance of challenging and potentially dangerous heat events during harvest. For the vines, the dry weather is an existential threat – particularly for those planted on non-drought resistant rootstocks. On the other hand, the optimistic view is that if these vintages are to become the norm, the new classic if you will, then we should be delighted that wines like those produced in 2022 are possible. That producers can retain levity and precision, not to mention complexity and individuality, in a year like 2022 is a positive indicator for the challenges of future heat. Furthermore, all of this done at moderate (in modern terms) levels of alcohol. The combination of a natural adaptation of both vines and humans has led to a vintage characterised by wines with a natural poise and confidence to them. They’ve graduated from the school of sun and found a way to be at ease with a warmer breeze. We left our tastings very much on the optimistic side, confident that we have here a vintage that is going to offer enormous amounts of enjoyment to anyone pulling corks in years to come.

Jules Campbell BURGUNDY BUYER

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BURGUNDY 2022

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BURGUNDY 2022

STORING YOUR WINES WITH JUSTERINI & BROOKS We put a great deal of pride and energy into sourcing the world’s finest wines. We think it’s only right to put that same cost, care and attention into storing them on your behalf. Cellarers (Wines) Ltd., which currently holds close to £300 million worth of customers’reserves, is geographically separate from Justerini & Brooks’ own stocks. It was created to cater for the growing demand from Justerini’s global client base for world-class storage. Logistics may not be the most romantic aspect of the wine trade, but it is vitally important.Winemakers spend whole lifetimes toiling in their vineyards and honing their skills, creating works of ar t for our pleasure. It is our responsibility as a merchant to transport, store and deliver these precious gems expertly, to ensure they reach you in optimal condition. Storing with Cellarers is not the same as storing with other firms. It would be fair to assume that all wine companies land, assign and label individual cases of wine to the specific customer as a matter of course. However, almost without exception, they do not. Physically recording and then placing individual cases into individual accounts is a very expensive process, which is precisely what Cellarers does. Every single case of wine, as soon as it arrives in the customer’s account, is fully labelled with its owner’s details: the customer’s name, account number, full description of the wine, and a unique identifier that can prove when that particular case was bought, and when it came into the warehouse – thus ensuring that each case stored is specific to its actual owner. The case you bought is the same case you take out. For further details, please contact our team at Cellarers@justerinis.com.

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BURGUNDY 2022

ALLOCATION & CONTACT

Justerini & Brooks, and our partner Estates, intend for wines to be acquired for their primary purpose of being consumed. As such we kindly ask that wines bought through Justerini & Brooks are not sold or moved out of storage with us within five years of the wine being physically released. For this reason, moving wines out of Cellarers Wines Ltd within this time frame, other than to a home delivery address, could jeopardise your future allocations. If you have any questions, please contact your account manager Justerini & Brooks 61 St James’s Street London SW1A 1LZ United Kingdom Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7484 6430 @justerinis Justerini&Brooks 13


MÂCONNAIS


MÂCONNAIS / BURGUNDY 2022

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MÂCONNAIS / BURGUNDY 2022

LES HERITIERS DU COMTES LAFON, MILLY-LAMARTINE 2022 was a dry year but the vineyards “never lacked water” according to Pierre Lafon, who added “this was thanks to the weather during the previous vintage through to winter 2023. As a result the wines have good acidity.” This is a superharmonious vintage for Lafon’s splendid Mâcon wines, which exude ease, character and balance. They really highlight the great diversity and quality to be found throughout this less discovered part of Burgundy. The wines are open and generous but even-keeled, too. Alcohols are low by recent standards, ranging from 12.5 to 13 degrees. Pierre likens the wines to 2020 but considers these “juicier.” The wines were all bottled in the summer of 2023 apart from the Pouilly-Fuissé-Fuisse, which we weren’t able to taste because it was being bottled during our visit.

= White

Vintage

Drink From

Mâcon-Milly Lamartine

2022

2024

= Red

Nutty and with a gentle freshness that points to crisp apply fruit, lemons and limes. A hint of butter gives this a pliability and fluidity, the nuttiness adds richness and dimension whilst a citrus and mineral element ensures this is digest enough to tempt you to another glass. Two thirds aged and fermented in wooden foudres, the rest in tank. From the sub-zone of Milly where the wines tend to be very mineral and taut, this is Lafon’s highest Mâcon vineyard at an altitude of 350 metres. Mâcon-Bussière, Le Monsard

2022

2024

A wine of deeper complexity and fuller body than your average Mâcon. This really is like a mini Pouilly-FuisséFuisse. Fleshy and characterful, notes of mineral and rock complimenting the bodied, buttery citrus and stone fruit. From vines at the southern end of Mâconnais planted on rocky soils, at 350 metres altitude, well exposed to the sun. Mâcon-Chardonnay, Clos de la Crochette

2022

2025

Its northerly location makes Clos de la Crochette a completely different style of wine to Lafon’s other Mâcons, expressing cooler and calmer tones - more orchard fruit than stone fruit or citrus. Fresh, aromatic and juicy ripe apple and pear flavours abound. Seamless and elegant, this is poised and open knit through to a super, long finish. The wine is aged half in large oak foudres and half in oak demi-muid barrels. From the northern sector of the Mâcon, near to Uchizy. Mâcon-Milly, Clos du Four

2022

2025

Tense but powerful and full-bodied. Mineral with a certain grip and structure to it. One of the most serious, firm and complex Mâcons you’ll find – this has a Côte d’Or-like mineral depth and intensity to it. The wine relaxes and uncoils with air, exhibiting more complexity and fruit on the long, expansive finish. Very complete and multidimensional. The lowest of the Milly vines but planted on very poor, rocky soils giving intense, crisp minerally Mâcons. Clos du Four is the most mineral and least Mâcon-like of the Héritiers Lafon wines. The only wine to be aged in demi-muid only, the rest of the wines are half aged in demi-muid and half in foudres. Viré-Clessé

2022

2025

A different profile to the Clos du Four, much fruitier and more floral but with a complexity and sophistication nonetheless. A subtle grip adds welcome bite to the alluring and aromatic yellow plum, orchard fruit and citrus characteristics. Full of beauty and energy, delivered seamlessly and with composure, this is the complete package! From a selection within 7ha that was originally part of the Château de Viré estate that Dominique Lafon acquired in 2009. Only a small proportion actually goes into this wine, the rest is declassified into Mâcon Villages. The vines are old, up to 75 years old, and are a massale selection of the rare muscat variety of Chardonnay. Pouilly-Fuissé Fuissé, En Chatenay

2022

2025

Not tasted due it being bottled. Aged for a year in fût and 2 months in cuve. A fabulous single vineyard plot in Vergisson, this is north/north-east facing, giving a wine of tension and minerality Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 17


CÔTE DE BEAUNE


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“For me, the whites sit somewhere between 2017 and 2020 – the freshness of 2017 with the density of 2020. The natural degrees were not big, from 12.1 to 13% for our Chardonnays. It is more difficult to compare the reds. I thought 2021 was the most approachable vintage we’d make, but then 2022 is also so approachable – but will also age!”. MARC BACHELET DOMAINE BACHELET-MONNOT

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

BACHELET MONNOT, DÈZIZES-LES-MARANGES “We’re not chasing an “ephemeral” style in our wines, we want to make classical Burgundy” stated Marc Bachelet with confident precision as we tasted his 2022s. “The whites this year honestly remind me a bit of 2020, but with more approachability and freshness”. The Bachelet brothers, Marc and Alex, consistently produce one of the best overall ranges we taste, and after a decade of tweaks and experiments, have now settled into a very fine groove with both the way they farm their vineyards and the subsequent vinification of the grapes they grow. Ruthlessly focussed and clear-eyed about what they want to achieve, they have honed their winemaking techniques, fully engaged in key decisions such as: maturation vessels (predominantly 350L now), lees going to barrel; time in tank; sulphur usag; whole cluster, and extraction methods, on top of their stringent farming practices. Cold maceration stopped as of the 2020 vintage, Marc comparing it to fruits that have been refrigerated versus those eaten straight off the tree: “there’s more natural complexity this way”. The Maranges wines are an example of how an appellation can be lifted with a star domaine behind it. In Bachelet-Monnot’s hands the Fussière vineyard is one of the region’s gems, hidden in amongst a glittering range of wines. = Red

= White

Bourgogne, Cote d’Or, Blanc, Bachelet Monnot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

A salty and precise Bourgogne with fine ground mineral notes over fresh lemon zest. A pleasing, inviting and clear-eyed blend of flesh and intensity. A Bourgogne that is four fifths from the Puligny commune and one fifth from Chassagne. Maranges, La Fussière, 1er Cru, Blanc, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2025

Fine boned and crystalline, Maranges La Fussière is an ever improving cuvee that seems to take on more dimension and depth with every passing vintage. Citrus, salt and stones grip the palate with great tension and flashes of smoky minerality.“Honestly, the terroir of Fussière blanc is explosive – it is so good we’re looking to double the size of this cuvee” Marc explained. It is easy to see why. Fermentation and élevage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months, before six months in stainless steel. This comes from the higher part of the Fussière vineyard where the poor soil is well suited to producing white wines. St Aubin, En Remilly 1er Cru, Bachelet Monnot,

2022

2025

A touch whiter fruited than La Fussière, with pear and almond blossom notes, touches of kiwi, then gripping minerals and extract. Plenty of energy and depth, without perhaps the laser like focus of the Fussière. From a vineyard planted in 1993. Chassagne-Montrachet, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2025

Gentle, creamy ripe lemon fruit with plenty of texture, polished stones, salt and green olive brine on the finish. Mid-weight, refined and even keeled without undue Chassagne weight holding it back. From numerous limestone influenced parcels on the Puligny side of the Chassagne appellation; one just below Criots, another underneath Maltroie and finally one just above Caillerets. Fermentation and élévage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months before six months in stainless steel. Puligny-Montrachet, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2025

Elegance and fine lines. Sweet lemons, polished minerality. This could only be Puligny – all on finesse, with a gentle tension and the finest texture. Produced exclusively from old vines from numerous plots including a particularly fine parcel on a slope called Les Meix, near the Grands Crus, next to Enseigneurs. Fermentation and élévage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months before six months in stainless steel.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 21


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

BACHELET MONNOT, DÈZIZES-LES-MARANGES = Red

= White

Meursault, Clos du Cromin, Bachelet Monnot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Tasted after the Puligny villages this is in total contrast; broad, gripping power, layers of roasted nut, roasted lemon, deep minerality and touches of green olive on the finish. There’s much to chew on, both extract and structure, yet it’s not dense or heavy with it – very much remaining in the domaine’s refined style. A vineyard that always ripens early. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Referts, 1er Cru, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2026

Crushed rock aromas on the nose, and then this broad yet seamless flow of fruit and stone, a good deal more polish and sophistication than the Meursault tasted before, with a seamless interplay between richer fruit, peach and lemon, and these gripping polished extract notes. A highly sophisticated Referts. Seriously good… and long too. From prime-situated vines next door to those of Sauzet, where the large clay content of the soils yields generous round wines of beautiful fruit. Fermentation and élevage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months before six months in stainless steel. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatières, 1er Cru, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2026

This really smells like crushed rocks and essential oils with a smoked mineral note in there too. Very fine grained on the palate, gone is the extract and density of Referts, in its place you find silk sheets, powdered minerals and the zested peel of lemons and bergamot. This flies high, “floating like Chevalier” according to Marc, while “Referts is more like Batard, rich mid palate, power, breadth.” The comparisons make a lot of sense. An impeccable wine. One of the top vineyards in Puligny, next to Caillerets, from a high up parcel where the soil is poor and stony but well exposed to the sun, situated in the Northernmost corner of this great vineyard, right next to the Leflaive vines - above Clos de la Garenne. Fermentation and élevage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months before six months in stainless steel. Bâtard Montrachet, Grand Cru, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2028

A fine parcel of Bâtard on the Puligny side of the vineyard near Pierre Morey’s vines, abutting Montrachet. Fermentation and élevage take place in 350 litre barrels, with no bâtonnage, for 12 months before six months in stainless steel. At the time of our visit this was unavailable to taste, though Marc was happy to say simply and with a smile, “C’est bon.” Bourgogne, Rouge, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2025

Yum. Combining lifted red fruits and gentle aromatic complexity - fine flowers and red fruits - with elegant tannins. There’s nothing forced about this detailed, crisply wrought Bourgogne rouge. What more could one want at this level? This is in fact one third declassified Maranges villages, one third declassified Hautes Côtes de Beaune and one third Bourgogne from the Puligny commune. 20% whole bunch fermentation. Aged in 25% new oak barrels.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

BACHELET MONNOT, DÈZIZES-LES-MARANGES = Red

= White

Maranges, La Fussière, 1er Cru, Rouge, Bachelet Monnot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

A more serious offering than the villages Maranges, with a complex tightly wound fruit set, a fine spine of tannin and this lovely salty dark fruited finish. An excellent cuvee that hails from seven different parcels in La Fussière, vinified separately and in a variety of vessels, with the percentage of whole bunch tailored to each plot. Vines are aged between 10 and 85 years old, energy coming from the former, complexity from the latter. Fermented with an average of 25-35% whole bunches in 2022. Santenay, Les Prarons, Rouge, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2025

Fine red fruits and salty mineral notes, delicate spice and a haunting finish. Much more translucent and lacier than the Charmes, with upper register fruit and the slightest note of orange peel. Geographically the other side of the appellation to Charmes, and stylistically, too. Santenay, Les Charmes, Rouge, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2026

A tannic, tight, dark fruited Santenay, with a compact core of fruit, firm minerals and more in reserve here. Summer pudding and blackcurrant leaf over ferrous mineral notes. From iron-rich soils on the Maranges side of the appellation. Pommard, Bachelet Monnot

2022

2027

This could be something of a hidden gem, offering up a lovely combination of fine earth and sweet dark cherry fruit. No shortage of Pommard muscle, but it is refined and polished with touches of isotonic salt alongside red and black fruits. And excellent balance. Very classy and satisfying. From two parcels, a steep and dangerous to farm site above the 1er cru Chanlins, the other La Vache.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“It’s quite an aromatic vintage, very fragrant. We have a good acidity with plenty of maturity. They have a sense of density but with freshness and also a consistency. They seem to be generous and complex. I think people will be pleased with them. You can enjoy them now, or you can cellar them. Perfect!” CAROLIN LESTIMÉ DOMAINE JEAN NOËL-GAGNARD

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

JEAN NOËL-GAGNARD, CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET The journey from Girardin to Gagnard takes about five minutes, yet stylistically, it’s a journey back in time; from the world of gleaming newness to that of an ultra-traditional Burgundian cellar. Caroline was upbeat when we visited, with a ‘correct’ sized crop of excellent 2022s in the cellar. And indeed, it was a superb tasting, another in a recent string of notable successes chez Gagnard. The 2022s are characterful, traditional, expressive white Burgundies with huge amounts of intensity and extract, but also freshness and acidity. The flavours are bold and wide ranging, as notes of nut and stone fruit meet cedrat and salt. Harvest began on the 23rd August with the entire crop coming in between 12.5% and 13%. “I think people will be pleased with these” Caroline opined modestly. “It’s quite an aromatic vintage, very fragrant. You can enjoy them on release or cellar them”. We’d be happy to do both. Those lucky enough to secure a case can expect palate coating, luscious yet bright Chardonnay that tells a story both of its place, and the traditional cellar that made it. = Red

= White

Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Masures

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Aromatically charged with white flowers, almond and stone fruit. Open, present, engaging and full of character and texture. Buttery, nutty, salty with a seam of acidity keeping it lively. Traditional, hearty even, but bright and extremely satisfying with it. From 58-year-old vines. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Chenevottes, 1er Cru

2022

2025

Focussed, sweet stone fruit notes charge from the glass, with excellent definition to the flavours. There’s a broad and generous feel to the texture, but also a bright line of acidity which threads its way through the core. Rich with nuts and fruit – a charmingly traditional Chassagne that offers huge amounts of character, from a vineyard located at the Northern edge of the village, on the Saint-Aubin side towards the bottom of the hill. The slope is gentle but enough to ensure good drainage. The soil is light clay mixed with iron-rich pebbles. Organically farmed. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Petits Clos 1er Cru

2022

2026

This has more acidity, more structure and more power than Chenevottes, with a slightly riper profile of fruit alongside more intense acidity and clearer nut flavours. This will require quite a bit more time but there’s much to look forward to once it all falls into place. Morgeot is a big vineyard that has the propensity to make very full and sometimes dull and heavy wines, however Caroline’s parcel is from the higher part of the Morgeot on a slope where the wines show more finesse and distinction. This parcel is called “Les Petits Clos”, which has appeared on the label since the 2011 vintage. Bordering the Santenay road, the soil is composed primarily of white clay, with limestone outcrops and has a good South-East exposure. Ageing is in 30% new oak for 18 months. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Caillerets, 1er Cru

2022

2027

This smells like a wine waiting to explode, a crouching tiger of a Chassagne, all pent-up energy and dynamism. Pure and sleek it charges across the palate, with fine citrus and salted butter notes, a gossamer texture and searing intensity. This is, simply put, serious kit with almost Grand Cru levels of intensity and drive. Situated at the Southern end of the “en Caillerets” sector, Caroline’s vines are planted on a steep slope of shallow pebbly soils with a fine south-east exposure. The most precise, mineral and intense of Caroline Lestimé’s Chassagnes, from her oldest vines (over 60 years old.) Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru

2022

2029

Smelling like cedrat and sweet lemon tart, this portrays a calm power, with a well of deep layered buttery fruit and a flowing core that glides across the palate. There’s a huge amount of dimension and depth to this but it also has a nimbleness and animation that keeps it lively and draws you back. A wine to take your time over, full of soul. Just two barrels produced. A vineyard plot on the Chassagne-Montrachet side, planted on brown limestone and clay soils with some broken stones in the upper part of the vineyard. A gentle slope results in good drainage. The exposure to the sun is an ideal South to South-East. Santenay, Clos des Tavannes, 1er Cru

2022

2025

A charming, characterful nose full of wild briary fruit leads to a juicy palate of hedgerow fruit and crisp stones. There’s impressive depth here and plenty of freshness. Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 25


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

PAUL PILLOT, CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET This another great range of wines from Thierry Pillot – a thinker who really does care about making the very best wines he can. For Thierry this involves a constant ability to adapt – facing warmer summers with a parcel-by-parcel approach to farming, touching certain soils less, pruning later (but not too late), finding balance in each parcel through careful fine and soil husbandry. The results speak for themselves. “2022 is lovely as we don’t feel the heat at all. We feel the ripeness like we had in 2020, with lovely juice and energy. These wines are pure and fresh”. The whites combine his signature crystalline detail and intensity with the vintage hallmarks of flow and building persistence, each speaking clearly of its origin. Once again, these are studies in terroir.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Blanc, Paul Pillot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Bright-eyed with a lovely supple polished feel and plenty of energy too. Classy, crystalline fruit with a silky texture. Great length here too. This punches above its appellation. The fruit for Thierry’s Bourgogne Blanc comes from the Chassagne and Remigny communes and ageing involves no new oak barrels. St Aubin, Les Charmois, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2025

Less reductive with more calm sweet deep fruit than Pitangerets. Flowing, glowing, textural - there’s minerality here but it’s buried below the fruit for now. Charmer by name...The soils are a little deeper here than in the St Aubin Pitangerets and the vines better exposed, facing South. The wines tend to be riper, fruitier and more generous in their youth as a result. St Aubin, Les Pitangerets, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2025

This has some smoky reductive notes alongside a sense of powerful dry extract. A St Aubin of breadth and drive and salty ripe fruit. Smart. “It’s great to have some dry extract in an année solaire” Thierry smiled. Pitangerets is a cooler vineyard with slightly poorer soils than the Charmois producing firmer, more savoury wines. Chassagne-Montrachet, Paul Pillot

2022

2026

A pure and polished Chassagne, leaning less to fruit and more to polished stones and saline freshness. Very classy and composed; a delicate and fresh Chassagne with a calm finishing persistence. Improving all the while you sit with it. Top notch Chassagne from three parcels in the Morgeot sector. The soils here are a little deeper than Thierry’s higher 1er cru vineyards yet with a good percentage of stones. Chassagne-Montrachet, Clos St Jean, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2026

A salty, tense, creamy driving Chassagne, offering cool blanched nut and citrus flavours, with a core of broad earthy fruit. There’s a real persistence here again, a marker of the Pillot 2022s; growing and revealing more layers the longer it sits in the glass. An often-underrated vineyard sitting above the village, known for producing excellent reds, and capable, in hands such as Thierry’s, of very good whites too. Chassagne-Montrachet, La Grande Montagne, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2026

Structured and gripping, mineral and elemental – true to its Grand Montagne terroir – very fine citrus too, gentle salt, powerful minerals and rocks. Vertical and broad at the same time. Superb. From a tiny, rocky 0.26 hectare plot of vines in a little-known chalk clay vineyard next to La Romanee, one of the highest vineyards in Chassagne. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Caillerets, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2026

This is all about finesse and line, a very fine shimmer of sleek electric length. Again this grows and brings more and more, yet it remains all about finesse and length and quiet intensity. Seriously good, seriously smart. Sophisticated and utterly beautiful. A high, stony vineyard, one of the very best in Chassagne.

26


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

PAUL PILLOT, CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET = Red

= White

Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Grandes Ruchottes, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2027

Always demonstrative at this early stage and this is an explosive example, with grapefruit pith notes, structure, grip and crystalline minerality. Intense, salty and electric. The Pillots have a small 0.26 hectares in this magnificent vineyard that yields very stony, concentrated, statuesque Chassagne, situated right next door to Caillerets. Chassagne-Montrachet, La Romanée, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2028

This is very intense indeed, rippling, powerful, needs to unwind but there’s so much here – tightly wound layers of fruit and minerals that are going to demand some patience. Greatness awaits. The domaine’s oldest vines lie in this vineyard, on average 75 years old, on stony soils with a little more clay content than the Grande Montagne, Grandes Ruchottes and Caillerets. Thierry’s parcel is situated at the very top of the vineyard where the soils are at their stoniest. Bourgogne, Rouge, Paul Pillot

2022

2025

Crunchy bittersweet fruit with markedly stony tannins. Bright and digeste. No new oak is used here, the fruit hailing from a parcel in Chassagne underneath the village. Santenay, Rouge, Vieilles Vignes, Paul Pillot

2022

2026

Similarly crunchy fruit to the Bourgorgne with the addition of floral notes and a finer tannic grain, more acids and more energy. Brimming with bright fruit and liveliness – a Pinot of joy and lift. The vines sit right next to Prarons. Fermented with 50% whole bunches. Chassagne-Montrachet, Rouge, Clos St Jean, 1er Cru, Paul Pillot

2022

2028

A typically floral, finely perfumed Clos St Jean, with orange peel notes, aromatic herbs and wilted roses - real aromatic complexity and wonderfully fine tannins, so often a marker of this site. Sleek, lovely and very complete. Fermented with 100% whole bunches, this is a vineyard with a great reputation for making red wine. The stunning Clos has poorer soils than many of the other, more clay dominated vineyards in Chassagne such as Morgeot and this results in wines of greater finesse.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 27


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

ETIENNE SAUZET, PULIGNY-MONTRACHET The impressive new tasting room at Sauzet has the perfect view of the vines of Puligny. It is an ideal spot to gaze at, and taste, the terroir that so clearly marks each of these wines, while gazing out the window at the actual terroir you are tasting. Benoit was his usual calm, happy self when we visited, commenting that “it was a pretty easy vintage, nothing too challenging to be honest. It was a little warm, but the ripening, when it came, came in a very linear fashion, so selecting our window to pick in was easy. We started on the 24th August.” This is an excellent range chez Sauzet, where the wines offer definition, site specificity and wonderful and rather sophisticated Puligny textures throughout. “It’s a little bit the style of 2020, but with more freshness, with whiter tones to the flavours. Acids are a bit higher too, and minerality too. It’s a “new classic” we could say; balanced, ripe and fresh in the mouth, and what’s more we don’t have too much alcohol in the vintage either”. Chapeau!

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Blanc, La Tufera, Etienne Sauzet

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

A classy Bourgogne that is expressive and crisp in attack. A certain mineral dimension at the core, white fleshed fruits, fine structure and with notable dry extract. Conference pears on the finish. There’s intensity here and a long finish. An elegant Bourgogne that emanates from three parcels in the Puligny-Montrachet commune. Aged in used oak barrels and steel cuves. Puligny-Montrachet, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2025

A complex, flowing and textured Villages with a lovely snap and spark to it; flashes of green fruit and salt light up a palate with genuine inner tension. Stylish, fine, cool fruited but not citrus – more pomme fruits – and salt and complex floral notes. A sophisticated Villages. Invariably high quality, Sauzet’s Villages comprises a blend of 12 parcels across seven climats, vinified separately then aged in 10% new oak. More than a third comes from Les Meix, one of the top lieu-dits in Puligny. Puligny-Montrachet, La Garenne, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2026

Similarly stylish but leaner in body and with more of the Garenne stones poking out. Whippet-like, with a little more rib cage on display, a drummable core that’s almost weightless, with a fresh, floral tone and a whispered length. Aged in 10% new oak barrels. One of the estate’s and Puligny’s highest vineyards planted on poor stony soils. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Perrières, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2026

A wonderful Perrières imbued with layer upon layer of detailed, salty fruit, fine ground rock notes, citrus zest and also some flesh. Layered and long. No weight, no hardness, but great persistence and a clear core of fine minerality below the fruit. A beauty. From a well-drained vineyard situated next to Referts, but very different in style, with a similar clay content but more compact and scattered with small rocky stones. The resulting wines are invariably more mineral than Referts. Puligny-Montrachet, Champs Canet, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2026

A truly complex combination of fruit and stones, built around a gorgeous texture with fruit that ranges from fine salty peaches to Mediterranean fruits to juicy white conference pears. A totally seductive Champs Canet with freshness but no angles or firmness and no shortage of bite, intensity or energy. A great Puligny vineyard situated mid-slope, above Combettes and next door to Meursault Perrières, planted on a well-balanced mix of clay and limestone soils. The vines average 50 years old. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Referts, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2026

Riper citrus fruits and more depth and flesh than Perrières, this has plenty of immediate appeal. Yellow plum and ripe peach delivered on a gorgeous flowing texture. Less mineral and intense than Perrières but full of charm and flesh. Typically Referts, though with finesse too. A blend of two parcels, one adjacent to the Sauzet Perrieres parcel (despite the differences), the other mid-vineyard. The vines, over 50 years old, are planted on heavier, more compact clay soils than Perrières and Garenne and the resultant wine is often therefore at the richer end of the spectrum.

28


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

ETIENNE SAUZET, PULIGNY-MONTRACHET = Red

= White

Puligny-Montrachet, Les Truffière, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

More structure and extract and grip on display. A compact, driving Puligny that needs a bit of time to unwind and relax into its almost tannic structure. Intense and powerful. The result of smaller grapes and berries that Truffière habitually produces, which tends to result in gripping, structured wines. A relatively high Puligny vineyard, surrounded by trees, whose vines were planted in the 1960s. The domaine has owned this plot since 2009. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Combettes, 1er Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2026

More richness and body gives a suggestion of being on the way to Meursault here, with ripe rich fruit and then tension and drive and notes of nut and butter and stones on the finish. Powerful, with masses of dimension and yet breathtaking precision. Not so much fruit as wonderful rich minerality. Super smart. Sauzet’s example of Combettes is one of the great Premiers Crus of Puligny, up there with Caillerets and Leflaive’s Pucelles. From two adjacent plots, one of 30-year-old vines, the other 85 years old, neighbouring Lafon’s vines in Meursault Charmes. A supremely well-exposed vineyard, mid-slope like Champs Canet but with a little less limestone and more clay. Bienvenues Bâtard Montrachet, Grand Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2028

Tightly wound and steely at its core, with layers of fruit and stones you sense are waiting to explode. A coiled spring of a wine, all bundled up energy at first and then this long, really quite high-toned haunting finish. A ball of taut energy. Powerful, long, but really all about energy and potential today. The domaine’s smallest holding, a mere eight rows equates to just two and a half barrels, as well as its oldest vines, planted in 1940. Bâtard Montrachet, Grand Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2028

Mineral intensity dominates Sauzet’s Bâtard, with concentrated and intense fruit notes, herb and stone fruit and salt behind. This is a compact, driving wine, full of direct power and more overt intensity than the Bienvenues. Salt and limestone and green fruits and a real rockiness at the core. A powerful, punching Bâtard that will demand a certain amount of patience. Le Montrachet, Grand Cru, Etienne Sauzet

2022

2028

This is so seductive, so beautifully textured. With a detailed star-bright nose, fine pixellated aromas and less weight than some vintages, this offers up truly stylish composure and poise. Surprisingly inviting for a young Montrachet, it flows and floats like an aerial surfer cruising waves high in the sky, leaving long and effortless trails across the palate. A triumph. A Montrachet on the Chassagne side of the vineyard so technically a “Le Montrachet” although Sauzet labels this as “Montrachet.”

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 29


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

CHÂTEAU DE MEURSAULT, MEURSAULT Emmanuelle Escutanaire, surprisingly bright-eyed the morning after the rugby, was similarly chuffed with the vintage at Chateau de Meursault. The big news here is that the estate, alongside Ch. de Marsannay, is fully certified organic as of the 2022 vintage. “And this is just the beginning,” estate director Stéphane Follin-Arbelet assured us. “We’ve been introducing an extra 20ha of cover crops each year to help the plots planted to less drought resistant root stocks. Interestingly, when we moved to organic, we thought we’d get smaller yields. Five years in we realise this simply isn’t the case”. Harvest began on the 26th August in stable warm conditions. Divining the harvest date was straight forward and the resulting wines all clock in at 13.5% more than reasonable in today’s money. The whites here have established themselves as firm J&B favourites – combining body and drive to great effect. In 2022 the much-loved Terroir d’Exception tastes more like a baby Perrières than ever before, while Charmes Dessus could be held up as a reference point of the qualities that only white burgundy can achieve – “It’s a Bentley!” Stéphane remarked – by which we think he meant a stylish, powerful, deeply satisfying wine. That, at least, was our take.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Blanc, Clos du Chateau

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Another hidden gem in the Ch. De Meursault range is the ever-brilliant Bourgogne Clos du Château – a baby Meursault in all but name and without a doubt one of the signature wines of the estate. Clos du Chateau comes from an east facing Clos in the grounds of the Chateau and is aged in 15% new oak for one year. This is proper wine, replete with aromatic breadth, pears and white flowers, then sleek fruit across the palate, creamy lemon tart and fine limestone minerality. Open and easy to taste out of the gate, but not without energy and a certain inner nerve. Very good indeed. Bourgogne, Terroir d’Exception

2022

2024

Hailing from a plot of 40-year-old vines between Albert Grivault’s Clos des Perrières and Perrières itself, Terroir d’Exception has perhaps never tasted more Perrières-like than in 2022. This is a premier cru site if ever you saw one but for the fact that it was a quarry up until 1977, which has meant that it was never classed as such. Aged in 30% new oak. Finer and more mineral than the Limozin poured before, with a cool stoniness focussed around a tight core of crystalline fruit. Refined, composed, class – it finishes on cleansing, salty citrus fruit. Terroir wins out. Marvellous. Meursault, Limozin

2022

2025

An east facing clay-limestone vineyard just below Genevrières that invariably produces wines with a certain body and flesh to them. In 2022 it has produced a total crowd pleaser, with stone fruit richness alongside notes of nut and butter and ripe citrus. Open, yet not without some inner tension, density and drive. This is going to be a joy to drink on release and should peak after five years or so. Aged in 20% new oak. Meursault, Clos des Grands Charrons, Monopole

2022

2025

This offers a lovely marriage of open ease and tension. A very accomplished Meursault with line, breadth and polish. There is lots to love in this energetic Grand Charrons that, after a wash of full, juicy fruits in the middle, tapers off to a focussed finish with impressive persistence and salinity. Very smart. A very well-situated Monopole lieu-dit from the mid-slope, on the same level as Perrières, that shows more intensity and precision than most Meursault villages. Aged for 15 months in 30% new oak. Meursault, Les Perrières, 1er Cru

2022

2026

Mineral, sleek, refined and focussed. A wine for lovers of minerality, with taut stony citrus fruits, lots of rocky drive and focus. For all that there’s a layering here and while it takes a little time to coax out of its shell, indeed you can feel the stones of Perrières throughout, the wine gives more and more the longer it sits in the glass. From two parcels within Perrières Dessus, just above their Bourgogne Terroir d’Exception, planted with 55-year-old and 45-year-old vines. Aged in 30% new oak.

30


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

CHÂTEAU DE MEURSAULT, MEURSAULT = Red

= White

Meursault, Les Charmes Dessus, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

The first impression here is excellence. An ineffable trait, yet it could be presented to UNESCO as a near-perfect example what Meursault wants to be. A fusion of cream, fine stones, intense citrus, with depth, texture, and a nutty stoniness in the background. Long and powerful, but also juicy and joyous. The four specific parcels sit high up in the Charmes Dessus vineyard, just below Clos des Perrières and abutting the vines of Dominique Lafon. Undoubtedly one of the estate’s flagship wines. Puligny-Montrachet, Champs Canet, 1er Cru

2022

2026

Fine boned and less demonstrative than some of the other wines in the range, with a salt driven mouthwatering intensity and racy acidity. A harvest of very old vines that gave small, concentrated berries, with plenty of dry extract. The result is an elemental wine of mineral drive and tension. About as Meursault-like as Puligny gets, this hails from a 0.5ha parcel next door to Meursault Perrières. Corton Charlemagne, Grand Cru

2022

2027

Finally, a Grand Cru to complete the range! And what a beauty. Coming from an organically farmed, old vines plot in Le Charlemagne, below the cross and close to DRC, Bonneau de Martray and Coche Dury. And boy does it smell smart – very mineral and dry and serious, with a powerful core here that defines and drives the wine at this early stage. Savoury, stony, concentrated and mineral, touches of lime zest and salt, and real intensity on the finish. Very serious but not hard in anyway. Long! Beaune Grèves Les Trois Journaux 1er Cru

2022

2027

A one-hectare plot, brilliantly situated just below L’Enfant Jesus. Invariably something of a hidden gem. Open and inviting on the nose, with red cherry notes and touches of white flowers, this then darts across the palate with a nice little salty edge giving a sense of energy and animation to the harmonious, lifted flavours. Everything in the right place here, with lovely finesse to boot. Pommard, Clos des Epenots, 1er Cru

2022

2027

If a wine was needed to remind Burgundy fanatics of the gulf that separates Pommard’s ‘old’ image of big burly Pinots with the delicately fruited elegance of so many wines being produced there today, this might be it. Crystalline red fruits hang from a very fine structure, which is elongated and translucent, tapering to a long whispered finish complete with bright mineral streaks and fine detail. Raspberry, white flowers, and salted red peach notes. Intense but lightly handled. The domaine has a sizeable 3.7ha of Epenots, one of the great Pommard climats producing wines of great finesse and longevity. The vines were planted between 1948 and 1978 and the soils here are welldraining. Corton Marechaudes Grand Cru

2022

2030

A complex, cool stone and herb nose with mountainous red fruits, touches of orange peel, flowers and fine spice – there’s lots here; layers of fine flavour and plenty of salt and detail that look set to blossom and grow with time in bottle. A prime 1.5ha parcel planted on iron rich soils.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 31


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

PIERRE GIRARDIN, MEURSAULT The young, affable Pierre Vincent welcomed us into his gleaming winery for the first tasting of the afternoon. A potentially challenging slot, it proved to be another thrilling tasting here, and as such, we’re delighted to be able to welcome these wines to the J&B portfolio with the 2022 vintage. Pierre Vincent’s skills would appear to belie his age, and yet having vinified his first wine in his father’s cellar at the tender age of fifteen he’s already through his tenth vintage. His own domaine was born in 2017, with his all-bells-and-whistles winery completed in time to vinify the 2019s. With an enviable portfolio of vineyards, the majority of which are domaine-owned (a mixture of recent purchases and those passed down from his father after the Vincent Girardin estate was sold), and a knack for producing sensationally good wines, PVG looks set for stardom. The whites are intense, chiseled and gripping, with well-judged reduction and crystalline flavours, while the reds are much more gentle, delicate and lacy. For the whites, Pierre Vincent crushes hard, does very little settling, and takes most of the lees to large, double sized barriques of very light toast. For the reds, which are entirely whole bunch fermented, it’s a very gentle extraction followed by 11 months in light toast barrique and bottling some six months before the whites. It’s a hands-off approach that Pierre describes as comprising “very few interventions, but lots of control”. The results speak for themselves. (N.B. A full Pierre Girardin 2022 offer will be made in the Spring).

= Red

= White

Bourgogne Blanc, Eclat de Calcaire

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

An ultra stylish Bourgogne that emerges from the glass with just the right amount of smoky spicy reduction to make you sit up and take proper notice. Racy, crystalline citrus fruit is charged with vitality, nerve and life in this electric Bourgogne that punches well above its weight. The domaine’s Bourgogne Blanc holdings are in Meursault and Volnay. Beaune, Blanc, 1er cru, Les Grandes Epenotes

2022

2025

The first vintage produced from this vineyard, which sits adjacent to Pommard’s Grands Epenots – Pierre being the only producer to make a Chardonnay from this site. There’s less pronounced gunflint and reduction here, a more relaxed interpretation, though not without a similar sense of impact. A stylish and extremely drinkable Beaune Blanc, its generous fruit constrained by a taut corset of extract.

32


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“I like this vintage because it was ripe, it was warm, but it is still extremely fresh. To be honest, we don’t totally understand it; it’s like the vines have learnt, and the people, we had no pressure in 2022. We were not in a rush, we had time, it was hot but not too hot, and we had humidity in the morning.” GUILLAUME LAVOLLÉE DOMAINE GENOT BOULANGER

33


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

GÉNOT-BOULANGER, MEURSAULT 2022 is a normal sized crop for Guillaume Lavollée, one in which his team carried out their usual strict pruning and debudding regime early in the season, to negate the need to green harvest later in the year. “It was one of the easier vintages to manage in the vineyards” Guillaume recalled, “the main problem was a lack of water during summer. Our vineyards lower down the slopes were untroubled, but certain high vineyards suffered from the drought. And this suffering was not a problem for the fruit, but it definitely was for the vines, particularly the younger vines.” This large and luminous range of wines was a joy to taste from barrel, giving off the sense that both the older vines, and team Genot Boulanger, have truly harnessed the best bits of the sunshine in 2022. “We had no pressure, we were not in a rush, we had time. It was hot, but not too hot, and we had humidity in the mornings after cool nights.” You find the calm mirrored in the range. These are excellent 2022s.

= Red

= White

Beaune, Lulunne

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

On the full-bodied side, with apricot kernel and candied lemon peel shot through with crisper citrus notes. A salty finish brings freshness. A bumptious Beaune from a high vineyard situated above 1er Cru Montrevenots on the Pommard border. Savigny-Lès-Beauneles Beaune, Aux Vergelesses, 1er Cru

2022

2025

Classy and composed, with fine and detailed crushed rock and lemon aromas. Great balance here sees this glide sleeky across the mid palate, energetic at the core, fine and slender on the finish. A smart Savigny. Meursault, Clos du Cromin

2022

2025

Great precision on the nose. Brilliant crystalline fruit, fine grained despite having quite a presence and punch to it. Lemon flesh, fine salt, plenty of fresh acidity and a very pleasing extract on the finish which gives bite and shape. Clos du Cromin is a vineyard that works particularly well in warm, dry vintages because of the clay content in the soil, and then after about 40cm you hit the mother rock, adding a balancing sense of complexity to the naturally full, open-knit fruit that characterises this wine. Meursault, Les Meix Chavaux

2022

2025

Salty and nutty aromas on the nose that feel a bit more reticent than usual, keeping a bit in reserve, then deeper soft fleshed fruit on the palate. Almond, peach pit, rock salt and a powerful earthy minerality– there’s complexity and depth here but it needs a bit of time to unwind. With its north-east exposure and poor, sandy and stony soils this is not your typical Meursault. Taut and mineral with an intensity coming from limestone terroir, planted in 1950, this is typically a village Meursault of great class. Aged in 20% new oak for 12 months followed by six months in tank. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Levrons

2022

2025

Essential oils of bergamot and lemon mingle with fine stones over a concentrated fruit core – satisfying yet definitely at the more robust end of the Puligny spectrum with chewy gripping extract and a sense of crystalline citrus pulp. A vineyard situated on the Meursault side of the appellation, just below 1er Cru Les Referts. The cool clay soils are late to bud. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Nosroyes

2022

2025

Fine grained and very Puligny, packed full of fine minerals and sleek stones, crushed herbs, citrus zest and lemon flesh. This is salty, sleek with an elongated, growing character. Total elegance here – all you could ask for in a village Puligny. But then Nosroyes (pron: no-rwah) is a very fine Puligny village vineyard towards the top of the slope on the North side of the village, just underneath Les Perrieres. There is a predominance of limestone in this welldrained vineyard that typically yields finely etched but ripe fruited wines with a chalky finish. It spends 12 months in barriques followed by 6 months in tank.

34


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

GÉNOT-BOULANGER, MEURSAULT = Red

= White

Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Vergers, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Rich, supple and flowing with plenty of fruit richness and sweeping charm. Totally different in texture to either the Meursaults or the Pulignys, being more at the supple mouthcoating end of the spectrum. A fine east facing vineyard with poor soils on the St Aubin side of the village. A blend of two plots. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Chenevottes, 1er Cru

2022

2026

An attack of peachy fruit offers up plenty of sweet charm and invitation, a fleshy very Chassagne style of wine that is all about generous fruit and silky flowing texture. Should drink well from the get go. A vineyard located at the Northern edge of the village, low on the hill on the way to Saint-Aubin. Gently sloping but well drained, the soil is light clay mixed with iron-rich pebbles. Meursault, Les Boucheres, 1er Cru

2022

2026

Mineral, savoury, salty, nutty; very much on the crushed rock, essential oil and wild herb side of the spectrum. After an impressive attack there’s a sense of mineral pull that releases to a flowing and long finish. Powerful, vertical and beautifully pitched. Classic, taut, driving Meursault. An excellent vineyard, surrounded by Poruzots, Goutte d’Or and Genevrieres and the biggest appellation in the Genot Boulanger holdings. Only Roulot have a bigger parcel of Boucheres than them. Puligny-Montrachet, La Garenne, 1er Cru,

2022

2026

Extremely impressive for both its precision and its sense of completeness this year. When we remarked about this, Guillaume explained that “Garenne seems to be improving with these new warmer drier conditions. It may be at the top of hill, but we have springs up here, and a bit more clay, so it appears to suffer less”. Fine, long and persistent, with a crisp fleshed intensity on the palate, impressive body and power but with precision to its drive. Habitually a vineyard that produces many millerande berries. A south-east facing vineyard, high up the hill just below the forest planted on white, rocky limestone soils with fossils in the subsoil. A cool and mineral terroir. Aged in 20% new oak for 12 months followed by 6 months in tank. Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatieres, 1er Cru

2022

2027

A wonderfully complex nose, full of fruit and delicate minerality. The palate is one of genuine sophistication, a fine weave that’s less about power more about grace, seamless complexity and flow. Combining a very fine texture with energy, alertness and salinity, this is very smart indeed. From a South-East facing plot called “au Chaniot” abutting Montrachet, in the south-east corner of Folatieres, touching Cailleret and Pucelles. Here the soil is an even mix of limestone and marne clay. Aged in barrel for 12 months followed by 6 months in tank. Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru

2022

2027

Lovely notes of ripe conference pear on the nose, delicate minerality and a general sense of fine white fruit and vibrancy before the structure of this Corton Charlemagne becomes apparent. The power, and there is plenty of it, is delivered in a very precise, very streamlined way, a keel of grip that blades through the white fruits. Touches of mandarin on the finish increase the interest. This is a very fine Corton Charlemagne, with great driving precision and a long focussed finished. This is from a small parcel of 0.29ha in “Le Charlemagne” that was planted in 1940, facing South West. The soils here are marney limestone, shallow and with a stony top soil.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 35


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

GÉNOT-BOULANGER, MEURSAULT = Red

= White

Mercurey, En Sazenay, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

An exceptionally present aromatic profile is allied to translucent fruit in this delicate Mercurey, a far cry from the more rustic Pinots the region is known for. Impressive depth and focus, glassy tannins and crystalline cherry fruit on the finish. Class. A cuvee that seems to get better and better with every passing year. A 1.81ha parcel situated at the top of a steep east-facing slope. De-stalked and aged in oak barrels for 12 months followed by 6 months in tank. Beaune, Les Greves, 1er Cru

2022

2026

Very pale in colour and a touch more reserved than the Pommards, the quality is clear on the palate, with a sense of tension and a spine of fine minerals that comes from the limestone soils of Greves. A lifted, pale yet taut expression of this great vineyard; a Greves of translucency and tension. This is excellent. Well exposed and well drained, an early ripening plot that sits above L’Enfant Jesus. A mid-slope, South-East facing parcel planted on sandy clay and limestone soils spread over one hectare, one part planted in the 1960s, the remainder in the 1980s. Volnay

2022

2027

Previously VV but now including a plot of younger vines from Joueres, this is a relatively muscular Volnay, with a velvety structure and satisfyingly robust fruit over a gripping tannic spine – sun warmed plums and raspberry coulis on the finish. A blend of village plots with the 1er Cru Roncerets, more clay than limestone for the village plots with a greater percentage of limestone in the 1er Cru. Chambolle-Musigny

2022

2027

Fine grained with delicate floral flavours, red fruits, and then a gripping limestone structure below. Delicate steely fruit, over an energetic fruit set. A snappy, crisp Chambolle that is true to its origins. This cuvee comes from two plots, Les Mombies and Nazoires, predominantly from vines planted in the 1950s. Aloxe-Corton, Clos du Chapitre, 1er Cru

2022

2027

Initially dominated by notes of earth and spice yet retaining the domaine’s translucent style, there’s a more robust fruit set at heart here. Kirsch, alpine herbs, orange peel all coalesce around a firm core of structure. Autumnal somehow. A magnificent due South-facing parcel of 50 year-old vines towards the bottom of the Clos where the soil is redder clay than further up, with traces of flint and limestone. Pommard, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2027

As ever this is very fine boned Pommard with pale fleshed sweet berry fruit, fine minerals, sweet floral notes and a finish that’s redolent of sweet alpine strawberries. Fine is the word here, with neat length and plenty of delicate persistence and silky tannins that cover a core of cool creamy berry fruit. A veritable old vines cuvee split across three lieux dits - Cras, Vignot, Chagnieres - half of the parcels was planted in the 1950s, the rest in the 1980s. Pommard Clos Blanc 1er Cru

2022

2027

Complex and aromatic on the nose, with notes of plum and autumn raspberry fruit, blood orange and touches of wild verdant spice. Very fine tannins drive the supple fruit across the palate, with touches of salt giving freshness to the finish. Fruit and fine lines. Lovely plus. This comes from the Northern sliver of Clos Blanc, adjacent to Grands Epenots. Half the plot is on white calcaire de Nantou soils, the other half on redder soils, similar to Grands Epenots. A great vineyard and a highly reliable source of top Pommard

36


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

GÉNOT-BOULANGER, MEURSAULT = Red

= White

Corton,Les Combes, Grand Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

A parcel that sits close to Chapitre, facing South yet cooled by the Pernand Combe. Relatively deep clay soils invariably produce a Corton of approachability and a certain plumpness. And in 2022 we find a measure of richness to the seductive red fruits, plenty of rich polished tannins and a deep earthy core. There’s no shortage of dimension here. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru

2022

2028

Round, deep, ripe and sumptuous, full of bold mouth filling flavours, wild spice, hedgerow, plum skin, and supple tannins. Creamy, spherical, long and engaging, with polished earth notes and a fine spice/hedgerow fruit finish. Shapely. A parcel planted in 1986 that comprises a 150-metre-long row of vines that passes over a range of soil types, more clay in the lower part and rockier limestone in the higher part.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 37


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DE MONTILLE, VOLNAY With extensive holdings that span a multitude of appellations, the De Montille team gets a broad and comprehensive look at each vintage. With almost double the wine in the cellar compared with 2021, and some of the finest reds we can remember tasting here, they were understandably content when we visited. “It was a fantastic growing season for us” Nicolas Fontaine remarked. “Lots of water in winter provided us with the reserves for the spring, then timely storms during the summer helped to prevent stress. Some rain in the weeks before harvest helped the final ripening and gave us a great skin to juice ratio in the grapes.” Harvest here started on the 28th August and ran through to the 5th September, with the ensuing vinifications progressing with ease and requiring little extraction bar some pump overs to keep the cap wet.

= Red

= White

Beaune Blanc Les Aigrots 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Aromatic herbs and lemon tart notes over white fleshed fruit with touches of citrus pulp and pomelo in this charming, accessible, juicy Aigrots. A vineyard that can produce wines at the fleshier end of the spectrum and, as such, always one of the first sites to be picked. Meursault, St Christophe

2022

2026

A satisfying intensity suffuses this Meursault as it pings across the palate, a salty dart of fruit, nuts and sesame that manages to be firm but not hard. Touches of roasted browned butter join the lemon flesh on the finish. Smart. Meursault, Les Perrières, 1er Cru

2022

2026

This is quite classy, though more about expressive, inviting, open fruit than overt drive and intensity. A textural, fluid, flowing Perrières, not dripping in stones, with richer butter base notes and a salty finish. More depth here than the St Christophe; calm layers and plenty of rich, reverberating fruit that builds through the finish. From the higher part of the Perrières vineyard, so often particularly mineral even for Perrières. Puligny-Montrachet, Caillerets 1er Cru

2022

2026

Great delineation on the nose. A wine of texture, flow and expressive fruit – lemon confit, dried lemon, fine salt and fine stones. There’s a calm intensity here, not snappy and sparky, more a gently persistent insistence. Caillerets is an exceptionally well-situated vineyard with Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet as neighbours. Only 20% of this is aged in new oak and the barrels are a mixture of barriques and larger demi-muid barrels to minimise their influence. The vines are 50 years old. Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru

2022

2027

A more intense nose than anything prior, with lots of fruit on the palate too – peaches and pears, tension and extract, there’s structure and grip here too in this powerful, muscular, deep and long Corton Charlemagne. Very complete. From behind Pougets, a mid-slope, south-south-east facing vineyard of 35 years old, aged in a mixture of small barriques and larger demi-muid barrels to minimise oak influence. Beaune Les Sizies 1er Cru

2022

2024

Polished, aromatic and charming, with crystalline sweet fruits delivered in a juicy translucent package. Melting tannins provide a very gentle structure. 35% whole bunch. Invariably one of the earlier drinking cuvees in the cellar and intentionally so. Vinified with just 15% new oak. 35% whole bunch. Beaune Greves 1er Cru

2022

2028

A polished power defines Grèves, with a very fine stoniness, flowers and crisp red berry fruit, as well as some notes of Darjeeling tea and fine plum. This is classy, composed and with a lovely energy to it. Salty freshness on the finish and a lovely brightness to the flavours throughout. Aged in 25% new oak and fermented with 30% whole bunches. From 65-year-old vines planted on soils with more clay than the Domaine’s Beaune Sizies, giving a denser and more impressive wine.

38


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DE MONTILLE, VOLNAY = Red

= White

Volnay, Taillepieds 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

An extremely lifted, floral and elegant Taillepieds, fully whole bunch fermented, but clearly very gently handled. Transparent in style, with plenty of elongated tannic finesse. Intense, yet high toned, with salty red berries over typical Taillepieds minerality. Top notch. Taillepieds has gravelly topsoil over limestone resulting in a tight-grained powerful wine. These are the domaine’s oldest Volnay vines at 80 years old. Pommard Les Pezerolles 1er Cru

2022

2028

A mid weight Pommard fermented with 30% whole bunch, offering spicy hedgerow fruits, a touch of chilli, floral notes, delicate fruit and salt. Pretty and detailed. A wine of lacy line and finesse. Pommard, Les Rugiens du Bas, 1er Cru

2022

2029

It may be psychosomatic but there’s a very real ferrous edge to the aromas of blood orange and wild strawberry that lead to a core of mouthwatering structure and mineral soaked red fruits. The salty intensity on the finish promises much more to come. Serious stuff. Needs time. 65% whole bunch fermentation and aged in 40% new oak. From the iron-rich “Bas” part of the vineyard considered the prime part of Rugiens. The vines are 55 years old. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru

2022

2030

A bright and animated Clos Vougeout built upon velvety tannins and a firm core of polished stones overlayed with bittersweet cherry and plum fruit, plum skins and floral notes. Not heavy at all; indeed this is really quite focussed, with real spark and energy to it. A very classy Clos Vougeot. Aged in 45% new oak and fermented with 30% whole bunches. Vosne-Romanee Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru

2022

2030

A complex, detailed, multi-faceted nose heralds a creamy deep core to the Malconsorts, with typically firm muscular tannins swathed in velvety fruit; deep, long and luxuriant. Power swathed in seductive fruit. Very long. Fermented with around 50% whole bunches in 2022 and aged 45% new oak. Vosne-Romanee Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru “Christianne”

2022

2030

Dark, brooding and structured, but with great poise – a tight weave of steely tannins and dark fruits with floral highlights. This is class – intense and with so much more to give, yet long and composed. Red berry fruit coming though with time. Gripping and rather thrilling. From a very special part of the Malconsorts vineyard, a parcel that is the other side of the road to the main Malconsorts block, surrounded by the original part of La Tâche. Aged in a little more new oak than the classic Malconsorts and fermented with 60% whole bunches.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 39


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

PRUNIER-BONHEUR, MEURSAULT New to our list with the 2022 vintage are the delightful wines of Pascal Prunier Bonheur. Situated in Meursault, though farming vines in St Romaine, Auxey-Duresses, and Monthelie, as well as a small amount of Meursault, Pascal is the 5th generation Prunier to run the domaine. Pascal’s approach involves studiously hands off winemaking with studiously hands on farming; indeed the hands say it all – stained and ingrained with the soils that he works. Old vines are a feature of this 8ha domaine, and it is these, given careful husbandry, which allows Pascal’s wines to so regularly punch so far above their appellations. White wine making involves a light crushing prior to a firm pressing, a short debourbage and a lot of lees going to barrel. Reds are predominantly destemmed, with just 10-30% whole bunch for certain cuvees – – so better to allow the terroir to shine. The results are beautifully unadulterated Burgundies that are both characterful yet also precise, speaking clearly of their sites and the wisdom of old vines.

= Red

= White

Saint-Romain, La Combe Bazin

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Clean and fresh on the nose, citrus leaning and plenty of zesty zip. The palate is tonic, cleansing, salty and zippy, but not hard. A west facing site on poor soils that combines great ripeness with excellent natural acidity. Nutty touches coming through with air. 35-year-old vines. This has some real character! Auxey Duresses, Blanc, Les Crais

2022

2025

Extremely chalky and fresh on the nose, with spicy smoky stony notes that slowly open to reveal layers of tightly wound fruit. Demure and yet intense with it, this is a slow build bottle that is all about poise, drive, cool nuts, smoky chalk and layered length. There are definite shades of the wines from more famous neighbouring village here. An excellent and singular Auxey Duresses vineyard that lies to the west of the village, on the way to St Romain. Despite facing due south, it sits in a cold combe that makes for a terroir that is almost two degrees colder than the village. The 50-60-year-old vines sit on very chalky soils, thus the name Les Crais. Auxey Duresses, Blanc, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2025

A north-east facing vineyard of 70-year-old vines, on soils with more clay in them than found in Les Crais. There’s a corresponding ripeness to the 2022, but it’s still citrus dominated, with an expansive middle that neatens up to a teardrop shaped finish. Lovely harmony and intensity at the end. Smart stuff! Monthelie, Rouge

2022

2026

Pretty red fruited and floral, with a tender structure and flowing tension to the mid palate – smaller, crisper, ripe berries dot the palate with just a touch of salinity giving freshness. From a selection of parcels on clay limestone soils, averaging 45-year-old vines, fermented with 10-15% whole bunch. Auxey-Duresses, Les Duresses, 1er Cru, Rouge

2022

2028

Coming from the oldest vines of the estate, at over 90 years old, this is a serious, powerful and intense bottling full of tightly wound savoury briary fruit and mineral pull and grip. There’s excellent length here, as the wine opens up slowly but surely, flavours being teased from the rocky core. Pascal’s vines move from sandy gravelly soils up to white marls near the steep top of the vineyard. It is a parcel that can give real power, which Pascal handles very gently, so as to achieve the elegance you find in the bottle. Very grown up. Forget about this for a while.

40


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“The season was similar to 2020 but the wines are not the same. I find a bit more exuberance and volume in 2022.” GUILLAUME D’ANGERVILLE DOMAINE MARQUIS D’ANGERVILLE COMPARISONS

41


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

MARQUIS D’ANGERVILLE, VOLNAY Harvest began here on the 23rd August, the same date as in 2003, but that is as far as the comparison goes. For these 2022s, whilst offering a healthy glow and richness, are an altogether more refreshing and elegant proposition, bristling with life and terroir character. Experience built up since 2003 has no doubt made a difference, but the vines have played their part, too. Guillaume d’Angerville is “convinced” that “the vines have adapted and that biodynamics continue to play their part.” Whilst Guillaume concedes that the 2022s are a little richer than the uber precise and concentrated 2020s he also admits that “despite the drought and heat, the wines are surprisingly fresh.” The season was, overall, benign and the fruit was impeccably healthy. As ever the Domaine had no recourse to corrective measures such as acidification or chaptalisation. The wines reflect this, offering relaxed, pure and harmonious profiles. They are polished, charming and don’t lack for energy. An excellent range.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Blanc

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

A jump up in sophistication from the estate’s vivacious Aligote, this is both silky and zesty. Whilst there is a gentle, melting texture and hint of yellow fruit and nut richness, there is a wonderful pin-point lime fruit acidity threading all of the elements together - keeping this fresh and linear in shape. A tiny parcel of Bourgogne Chardonnay within the Volnay commune Meursault Santenots 1er Cru

2022

2026

Sheer class. This finds an extra level of finesse and minerality compared to the Bourgogne. Chalky, tense and lime-orientated. Stylish with a hint of dry extract acting as girder to the fine fine fruit. Composed, persistent and crackling with energy. Bourgogne, Rouge

2022

2025

A fresh, engaging and “digest” Pinot Noir with that touch of d’Angerville class. Demure, red cherry fruits skip nimbly and gently across the palate. A stylish Bourgogne from the Volnay commune, with vines averaging 30 years. Volnay

2022

2027

Whilst there is a certain fruit-driven aromatic here, there is no doubting this is a more serious Pinot than the gentle and engaging Bourgogne. The palate offers wild hedgerow fruits mixed with sapidity and touches of rock salt and alpine herb; there is some backbone and crunch here, giving the wine an impression of freshness and tension. From two plots within Volnay, Les Pluchots and Les Grands Champs, abutting the Premiers Crus vineyards. Volnay, Clos des Angles 1er Cru

2022

2027

This is all Volnay sumptuousness and elan. Radiant with soft and alluring griotte cherry fruit. Ample but lacy with a generous, ripe aromatic fruit profile, this offers charm aplenty. When the chance to purchase vines in this fabulous Clos came up in 2006, Guillaume d’Angerville jumped at it, making it the Domaine’s first vineyard expansion since 1906. The first vintage under its own label was 2008. The vineyard’s soil is deep but there is a gentle slope to ensure good drainage. Volnay, Fremiets 1er Cru

2022

2028

An excellent rendition of Fremiets, which is a vineyard of such distinctive and assured character. Typically one of the more muscled and dense Volnays of the cellar, this is true to type yet demonstrates such precision and detail, too. This gripping edge works beautifully with the natural glow of the 2022 vintage. There is lift, transparency and delicate florals lightening the dense, dark cherry and mineral-flecked fruit. Powerful but harmonious and grounded. This hails from a clay dominated vineyard on the north side of the village, further up the hill from Clos des Angles, and so the soil is less deep here – the resulting wine is more structured and mineral.

42


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

MARQUIS D’ANGERVILLE, VOLNAY = White

Vintage

Drink From

Volnay, Caillerets, 1er Cru

2022

2028

= Red

A stellar Caillerets, one of the very finest we have ever tasted at this estate. It has a ballerina-like beauty. Elongated, elegant and floating, this has an airy, ethereal quality. Silky, jewel-like red fruit pirouettes daintily across the palate. Drop dead gorgeous. Situated on the south side of village, Cailleret’s steep, well exposed slope and poor, stony soil make it one of the finest Crus in the commune. Part of the blend is from vines planted in 1990 another part is from 50-year-old vines bought by Guillaume in 2013. Volnay, Taillepieds 1er Cru

2022

2029

Textbook Taillepieds, on the darker, more serious and mineral side of the Volnay spectrum. Intense and complex, with layers of crushed rock, mineral and dry stone flavours with lifting, floral, dark cherry top notes. A compelling, driven mix of fine fruit, tense minerals and toned muscle. From a parcel in the high, southern part of the village. The slope here is very steep and well exposed, the soil is very white, poor and stony, giving wines that are racy and tightly packed in their youth that reward hugely given time. Volnay, Champans 1er Cru

2022

2029

A little more closed and embryonic than the other wines, but some gentle aeration soon coaxes out that generous, all-consuming Champans character. Expansive, fulsome flavours of sun-ripened strawberries with a hint of sweet juicy blood orange. Enveloping, smooth and gregarious. A big vineyard in the middle of prime Premier Cru Volnay territory on the south side of the village below Taillepieds, well exposed to the south-east. The soil is redder here than higher up the slope. At the top of the vineyard the soil is very rocky but becomes deeper and more clay influenced towards the bottom of the slope, giving some of the most complete Volnays that, despite ageing very well, can be extremely rewarding in youth. Volnay, Clos des Ducs, 1er Cru, Monopole

2022

2023

This is one of the most sensual, silky Clos des Ducs we can remember tasting, whilst retaining that brooding depth and mystery that makes Clos des Ducs so beguiling. Deep dark but fresh fruit, notes of sloe bramble and cherry with a hint of cool earth. Structured, sturdy and profound yet so neatly turned out and polished. The 52 ‘ouvrees’ or 2.15 hectares that this great Clos vineyard spans, measures exactly the same as it did in the early part of the 16th century, its earliest recorded mention. The poor soils and steep, well drained slope of this limestone and Marne vineyard tilts towards the south and south-east. The wines typically boast contrasting elegance and structure. Complex and harmonious, they have a great ageing capacity.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 43


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“I would consider this an easy vintage. The growing season was easy, we had no troubles with mildew and oidium so had to do very few treatments. The only challenge was a lack of water (bar some at the start of July) which meant we had to water the youngest vines. We had two (heat) spikes in early July and early August but never over 40 degrees. Fermentations were easy. Malos happened easily. Everything was done by Mid November!” PAUL KRUG DOMAINE DE LA COMMARAINE

44


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DE LA COMMARAINE, POMMARD Our first appointment on the drizzly Thursday morning of our first week was at Domaine de la Commaraine, where we were met by the smiling pair of Hugues Romagnan, commercial director, and Paul Krug (son of Olivier) who makes the wines. This is one of the most exciting domaines in the Cote d’Or at the moment, with an expanding portfolio of vines and eyes for only the very best. Preferring to de-bud and prune exactingly so as to set an intentional crop early in the season, the team has not had to carry out any green harvesting in recent years. “It was an easy vintage” Paul recalled, “we had only minor troubles with disease, so had to carry out very few treatments. The only challenge, apart from 70mm in June, was a lack of water; we had to water our youngest vines to keep them alive.” Taking the decision to not cut their canopies prior to harvest afforded their vines greater shade from the sun and as a result harvest began on the 3rd September, picking only in the early mornings. New to the portfolio is a plot in St Aubin’s excellent Murgers des Dents de Chien, marking the domaine’s first foray into Chardonnay. The debut is extremely promising, as indeed is the entire range.

= Red

= White

St Aubin, Murgers de Dents de Chien, Domaine de la Commaraine

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Quite a serious, savoury nose. Mineral and then, on the palate, lots of rich yet taut fruit and no shortage of acidity. There’s structure here and depth, with waves of grapefruit-scented, luscious yet energetic fruit, touches of grapefruit and salt, and an impressive amount of bite and extract. Rich, yet rather lovely. An excellent debut. Chambolle Musigny, Les Condemennes, Domaine de la Commaraine

2022

2027

A tiny plot of just .15ha on the Vougeot side of the appellation, just below Charmes. Juicy, fragrant red fruits – plump, fruit forward, with engaging raspberry and cherry fruit – easy, gliding and graced with touches of almond blossom on the finish. Nuits St-Georges, Aux Bousselots 1er Cru, Domaine de la Commaraine

2022

2027

Immediately and recognisably darker than the Chambolle, with cassis fruit and wildflowers, toast, earth and cacao too, but also a more vertical core with fresh mineral notes adding to the elemental feel. Bousselots is a vineyard on the Vosne side of the appellation whose soils tends to produce wines of structure and depth. Nuits St Georges, Les Roncieres, 1er Cru, Domaine de la Commaraine

2022

2028

A steeply sloping stony vineyard on white limestone-dominated soils that tends to produce exceptional, mineral, herb scented Nuits-St-Georges. “There’s something about this vineyard, a feeling you get when you stand amongst the vines,” Hugues reflected philosophically. And the wine, in 2022, bears this out with a wonderful precision of fruit, silky flesh and polished stones. Structurally very fine. Luminous, fluid, elegant and flowing, combining mineral depth with momentum and poise. Pommard, Clos de la Commaraine, Monopole, 1er Cru, Domaine de la Commaraine

2022

2030

“We’re really starting to see the impact of working the different plots separately. We’re refining how we farm each separate plot, from pruning to de-budding, the canopy work we do, how we work the soils and where we use horses,” Paul Krug explained, in reference to a new level of precision that you can feel in the 2022. Vinification takes place on a parcel-by-parcel basis, with the assemblage done at the end of élevage. An exceptionally refined Pommard, this is floral, perfumed and ornate at first, with very precise plum and cherry fruit below. Fine-grained rocks offer up a core of minerality, over which sits tight knit fruit with a haunting wild cherry finish. Textured and also taut, giving more and more the longer it sits in the glass. Wonderful!

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

JOSEPH DROUHIN, BEAUNE An upbeat Veronique Drouhin greeted us to taste the 2022 vintage. “I think both we and the vines have learnt a lot in the recent years. This is actually perhaps the fourth warmest vintage Burgundy has experienced, after 1947, 2003 and 2020, but the wines have real freshness.” Quizzed on who had the easier ride, Veronique was clear: was definitely harder for the growers than for the winemakers. The intense rain in June meant some vineyards were hard to access, which made treating for oidium a challenge. “Then we had heat, rain and heat again. And then of course, not everywhere got rain, so when it came to harvest, the normal routine was out of the window. We had to be in the vines every day, walking the rows, to see when we had true ripeness. In the winery, apart from having to use a sorting table for the whites, which is rare, the winemaking was relatively straight forward. We call the vintage “generous and of quality” – which seems like a fair summation. Both colours seem equally good here in 2022 – an impressive feat given the sheer number of appellations the Drouhin team works with.

= Red

= White

Chablis, Le Clos, Grand Cru, Moulin des Vaudons, Joseph Drouhin

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

Very young but you can feel the density and depth in this Les Clos, a wine that required 12 nights of frost protection by way of Bougies. Almond blossom and blanched almonds, a touch of jasmine too – this feels like quite an ornate Les Clos aromatically, while the palate is sleek, with sweet peachy fruit, touches of roasted nut and salted peach. Minerals on the finish, textured and flowing. Harvest carried out on the 2nd September. Chassagne-Montrachet, Morgeot, 1er Cru, Marquis de Laguiche, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2026

Immediately on the nose you sense that expressive, fleshy fruit that is such a marker of this cuvee. Tangerine, touches of guava, salt, then something more like olive and stones. The palate is quite rich yet also quite gentle, with a flow and weight to it that propels it along the palate. Calm, deep, flowing, with the typical caress of Laguiche Morgeots – more about deep layers than raciness. Long finish. “This is always such a consistent wine, almost from day one in the barrels. We have three blocks, one of which always gets millerandage”, Veronique explained. Picked September 2nd to the 5th. Beaune, Clos des Mouches, Blanc, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2026

Notes of fennel and citrus frame a complex, classy nose, with sweet citrus, pale cream and a gripping limestone note on the palate. Great poise, layers of persistent flavour. Touches of woody herb adding complexity to the mineral citrus notes. This is not a sizzling Mouches, it is lower key, with a slow burn complexity and plenty of calm structure and persistence. Drouhin’s flagship vineyard, half of which is planted Chardonnay and half to Pinot Noir. Situated mid-slope with a fine east and south-east exposure, producing intense, spicy, round wines. Ageing is for 15 months in 25% new oak barrels. Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2027

Very youthful on the nose, with whispered notes of blackcurrant and quince and then that fennel note again. Deep, gripping, full of extract and noble bitter structure. 35% new oak employed here, but of very light and long toasting. Roasted lemon, polished stones, grip, tannin and structure. Backward, savoury and really quite serious – a brooding, structured Corton Charlemagne, picked on 26th August. All domaine fruit from a south-east facing plot called Les Languettes high up on the hill above Aloxe-Corton. Le Montrachet, Grand Cru, Marquis de Laguiche, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2028

What a beauty; a seamless, elongated, relatively discreet Montrachet built from layer upon layer of fine fruit and delicate stones, touches of nut and zesty citrus. It’s not a particularly large-framed rendition, moreover it has this haunting, long, sophisticated persistence that lingers on and on in the mouth. No crystal ball required here; this is pure class. The Laguiche Montrachet parcel comprises five vineyard blocks on the northern, Puligny side bordering Puligny Caillerets. The 2022 was picked between 2nd and 5th September.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

JOSEPH DROUHIN, BEAUNE = Red

= White

Beaune, Clos des Mouches, Rouge, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

Flowers over red and black fruits, sweet silky tannins and some real fruit richness here but also a sense of complexity and sophistication, particularly evident in the subtle and supple tannin framework. Picking took place between August 27th and Sept 5th. Fermented with 25% whole clusters. Drouhin’s flagship vineyard, half of which is planted with Chardonnay and half to Pinot Noir. Situated mid-slope with a fine east and south-east exposure, producing intense, spicy, round wines. Ageing is for 15 months in 25% new oak barrels. Vosne-Romanée, Les Petits Monts, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2029

A dried flower aromatic note betrays the 40% whole cluster that was used to ferment this, though it sits nicely amongst the high toned, animated, bright red fruit that zips across the palate, with great energy and definition. There’s a fine grain to this, both in structure and in the mineral bite that you get from the poor soils of this high Vosne site. A first-class vineyard, high up in Vosne overlooking Richebourg, adjacent to Cros Parantoux and Aux Reignots. The Drouhin parcel sits just above that of Domaine de la Romanée Conti. Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2028

Fine grained, delicate, silky, flowing, fluid and gracious, with lovely deep red fruits, sleek, silky, flowing tannins and a long, ethereal finish. Very Chambolle and living up to Veronique’s commentary on the wine, “a cuvee that is always about the beauty of Chambolle – a wine of a delicate elegance.” A top quality and relatively rare blended Chambolle 1er Cru from six vineyards : Les Borniques, Les Plantes, Les Combottes, Les Groseilles, Les Santiers and Les Noirots. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2030

A very well-situated Domaine-owned parcel of vines located on the north-eastern side, halfway up the vineyard from the route nationale. This wine was unavailable to taste when we were shown the rest of the 2022s. Chambertin, Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2030

This was the first wine with which the Drouhins practiced what they call “vinification integrale”, vinifying in a 500L barrel – originally a question of volume, but now a conscious decision used in a wider range of wines due to the control it gives during vinification and the texture it achieves in the final wines. This was restrained and quite tightly wound on the day we tasted it, air bringing out touches of whole cluster spice and flowers amongst a savoury, briary fruit set – red and brown tones here, touches of autumnal splendour. Long, yet controlled, this has a softly spoken power, with a wonderful texture, and while there are plenty of tannins, they are supple, with edges smoothed. Beautifully composed and very smart. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Amoureuses, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin

2022

2030

2022

2030

2022

2032

This wine was unavailable to taste when we were shown the rest of the 2022s. Grands Echézeaux, Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin

This wine was unavailable to taste when we were shown the rest of the 2022s. Musigny, Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin

Just an infant, with touches of spice amongst the rich creamy fruit. About 30% whole bunch, which freshens up the finish, with complex notes of flowers and dried herbs. At this early juncture this is all about texture, the sleek finesse of Musigny propelling the haunting yet rich flavours across the palate. Lots here but one is going to have to be patient.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

48


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

REMI ROLLIN, PERNAND-VERGELLESES “It was very dry in 2022, and frankly, it was incredible that no vines, - except the youngest –suffered, and we had no blockage. We started on 27th August and were done in ten days. Vinifications were easy. We had a touch of humidity in the growing season, so you had to keep an eye on disease, but overall, it was an easy vintage.” The charming and no-nonsense Remi Rollin was all smiles when we visited, with a fine, generous, even keeled, range of wines in his cellar and a bumper crop to follow. For our part, we loved tasting their supple, energetic, lively reds and bright, charming and surprisingly persistent and driven whites. They look sure to delight and continue to represent some of the best value wines coming out of the region.

= Red

= White

Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Blanc, Remi Rollin

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Crisp clear citrus and salt over fine butter notes; sleek and seamless, with fine balance and very pure fruit. Two thirds is vinified in barrel with the remainder in steel tank. Easy to drink but not without character. A very clear eyed Haut Cotes vinified with no new oak. Pernand-Vergelleses, Blanc, Remi Rollin

2022

2024

Impressive layers of flavour here with a touch more oak, a bit more flesh and more complexity with ripe stone fruit flavours, minerals, a hint of smoke, and browned butter. So much to enjoy! Supple, sleek and generous yet finely crafted too with just the right amount of flesh. Lovely indeed. Vinified with just 10% new oak, from several parcels across the appellation. Pernand-Vergelleses, Sous Frétille, 1er Cru, Remi Rollin

2022

2025

A highly expressive nose, with sweet citrus, sweet smoke and bright salt crystals in high definition. Wonderful tension and gras to the flavours, this has both texture and drive as layers of lovely rippling ripe flavour wash across the palate. Very good! From three parcels within this fine, South-facing vineyard, perched at the top of a small hill adjacent to Corton and with similar white marne soils. One of Burgundy’s lesser-known gems. Corton Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Remi Rollin

2022

2028

Richer, with a good deal more dimension than the Sous Fretille, this is layered, structured and with an ample, mouth filling feel to it. A saline note holds the rich stone fruit and butter flavours, with blanched cashew in the mix too. There’s clearly more power here and it will take more time to show itself, but our guess is that one can expect a commanding, nutty, browned butter beauty with time. Two parcels make up the blend, the vines in Le Charlemagne providing richness and power, those in En Charlemagne giving elegance and minerality. Pernand-Vergelleses, Remi Rollin

2022

2028

Delicate sweet fruits, sleek and charming, with fresh raspberry notes and a very fine texture. Juicy, lively and pretty unputdownable. Pernand-Vergelleses, Ile de Vergelesses, 1er Cru, Remi Rollin

2022

2027

Classy and composed and full of fine sweet berry red fruits. There’s a seam of discreet minerality here, adding to the impression of lively charm. Touches of grapefruit give a dancing feel to the fruit, while vertical tannins provide a sense of control. The south-east facing Ile de Vergelesses 1er Cru is composed of poor, very rocky soils and the resulting wine always has a firm mineral dimension with suave fruit above.

49


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

FOLLIN-ARBELET, ALOXE-CORTON “Tonic and dynamic is how I think of these 2022s” Frank Follin mused in his deep Aloxe cellars, while pouring a genuinely elegant range; wines that run entirely counter to Aloxe’s reputation for rusticity. “The big difference between this vintage and 2020 is the downpour we had at the beginning of July, 70mm, which allowed the vines to ripen easily without becoming excessively concentrated. We were expecting more concentration, but the harvest wasn’t actually that hot. As a result the wines feel juicy. As throughout their élevage, they’ve just become fresher and more precise.” Raised in deep cellars these are habitually some of the more backward wines we taste from barrel, yet in 2022, they’re as open and charming as you could possibly hope for, full of bright tonic energy and dynamism, just like Frank suggests. The Aloxe villages seemed exceptionally noteworthy this year, offering outstanding quality for the price. = Red

= White

Aloxe-Corton

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

A wonderfully clear eyed Aloxe villages that is bursting with energy and a real sense of the limestone terroir that it is grown on. Dark and bright briary fruit, black raspberry, summer pudding all present in this ripe yet precise village cuvée. Hugely satisfying and most impressive. This comes from a parcel of vines planted on chalk and limestone soils that produce atypically round, alluring Aloxe-Cortons. Aloxe-Corton, Clos de Chapitre, 1er Cru

2022

2028

A mouthwatering, saline Clos de Chapitre that hails as ever from the lighter sandier clay and limestone soils of the Clos. Hedgerow fruit, salt and pipe wood flavours are underpinned by crisp beams of fine tannin, with a tension that suggest a modicum of patience will be required for the tightly wound flavours to reveal themselves fully. Le Corton, Grand Cru

2022

2028

Floral, deep red cherry fruited with touches of mineral spice and an elegant sense of velvety volume, depth and dimension. Flowing, charming and utterly lovely. Pure pleasure. This comes from the south facing Le Charlemagne plot, adjacent to Frank’s white Corton Charlemagne plot. The white soils here produce a Corton of great refinement and elegance, making it a bit of a rarity in the world of Corton in that regard. Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru

2022

2026

Lemon butter and toasted nut aromas glide from the glass announcing the Corton Charlemagne, which then similarly glides across the palate; sleek and deep and full of drive. Roasted nut notes bolster layered and structured fruit in this soulful, composed and rather glorious Corton Charlemagne. Since 2016 this is now from a south facing parcel in Le Charlemagne, adjacent to his Corton Pinot vines and the Corton Charlemagne parcels of DRC and Coche. Very different from Follin’s Cortons pre 2016 which came from more Pinot Noir orientated soils.

50


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

51


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

“They don’t have the same freshness as 2021, but they have a very pretty maturity. Perhaps it’s like 2017 with a little more acidity and concentration? Maybe a blend of 2017 and 2019?” NATHALIE TOLLOT TOLLOT-BEAUT

52


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

TOLLOT BEAUT, CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE We began day two at Tollot Beaut and it was a fine start. A self-proclaimed lover of cooler vintages like 2021, Nathalie Tollot was nevertheless very excited about the “jolie maturite” of her 2022s. “We had more rain than in 2020 which made a big difference. The wines have tasted fresh since we barrelled them down”. Pressed on a similar year Nathalie wasn’t the only producer who suggested that her 2022s might end up tasting a bit like the 2017s, with added concentration. For our part we found an impressively nimble, animated vintage at this reliable stalwart of well-priced and supremely enjoyable Burgundy. Those looking for hidden gems would do well to consider Lavieres and Greves in this line-up – both have produced spectacular renditions in 2022.

= White

Vintage

Drink From

Bourgogne, Cote d’Or

2022

2024

= Red

A lovely expressive, fully fruit driven Bourgogne, with succulent dark cherry notes that offer genuine richness for a humble Bourgogne. Plump, polished and generous with black plum and warm spice on the finish. Invariably one of the last plots the Tollot-Beaut team harvests. A large 2ha chunk of these vineyards used to be Chorey-lesBeaune before the appellation lines were redrawn. The vines are old and the yields low, resulting in excellent value Bourgogne. Chorey-Lès-Beaune, La Piece du Chapitre, Monopole

2022

2026

Seemingly keeping a fair bit in reserve, with a leaning to dark spice and earth and savoury tones. At its heart, supple fruit surrounds a core of structure from the old vines. Often the very last plot to be harvested, which might explain the brooding nature of the wine at this early juncture. Piece du Chapitre is a fine Chorey single parcel, a monopole of the estate, that is influenced by the cool Pernand valley. It tends to produce beautifully balanced and fine boned Pinot Noir from 70-year-old vines. Aged in a third new oak. Savigny-Lès-Beaune, Les Lavieres, 1er Cru

2022

2026

Fragrant, sun-kissed red berries, bright and luminous with beams of sunlight flooding the palate – there’s a great energy to this, supple fruit and pretty floral notes. Just lovely. Texture is fine silk and the overall impression is lifted freshness. A extremely pretty Pinot of real class. A proportion of the blend was replanted in 2017 to a selection of Pinot Fin. The soils of Lavières are shallow and sandy resulting in supple, elegant wines that are often very expressive in their youth. Aloxe-Corton-Corton, Fournières, 1er Cru

2022

2027

Tasted after the Lavieres this has a note of wild sauvage rockiness and spiced hedgerow fruit – an autumnal feel, with darker fruits and suave powerful tannins. One to broach after others in this range. The Tollot Beaut’s Fournieres vines average fifty years old, planted on poor stony soils, yield intense but velvety Aloxes. Beaune, Grèves, 1er Cru

2022

2027

One of the great Beaune vineyards, this has cooler dark fruit, with notes of cinnamon and orange peel, great persistence and length. There’s complexity here, as the polished earthy notes rub shoulders with cool berry fruit and rocky minerals. Long and tonic; a serious wine from a magnificent terroir. An emblematic Tollot Beaut wine, a parcel first bought by Nathalie and Paul Tollot’s great, great grandfather. The current vines were planted in 1968. Corton Bressandes, Grand Cru

2022

2030

Often a powerful cuvee, this is all supple, flowing grace in 2022, with a refined structure, deep fruit and plenty of fine layers to unpick. With a velvety structure and plenty of haunting persistence, this purrs with briary fruit, autumnal leaves and polished rocks. Superb. An excellent east facing plot planted in 1950. Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru

2022

2026

Smoky, nutty and broad, though not lacking in energy, this fans out across the palate with notes of stone fruit and lemon tart, before tapering in to a fine salty fine. On the more savoury side, while avoiding any sense of reduction.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

2022 is a very aromatic vintage, not too tannic, with a good balance of acidity, and alcohols that didn’t get too high even if the vintage was very warm.” “

SYLVAIN PABIOT CHÂTEAU DE MARSANNAY

54


CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

CHÂTEAU DE MARSANNAY, MARSANNAY When Sylvain and Stéphane agreed to an 08.30 AM tasting on a Monday morning in October, none of us knew that France would be playing South Africa in the Rugby World Cup the night before. It had been a nail-biting, crushingly close quarter final that finished close to 11pm. We weren’t sure what to expect. A somber mood, a sense of injustice? Not a jot of it. Ever the professionals it was all smiles and warm greetings, samples at the ready. Perhaps it would have been different had they been celebrating a narrow victory? Or perhaps they just knew what a stellar range of wines they had in 2022. It was our very first tasting of the week and it set the tone perfectly. Sylvain explained that the June and July rains proved hugely beneficial for their Marsannay vineyards, providing the vines with enough water to coast through the warm, dry conditions that dominated the end of the season. “The wines are so aromatic.” Sylvain beamed. “They have tannins but they are soft and pliant, they have an easy freshness, and the alcohols didn’t get too high – the wines as a result feel juicy, with fruit, spice and savoury notes.” For our part, I’m not sure we’ve ever tasted such stylish wines at this address: flowing, luminous, site-specific single vineyard Marsannays alongside a quiver of delicious and highly impressive Côte de Nuits 1er and Grand Cru vineyards. = White

Vintage

Drink From

Bourgogne, Cote d’Or

2022

2024

= Red

The vineyards for this hidden gem are the domaine’s lower lying Marsannay vineyards, vines that would otherwise have qualified as AOC Marsannay Rose – thus the Bourgogne Cote d’Or appellation. Entirely destemmed before fermentation, this is a charmingly juicy Bourgogne, with an easy balance and a lush blend of red and black fruits that wash across the palate. Marsannay, Clos de Jeu

2022

2026

A typically floral, bright and red fruited Clos de Jeu that is lithe, caressing and full of aromatic charm. Silky and stylish, with a seductive texture and polished tannins, this comes from a superb parcel, sitting just above the Chateau, planted on poor, hard soils that are rich in limestone. The cuvee is composed of two plots: the older, with 60-yearold vines, is whole bunch fermented, while the younger plot, at 25 years old, is destemmed. Marsannay, Es Chezots

2022

2027

Invariably a serious Marsannay, Es Chezots is a late ripening vineyard in the northern reaches of the appellation. The soils are composed of red marls and tend to produce deep wines with notes of iron and spice. Expressive and aromatic, with orange peel and ripe strawberries over a deep, driving palate that has plenty of intensity and focus. Just 10% whole bunch here. This presents a very complete picture, with well resolved tannins and a pleasing complexity. Marsannay, Clos du Roy

2022

2027

A brilliant Marsannay from an excellent and well-draining vineyard that has a high percentage of old vines, which produces small concentrated bunches. It is a tiny plot of just 0.25ha, fermented with 50% whole bunches. Of the three barrels that were produced, one was new. The quality is clear to see, with an inviting combination of intensity and brightness on the palate, beams of light illuminating the deep fruit and focussed concentration. Embryonic, but showing great promise. Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2026

Compared to the Marsannays this has a much more savoury side to its flavours with briary wild berry notes, cherry, iron and raspberry, with a rich seam of tannin coming through. A juicy, suave start leads to a taut finish that betrays its origins in this bright and animated Gevrey villages. A blend of four parcels near the cooling Gevrey “Combe”, always fermented with a percentage of whole bunches. This yields a fresh, soft touch, full and sensual style of Gevrey.

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CÔTE DE BEAUNE / BURGUNDY 2022

CHÂTEAU DE MARSANNAY, MARSANNAY = Red

= White

Gevrey-Chambertin, Belair, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

A glorious cuvee suffused with fine red fruits, tiny jewel-like berry flavours over complex, savoury forest and woodland herb notes. There’s real complexity here, as arboreal notes and delicate spice play off the red fruits beautifully. With fantastic, even keeled balance, and a sense of refined persistence, this is an exceptionally refined Gevrey 1er cru with aromatic breadth and a romantic core of sweet red fruits. Top drawer. A fabulous Premier Cru situated at the top of the hill just above Ruchottes-Chambertin. Stony soils in a lofty position close to the woods, and an east-south-east exposition yields a racy, fresh elegant style of Gevrey. Vosne Romanee, En Orveaux, 1er Cru

2022

2028

Replete with refined, complex, salt strewn fruit – wild plums, autumn raspberry, a touch of peach too, over finegrained minerals. A supremely sleek, floral, flowing and detailed pinot; very Vosne. Fermented with just a touch of whole bunch, not that you’d know it. Seamless and silky. Classy kit. A high-toned Vosne well situated next to Grands Echezeaux and opposite Musigny. From a parcel of 50-year-old vines. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru

2022

Entirely destemmed, this is spicy, silky, dark fruited and sweetly spiced. Luscious deep fruit drives the mid-palate, complex notes of plum skins, black raspberry and star anise leading to more structure on the finish. There’s plenty here, with its sophisticated Vosne character never far from the surface. Echezeaux, Grand Cru

2022

2031

From the cooler ‘Orveaux’ part of Echezeaux just above Musigny, near the valley mouth, which yields a fresh, rounded and elegant style of Echezeaux. Roumier and Mortet also farm this plot. Ruchottes Chambertin, Grand Cru

2022

2023

Now seeing around 40% whole bunch, and all pigeage by hand, this is an exceptional rendition of this cuvee; so elegant and aromatically uplifting with floral rose notes and great transparency. Fine orange peel, spice, wilted flowers and red fruits dot the palate. Complex, lifted and detailed. Ravishing delicacy and haunting length. Just one barrel produced. A Grand Cru characterised by elegance over power, offering ethereal bright red fruit and mineral character. Planted on thin layers of red marls over shallow gravelly soils. Chambertin, Grand Cru

2022

2023

Tasted directly after the Ruchottes this is handsome, structured and dense with savoury, assertive fruit and a darker, more serious quality of tannin. A totally different beast, it builds to a long, powerful finish and the promise of much more to come. Entirely destemmed. From a tiny parcel of 1000 vines in the cooler part of Chambertin near the forest, making just 300 litres. Part whole-bunch fermented.

56


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CÔTE DE NUITS


CÔTE DEBURGUNDY NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022 2022

“The thing is, when you have a hot vintage, the important thing is to have good yields. The 2020s will be incredible in 50 years, but I won’t be here to enjoy them and there won’t be many bottles left anyway!” FREDERIC MUGNIER DOMAINE J-F MUGNIER

60


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

JACQUES-FREDERIC MUGNIER, CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Mugnier’s 2022s were majestic wines to taste from barrel – full of the promise of profundity in years to come. Having feared over ripeness at the start of August, Freddie was delighted with the light rains that fell before harvest, rains that helped to see the grapes to full maturity and without any hydric stress. Picking eventually started on the 1st September, with green foliage in the vineyards and good yields, of grapes if not of juice. With a characteristic shrug, Freddie remarked that “when you have a hot vintage, the important thing is to have good yields. The 2020s will be incredible in 50 years, but I won’t be able to enjoy them, and there won’t be many bottles left anyway!”

= Red

= White

Nuits-Saint-Georges, Clos de la Marechale 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

Dark Nuits notes with fine red berry highlights – a great combination. This has beautiful minerals at heart, a fine grip and verdant dark berry freshness, vertical tannins and a real sense of satisfying bite and grip. Salty, sappy tension on the finish. Really good, really satisfying with proper structure built from very fine tannins. Virile and atheletic. At 9ha, this is the largest monopole in the Cote d’Or, with an average vine age of 50 years old. One hectare was uprooted and is currently being used as a site for rootstock and clonal trials – over 180 different combinations have been planted, to find those most adapted to our current climate. Based in the Premeaux Prissey commune, where the wines are very structured, Clos de la Marechale is built for ageing. Freddy Mugnier’s skill has been in taming the naturally tannic character of the wines without supressing any vineyard expression.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

“2022 is a vintage that for me, has a sense of balance, due to the yields” GREGORY GOUGES DOMAINE HENRI GOUGES

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

HENRI GOUGES, NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES A huge basket of Gougeres greets you at Gouges, satisfying the pun cravings as well as being a welcome foil to a morning of young Nuits-Saint-Georges (so satisfying the choux bun cravings too). Not that the wines here, or at Chevillon before for that matter, are hard work in 2022. Tasting through the Gouges range you get a sense that this is not merely a good Nuits vintage, but also a real success chez Gouges, where there’s been a noticeable stylistic shift going on in recent years. As Gregory Gouges explained, “We are working with lower levels of sulphur during vinification now, something we first attempted in 2020. It gives different aromatics, more finesse in the tannins, and permits a different, more gentle extraction. As a result we are doing slightly shorter élevage in search of more freshness and approachability.” The results are wines that are more expressive in youth, with a suppleness to their structures, factors that were aided and abetted by the domaine’s average yields of 32hl/ha in 2022. “Our average for the last ten years has been about 25hl/ha” Gregory went on. “2022 is a year that has wonderful balance because of the higher yields”.

= Red

= White

Nuits-Saint-Georges, Henri Gouges

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

A gently structured Nuits that offers up waves of soft skinned fruits and a sensual texture; flowing, charming and with an emphasis on fruit, with mere touches of savoury spice and toasted oak behind. Should be approachable at a relatively early age. A Nuits village which hails from eight plots across the Nuits commune with the south side of Nuits having the most influence on the blend. Nuits-Saint-Georges, Clos des Porrets, 1er Cru, Henri Gouges

2022

2027

A Gouges Monopole that offers up dark fruited freshness alongside floral notes. There’s really quite a lovely aromatic profile here, pretty even, which is not often a word used to describe wines from this part of the Cote. On the palate a more savoury, deep tannic network brings you back to Nuits; a stony core of tannins that builds across the palate, finishing with a gripping stoniness. Deceptive at first, but all Nuits at heart. Nuits-Saint-Georges, Les Pruliers, 1er Cru, Henri Gouges

2022

2027

A silky, suave and sweet fruited Pruliers whose minerality is covered by a wave of creamy plummy fruit that flows stylishly across the palate. Textured, polished, and betraying just a touch of its stony soils at this early stage. A parcel of 50-year-old vines close to Clos des Porrets that, like its neighbour, also produces classic mineral Nuits but with a touch more roundness. The soils are similar although in Pruliers the stone elements are a little more broken down. Nuits-Saint-Georges, Les Vaucrains, 1er Cru, Henri Gouges

2022

2029

Complex with glorious dark briary fruit alongside brighter red fruit highlights. An excellent and inviting nose. The palate, less structured and powerful than some from this vineyard, is a refined and engaging rendition of Vaucrains; full of charm and polished layers of fruit and spice this is pure textural seduction and has real persistence to it. Very good! One of the great vineyards of Nuits, the Gouges old vines parcels in Vaucrains always produce very small berries, making for a very powerful, intense wine. The vineyard is influenced by its red stony clay soils and the cooling effect of the forest. Nuits-Saint-Georges, Les St Georges, 1er Cru, Henri Gouges

2022

2029

Initially quite restrained, with exotic spice notes coming through the fruit and touches of bay like savoury complexity, and once again that suave texture that seems to define the Gouges wines in 2022. On the palate, darker fruits and more polished earth notes than Vaucrains, with complex salt and spice notes amongst the fruit. Clearly a grand wine of layered, polished complexity and dimension, but also a sense of poise and composure. The great vineyard of Nuits, situated mid-slope and with a great balance of clay and limestone soils – many people believe it should be elevated to Grand Cru status.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

“The 2022s are very good. There’s some serious wine here. It’s a really beautiful vintage. There are tannins but they are not aggressive, they melt, and there’s real length in these wines.” BERTRAND CHEVILLON DOMAINE ROBERT CHEVILLON

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

ROBERT CHEVILLON, NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES Our appointment with Bertrand Chevillon was at 9am on a warm Wednesday morning in mid-October. As ever we were met by both Chevillon brothers, who were still lamenting the Rugby, while at the same time smiling about the amount of 2023 they had in the cellar – grapes like “ballons de foot” Bertrand cheerfully recounted with a smile, sport clearly on the mind. They were also, we realised with hindsight, feeling pretty confident about the 2022s - they are an unmitigated success! “We’re really happy with these 2022s.” Bertrand confirmed, while pouring a most impressive and very “Nuits” Bourgogne. “There are some serious wines here. There are tannins, but they are not aggressive, they….melt…and there’s real length in the wines. We have good acids….AND there’s a bit more wine than 2019 and 2020.” This is a range Chevillon followers will not want to miss out on – excellent site definition, Nuits in character with plenty of firm stony notes, but with a freshness and suppleness to the fruit that makes them a joy to taste. They should age beautifully.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne Passetoutgrain

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Bittersweet plum and sour cherry notes in a juicy, crunchy and bright package. There’s no shortage of wine here. An excellent PTG. Bring this a hearty dish of rustic food and life will look good! Bourgogne Rouge

2022

2025

Pure and very upright with structure and a certain density to the dark Nuits flavours. Surprisingly muscular for a mere Bourgogne, with an extended finish and an easy freshness. No shortage of wine here either! A truly lovely Bourgogne that hails from a single parcel in Nuits. Nuits St-Georges Vieilles Vignes

2022

2027

An excellent rendition of Bertrand’s Nuits Villages, with floral, dark berry fruit over fine grained gripping tannins, wild hedgerow notes, light spice and salt. While it has power, what really impresses is extra precision on display this year – smart stuff. From 50 to 60-year-old vines, aged in 15% new oak. Nuits St-Georges, Les Chaignots, 1er Cru

2022

2027

The sweet sashay and Vosne like leanings of Chaignots are on full display this year. Silky, polished and gliding, this is habitually the most elegant and finesse led wine in the cellar and the 2022 is no exception. Elegant fruit and spice with a very fine weave. Lovely length and harmony. Hard not to like. A Nuits Premier Cru vineyard on the Vosne side of the appellation and thus usually one of the silkier and lighter wines of the Chevillon cellar. Nuits St-Georges, Les Bousselots, 1er Cru

2022

2027

Markedly darker in tone than the Chaignots, with a note of black tea and fine earth alongside the muscular fruits. Sultry, deep, rich and brooding. Very Nuits. Like Chaignots this is on the Vosne side of the appellation, but is an entirely different beast hailing from richer soils.” Nuits St-Georges, Les Perrières, 1er Cru

2022

2028

Lovely mineral core here with more red fruits than the Roncières that preceded it. Intense, taut and lively, brim full of energy and dynamic thrust. For all that, there’s perfume amongst the rocks – a chiselled, crisp, focussed and high definition Nuits. From the poor stony soils of Perrières, this is a Nuits that often produces wines in the classic mould, robust, but streamlined and mineral.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

ROBERT CHEVILLON, NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES = Red

= White

Nuits St-Georges, Les Pruliers, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

A wine of chiaroscuro, the light meets the dark as serious, intense flavours are propelled upon a lifted core, power allied to mineral freshness. Across the palate this is sleek and steely, a slighter cousin to Vaucrains perhaps, both sharing a mineral drive with fresh dark fruits and salinity on the finish. This is seriously good, with a long, haunting finish. Not much missing here. Snapping at the heels of the top three vineyards, though sure to be approachable earlier. Nuits St-Georges, Les Cailles, 1er Cru

2022

2029

A wonderfully sophisticated Nuits. Floral notes, sleek red and black fruits, polished rather than gripping minerality, and supple yet firm tannins. An absolute beauty from start to finish. An exemplary, stony vineyard situated mid slope next to Les St Georges, Chevillon’s is a fine parcel of 80-year-old vines, the oldest vines on the estate. Nuits St-Georges, Les Vaucrains, 1er Cru

2022

2030

Markedly more closed and tightly wound than the Les St Georges before, and leaning far more to the darker, more savoury, stony side of the spectrum. It is worth taking a little time with this as the powerful yet velvety structure eventually parts to reveal a poised, refined, ultra-smart Nuits; steely minerals and fruit existing in a state of zen-like balance. Superb. One of the great vineyards of Nuits that often rivals Les St Georges, above which it sits directly, albeit in a more brooding and muscular style. Nuits St-Georges, Les St-Georges, 1er Cru

2022

2030

As ever this offers up an exuberant and slightly hedonistic combination of sweet red fruit, spice and expressive exotic fruit lushness. Fanning out across the palate, the concentration and intensity of the fruit completely engulfs the tannins at this early stage, though you can feel the structure is there. Layered, expressive and wide angled – a multi-dimensional and demonstrative Pinot Noir of real amplitude. The great vineyard of Nuits St Georges, perfectly situated mid slope, that has the potential to be the region’s only Grand Cru.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

SYLVAIN CATHIARD, VOSNE-ROMANÉE Sebastian Cathiard noted that flowering happened at almost exactly the same time in both the Côte de Nuits and the Hautes Côtes in 2022, a rare occurrence and just one more sign of the ever-changing rhythm that Burgundians are experiencing in their growing seasons. When it came to harvest, Sebastian was able to start in the Côte de Nuits on the 2nd September, harvesting for four days, before moving seamlessly up to the Hautes Côtes for a further five. Now vinified in a brand new cuverie at his property in Vosne, Sebastian’s Hautes Côtes wines, which today make up two thirds of his production, are becoming more sophisticated and refined with every passing vintage. “These are the Pinots from Burgundy that I love.” Sebastian commented, referring to his entire 2022 range. “From the very start they tasted good. We had green leaves right up to harvest. My natural potentials ran from 12% to a maximum of 13.6%. There are absolutely no notes of confit and the fruit is more red than black. I’d take this vintage every year if I could.” So too, we suspect, would many others.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne Rouge

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Fragrant and supple with lovely cherry fruit. Impressive fruit depth and a light velvety tannic grip. From vines situated between Vosne and Clos de Vougeot that are between 30 and 60 years old, aged in one-year-old oak barrels. In 2019 a new plot, situated north of Nuits St Georges, was added to the blend. Coteaux Bourguignons, Les Croix Blanches

2022

2025

Creamy, summer pudding fruit, supple skinned berries and easy freshness. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Gamay, situated between Vosne and Nuits, co-planted, picked together and co-fermented. Hautes Cotes de Nuits, Rouge

2022

2025

Just the second vintage of this wine and it is energetic and bright with supple, polished red berry fruits and a touch of plum. A blend of four vineyards in the village of Villers La Faye, above Comblanchien. The vines here are planted on slightly deeper soils with more clay than Sebastian’s other Hautes Côtes cuvees. Hautes Cotes de Nuits, Rouge, Aux Chaumes

2022

2026

A more supple, polished and finer offering than the Bourgogne, yet there remains plenty of suave fruit and a genuine sense of weight and presence for a ‘mere’ Hautes Côtes. A lively fresh, mineral finish rounds things off beautifully. Planted on the plateau on poor limestone soils. The vines are planted north to south. Hautes Cotes de Nuits, Rouge, Les Dames Huguette

2022

2026

A more sophisticated fruit nose defines Les Dames Huguettes, briary polished berries with more than a touch of Cathiard seduction. The most precise and silky of all the Hautes Côtes wines. Long and absolutely lovely. A vineyard situated at the top of a slope above Nuits St Geroges, whose rows are planted east to west, neighbouring Chaumes, with an even greater proportion of limestone in the soils. Nuits St Georges

2022

2027

The natural Nuits structure is offset by cool, demure fruit that gives a sense of freshness. Dark-fruited clarity defines this and, as usual, there’s a sense of finesse to the structure that belies its village. From the north side of Nuits, this generally reveals more than a hint of the style of neighbouring Vosne. Gevrey Chambertin

2022

2027

A polished salty and savoury-fruited Gevrey that’s nevertheless refined and quite sumptuous too. Cool soak fruits provide plenty of padding to the wines natural structure. This hails from a single parcel to the east of Gevrey.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

SYLVAIN CATHIARD, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Vosne-Romanee

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2027

Combining sweet Vosne fruit with a touch of Nuits muscle. The fruit is redder, more floral than the Nuits yet it possesses a more pronounced structure and grip. A Vosne showing distinct “Nuits” traits. Aged in 50% new oak barrels originating from five parcels of vines aged between 30 and 60 years old. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Clos de L’Orme

2022

2028

A beauty: fine grained, floral and floating and long, where finesse meets seduction, a mouthwatering blend of fruit and minerality. Effortless. From 70-year-old vines, that always yield small, concentrated “millerande” berries, situated just below the premier cru Les Plantes. The mother rock is close to the surface here adding a minerality and tension to the wine. Aged in 50% new oak. Nuits St Georges, aux Thorey 1er Cru

2022

2028

Polished briary autumn fruit with wonderful touches of smoke, toast and salt. A core of creamy fruit strung with fine and precise tannins is both caressing and exciting. Very good! A parcel of Nuits vines planted in 1953, situated on the Vosne side of the appellation. Nuits St -Georges, aux Murgers 1er Cru

2022

2029

Refined and sumptuous dark creamy fruit with a natural and inherent freshness to it. Richer yet also lifted, with ultra silky fruit covering a vertical wall of Murgers tannins. There’s more salt, more tension, more muscle than Thorey, but the structure remains extremely suave and sophisticated. Quite simply, wonderful. From the oldest vines on Cathiard’s estate, aged between 70 and 75 years old, Murgers is a vineyard on the Vosne side of Nuits that produces full-flavoured wines similarly silky to those of its neighbouring commune. Vosne-Romanee, En Orveaux 1er Cru

2022

2029

Wonderfully vibrant, salty Vosne full of energy and kinetic motion. Focussed, mineral and dart like – this is a stunner, all fine lines and precision. A first rate but lesser known 70 year-old Vosne vineyard that sits in the cool Combe d’Orveaux on the Chambolle side of the appellation directly above Echezeaux, facing east-north-east. Aged in 50% new oak. Vosne-Romanee Suchots 1er Cru

2022

2029

Riper deeper cherry fruit, still red but lusher and mouthcoating compared to the Orveaux before. There’s a big mouthful of fine tannins here, enveloped by luxuriant fruit – an expansive, hedonistic, large framed Suchots that commands the palate. A lower slope, clay-influenced, 50-year-old vineyard that produces voluptuous, silky Vosnes. Vosne-Romanee Reignots 1er Cru

2022

2029

Complex and creamy with a very different fruit set to Aux Murgers - plums, cherry stones and fine spice with a mineral edge that gives a sense of flex and whip. Super stylish. A cuvee from 20-year-old vines planted on the traditional clay limestone soils of the area but with a sandier topsoil than neighbouring vineyards making it the best drained terroir on Cathiard’s estate. The roots can descend deep below the earth quickly and pick up trace mineral elements. Aged in 60% new oak.

68


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

SYLVAIN CATHIARD, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Vosne-Romanee aux Malconsorts 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2032

Complex fruit of commanding density with a well-covered core of fine structure. This is a big powerful wine, a little introvert in its youth, which demands patience. Grand, vertical and powerful with dark mineral fruit and complex crushed stone notes. Coiled energy, this needs time to unwind but is enormously promising. From well-drained rocky, clay and sand-based soils in the high part of Malconsorts. Less compact and less clay-based soils than Suchots so not as round but with more structure and minerals. One of the top Vosne Premier Cru vineyards situated next door to the Boudots of Nuits St Georges, making wines that show a similar power but with a silky Vosne refinement. The vines are 45 years old. Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru

2022

2032

Less vertical and powerful than Malconsorts, the Romanee St Vivant weaves its way across the palate leaving a trail of complex fine-grained fruits, a sheer weave of tannins and touches of sweet floral nuance. Patience will be required here too, but the sheer energy and motion of the wine is absolutely captivating from barrel. The Cathiard’s own a small plot of just .17ha, positioned at the southern end of the vineyard.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

“I think that this vintage is very good for the market, because 2022 is good, easy to taste, has a good aging potential, and even too young it will be great. but I also think that at Domaine Grivot it is much more serious than most people imagine. It is definitely our style. We dont want to produce wine to give pleasure at any cost. We work with balance, freshness, movement, resonance. I think it will be good for the next 15-20 years, but all these cuvees will be better a bit too young than a bit too old.” ETIENNE GRIVOT DOMAINE JEAN GRIVOT

70


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

JEAN GRIVOT, VOSNE-ROMANÉE Harvest for the Grivots started on the 6th September, quite late for the vintage, yet the wines are beautifully fresh with alcohols that range from 12.7 to 13.4%. As Etienne explained, “for a few years now our vegetative cycle has started about 12 days after others in the region. How you manage the vineyard inoculates against an overly quick maturation of the grapes. For us, the key to great wine is a longer vegetative cycle - the chance to have another lunar cycle is huge. If you are compelled by impulse to start the season early, you finish early. That’s just logic.”. The 2022s here are utterly superb, combining sensual textures with great freshness and layered length with vitality. Whatever they’re doing, whether it’s following the moon, or a more basic intuition, it’s working! A glorious range.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Rouge, Jean Grivot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Supply juicy and front loaded with touches of flowers and spice towards the finish. An open knit, charming and inviting Bourgogne from old vines in the Vosne-Romanee commune. Vosne Romanée, Jean Grivot

2022

2027

Expressive, red fruited and floral, with a flowing Vosne sashay to it and impressive texture, length and depth. Very classy. From 12 different parcels spanning seven lieu dits across the appellation. Chambolle Musigny, La Combe d’Orveaux, Jean Grivot

2022

2027

Floral red fruits, cooler minerals, breezy flowers and a lacy structure. Very translucent and showing off all the beauty of a cool site in a warm vintage. A high up vineyard influenced by the cooling effects of the Combe d’Orveaux. Nuits St Georges, Les Pruliers, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2026

This is gorgeous: sleek, silky and very complete. Polished berry fruit, very fine mineral and saline notes. Fabulously silky and long. An absolute cracker. Les Pruliers, one of the unsung heroes of Nuits St Georges situated on the south side of the appellation, yields classic, complete Nuits that combines power, freshness, richness and minerality. Nuits St Georges, Aux Boudots, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2026

Darker and more masculine than Pruliers but still very sumptuous, brooding and long. Dark, blackened cherry and fragrant verdant notes too. Round, deep, mouth coating and palate staining, yet fresh too. Boudots, well situated next to Vosne Romanee Malconsorts, produces some of the bigger, richer and broader styles of Nuits whilst keeping a silky texture. Vosne Romanée, aux Brulées, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2026

Energetic and red fruited with notes of chalk, graphite and gunflint below. Very fine tannins add to the overall sense of momentum and drive, yet there’s also some real style and sophistication too. Saline lift on the finish. Superb. A south facing terroir one of the warmest in Vosne producing voluptuous fruit-rich wines. Vosne Romanée, Les Beaux Monts, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2026

A touch more reserved here, cool silky small red berry fruit with a real whip and tension to it. Detailed and tightly coiled, with a well of minerality at its core. Cleansing, tonic Vosne. One of the cooler, stonier vineyards of Vosne, producing fine, silky mineral wines. Coming from two parcels in Beaux Monts, roughly half in the Bas section, the rest higher up, neighbouring Cecile Tremblay’s vines.

71


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

JEAN GRIVOT, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Vosne-Romanée, Les Suchots, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

More restrained and saline, surprisingly so for Suchots, with floral red fruits, sweet tannins, a spine of minerals and broad sweet-fleshed fruit on the finish. A very becoming Suchots that has a restrained generosity and a good deal of style. A top-flight Premier Cru where the clay-dominated soils give typically smooth voluptuous Vosne Romanees. Vosne-Romanée, aux Reignots, 1er Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2026

Complex polished and briary, layered red and black fruit, sweet wood spice, great texture and very balanced drive and length. There’s no force here but so much “esprit”, a lifeforce courses through it. So very good. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2030

Kirschy red fruits with mint and almond and white flowers. Another kiss of voluptuous fruit with wonderful tannic finesse and this gliding sensation, with precision and detail all through the finish. A Clos de Vougeot of classic scale, vigour and remarkable freshness. Echézeaux, Grand Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2032

Tightly woven layers of fruit and sweet spice; gosh, you can sense there’s really quite gorgeous fruit here waiting to emerge. Complex, refined, deep with palpable energy and so many easy layers of sensual complexity. Very relaxed with its greatness. Very complete. A spellbinding Echezeaux from two prime plots, les Rouges and Cruots. Richebourg, Grand Cru, Jean Grivot

2022

2034

Combining breadth and levity with great complexity and tension, all the while enshrined in a texture of gossamer fruit with the most ethereal combination of fruit and flower. Incredible length and floating persistence. The most ethereal expression of Richebourg we taste, one of the finest Grands Cru bottlings in Burgundy.

72


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

“2022 is a ripe vintage but with more tension than we were expecting” JEAN-NICOLAS MÉO DOMAINE MÉO-CAMUZET

73


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

MÉO-CAMUZET, VOSNE-ROMANÉE Nacha Navarro, Jean-Nicolas’ cellar master, took us through the 2022s with consummate skill and ease given it was 08.30 on a Monday morning when our scheduled appointment began. Jean-Nicolas was on hand for a quick hello, en route to Paris, and his take was indeed surprise at the freshness and tension on display in 2022. After such a warm growing season, malos went through at pace, with the wines then shutting down in April when they might otherwise have expected them to be open. “We have more complexity and structure than we did in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, so such an early malo is no bad thing. We may just decide to do a longer elevage in 2022 if the wines continue to develop well,” Nacha suggested. The move to a more elegant style continues here, with light toast barrels now accounting for up to 80% of the barriques in the cellar - a shift that is undoubtedly detectable in the wines as individual sites become more clearly marked and a newfound sense of elegance pervades the wines. Harvest started Monday 29th August and lasted for 9 days. A highly successful range.

= Red

= White

Hautes Côtes de Nuits, Blanc, Clos Philibert, Méo Camuzet

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Creamy limey and racy on entry, then smooth textured with zippy acidity and a touch of blanched almond over caressing stone fruit and peach kernel. Habitually one of the last vineyards to be harvested. A well-placed Clos of poor soils sitting in the hills above Echezeaux, facing east-south-east. Fermented in barrel and then aged in a mixture of barrel and steel tank. Bourgogne, Côte d’Or, Rouge, Cuvee Etienne Camuzet, Méo Camuzet

2022

2025

Bittersweet cherry and plum notes are delivered with an easy sense of balance, fresh crisp acidity and touches of creamier fruit and salt through the mid palate. A fine grained and beautifully balanced Bourgogne. There has been no new oak on this since the 2020 vintage. From vines located between Nuits and Vougeot. Fixin, Méo Camuzet Freres et Soeur

2022

2025

A stony, red fruited, lightly spiced Fixin with a certain robustness to the tannins. Earth and spice over crisp red fruits. Vosne Romanée, Méo Camuzet

2022

2027

A wine of lovely, controlled sweetness, ripe tannins swathed in fruit with touches of mineral pluck on the finish. Elegant and elongated. “We treat this wine like a premier cru,” Nacha commented. It shows. A blend of two parcels, 80% Les Barreaux (a high, limestone terroir, nested next to and above Cros Parantoux, Richbourg and Brulees) and 20% Aux Communes (more clay and limestone) with vines up to 50 years old. Ageing is in 50% new oak barriques. Chambolle Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er Cru, Méo Camuzet Freres et Soeur

2022

2028

Tightly wound at first, then blossoming with a floral, red fruited, salty tang on palate. Fine gripping structure here, exposed beams of tannin interspersed with crisply cut notes of fresh hedgerow fruit, wild red berries, orange peel and salt. Very enlivening. Very Chambolle. The blend for the Méo Camuzet Fuesselottes now includes fruit from an additional plot (les Grandes Mures), as of 2020, and this appears to have altered the style of the wine significantly. Vosne Romanée, Les Chaumes, Méo Camuzet

2022

2027

More closed on the nose than the Villages, yet as it hits the palate an expanse of sweet fruit reveals notes of plum and sweet cherry. There’s more tannic presence than the Villages yet they remain supple, tender and gourmande. A blend of two parcels that sit at opposite sides of the vineyard – vinified and aged separately before being blended prior to bottling.

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CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

MÉO-CAMUZET, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Nuits St Georges, aux Murgers, 1er Cru, Méo Camuzet

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

Blending dark and red fruits seamlessly over a grand yet fine and supple tannic structure, with mouthwatering salinity on the finish. A real sense of energy pervades this, with complex dark fruit notes and a sense of harmony and decisiveness to it all. Very good. A vineyard on the northern (Vosne) side of the Nuits appellation that yields similarly silky wines to that of its neighbour. The vines were planted in 1965 and 1972 so produce intense concentrated wines that need plenty of élevage in new oak barriques and then bottle age to reveal their complexity. Aged in 50% new oak barrels and entirely destemmed. Nuits St Georges, aux Boudots, 1er Cru, Méo Camuzet

2022

2028

A denser, more concentrated and more voluptuous offering than the Murgers, with sweeter dark fruits across the palate, notes of spice and date and supple luscious fruit. Seductive and glossy with touches of milk chocolate amongst the sweet cherry fruit. Hailing from vines planted in the 1950s and 1960s, Boudots can be found on the Vosne side of the Nuits appellation, next door to Malconsorts, yielding very silky and expressive wines of considerable breadth and force. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Méo Camuzet

2023

2030

Calm, sleek and long, this is not especially demonstrative or expressive in barrel, rather it purrs and slides across the palate leaving a trail of salt, deep fruit, polished earth and sweet spice long on the palate. Persistent. As much about texture and feeling as aromatic expression and perhaps something of a ‘vin de meditation’ in that regard. Méo Camuzet has brilliantly situated vines in Clos de Vougeot, one big parcel is just in front of the Château at the north-west end of the vineyard (pres du cellier) the other Grand Monpertuis. A third of the vines were planted in the 1920s, a third 1960s and the rest replanted 20-30 years ago. The wine can withstand a large proportion of new oak during its élevage in barriques, which in this case is 85%. Corton, Clos Rognets, Grand Cru, Méo-Camuzet

2022

2030

Crunchy deep purple and red fruits launch across the palate with gripping structure and impressive intensity. There’s plenty of raw energy here. All potential. A .4ha parcel situated in Ladoix Serrigny that tends to produce an explosive, energetic Corton. Vosne Romanée, Aux Brulées, 1er Cru, Méo Camuzet

2022

2028

Oh the sweet silk of Vosne after the punch and impact of the Corton Rognets; this slides and glides, with seriously sophisticated tannins, fine sweet fruit and a wonderful delicate intensity to this. Effortlessly blending minerality and salinity over fine sweet fruit this is simply superb. Méo-Camuzet own a 0.7 ha plot on the Richebourg side of the vineyard that always produces wines of a certain full richness. Vosne Romanée, Cros Parantoux, 1er Cru, Méo Camuzet

2022

2030

An irresistible Cros Parantoux, a force of nature, full of the force of life, all dancing flavours and energy with a nimble fleet footed minerality yet also a deep fruited, concentrated and powerful core. Red fruits and floral notes appear with air and while you can tell this is going to take some time to show all its cards, the early signs are a mouthwatering prospect. A mythical .29ha parcel with just two owners, made famous by the legend that was Henri Jayer. The wines of Cros Parantoux, hailing from poor, hard rocky soils, are some of the most mineral in VosneRomanee. Richebourg, Grand Cru, Méo Camuzet

2022

2030

Exceptionally floral, with myriad fresh rose notes that marry with red fruits to create a compelling, inviting aromatic profile. Very sophisticated structurally, with a deep mineral element that comes from a high limestone concentration in the soil. Seamless yet powerful tannins give this a sense of lift and stretch, which add to the layered multidimensional fruit on display. High toned, graceful and salty on the finish. A wine of absolutely completeness. A 0.4 ha parcel, abutting the domaine’s Cros Parantoux parcel, that tends to give more acidity than other Richebourgs. Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 75


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DU COMTE LIGER-BELAIR, VOSNE-ROMANÉE 2022 is an exciting vintage for Louis-Michel Liger-Belair as it sees the return to the fold of Malconsorts after an 89 year absence, not to mention the addition of parcels in Suchots, Grands Echezeaux, Croix Rameau, Clos de Vougeot and Echezeaux - all coming from Domaine Lamarche. These hotly-anticipated new comers aside, 2022 is a thrilling vintage in its own right; these make for some of the very finest wines we have tasted from barrel at the domaine. Louis-Michel considers 2022 to be a very benign season that presented little in the way of challenge. Qualifying this, he says “Everyone knows how to play the hot vintages. High canopy for shade, rigorous sorting, picking date” - essentially business as usual. Harvest here, incidentally, was 30th August. If there has been a little adaptation it has been racking many of the wines earlier than usual, a process he wishes to have completed before getting too deeply into the cold of winter, “in order to capture their beautiful, expressive fruit.” Indeed these wines strike a glorious balance of finesse and energy - they are stylish but animated, each resonating with its own clear terroir identity.

= Red

= White

Nuits St Georges, Blanc, Clos des Grandes Vignes, Comte Liger Belair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

Tasted just before bottling, for which it feels perfectly ready - this is open and generous aromatically and the flavours are equally in full flow on the palate. Seamless, full but fresh flavours of yellow fruits, greengage and nut with a touch of creaminess, sewn together beautifully by a fine thread of acidity. A fabulous parcel of Nuits in the PremeauxPrissey commune bought by Louis-Michel in 2012. The white, of which rarely more than four barrels are made, comes from the lower part of the Clos and this is the one wine in his cellar that only gets a quarter new oak rather than the usual 100%. Nuits St Georges, Les Lavières, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2027

Clearly more Nuits in style than the estate’s other villages, this has grip and a toned muscle, though not without a certain allure. Dark hedgerow fruits of bullace and bramble dominate. Fluid, broad but edgy. Ripe dark fruit but animated and with crunch. A Nuits that comes from the Vosne side of the appellation and it shows in the silky, round shape of the wine. A tiny amount of wine is made from this small parcel of 75-year-old vines, never more than two barrels. Vosne Romanée, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2027

A classic, silky and voluptuous Vosne of breadth and charm. Soft, enveloping damson and sloe fruit caress and envelop the palate. A blend of 11 different parcels situated in the north, west and south of the appellation at varying high and low altitudes. The vines range between 40-60 years old and are planted on a mixture of clay and limestone soils. Vosne Romanée, La Colombière, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2027

Fleshier and deeper than the softer Vosne but equally generous. Expressive, sweet Victoria plum fruit with a tinge of loganberry and touches of cool earth. Hearty and velvet-textured. From a clay dominated Vosne vineyard in the lower part of the appellation planted with vines aged between 70-90 years old. Vosne Romanée, Clos du Château, Monopole, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair 2022

2027

There is no mistaking this as Clos du Chateau with its tell-tale, inviting perfume of rose petals and red berries. Silky, caressing strawberry fruit mingled with some warming sweet spice notes. Delicate and stylish with a touch of hedonism to it. Vosne at its seductive best. A Monopole of the domaine whose slope and higher limestone content differs from its slightly flatter clay-dominated neighbour, La Colombiere. The wines are less powerful but more elegant as a result. Nuits St Georges, Aux Cras, 1er Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2028

A Vosne-like Nuits. Nuits in its drive and animation, Vosne in style and texture. Mineral dark fruits drive smoothly across the palate - notes of bullace, morello cherry and crushed stone, wrapped in a cloak of encompassing, velvety tannins. There is toned muscle to the fruit and a well-harnessed energy giving spark to the finish. A fine mid-slope Nuits vineyard on the northern Vosne side of the commune, planted with 75-year-old vines on very poor shallow, stony soils. 76


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DU COMTE LIGER-BELAIR, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Vosne Romanée, Suchots, 1er Cru, Domaine Comte Liger Belair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2028

Next door to Echezeaux and now with the former Lamarche parcel of Grands Suchots blended in, this is an exquisitely well balanced Suchots. The new plot, further up the hill and with a higher additional limestone content, has brought an extra tension and minerality to the typically sumptuous, round and full Suchots flavours of red berry and griotte. Nuits St Georges, Clos des Grandes Vignes 1er Cru Comte Liger Belair

2022

2028

Broad-shouldered fleshy dark hedgerow fruits characterise this wine. Bold and fulsome, but neatly-attired and polished too. As impactful and voluminous as this is, it is also impeccably detailed and silky. A fabulous parcel of Nuits in the Premeaux-Prissey commune bought by Louis-Michel in 2012. The red all comes from the highest part of this Monopole vineyard. Vosne Romanée, La Croix Rameau, 1er Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2028

A fantastic hidden gem of a vineyard, this small parcel of Premier Cru is tucked away in the corner of Romanée St Vivant. Discrete and fine grained, this offers excellent tension and poise. The palate is flecked with bright, mineral flavours of damson, cherry and cherry stone that haunt and linger on the stylish finish. Vosne Romanée, Aux Malconsorts, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2030

New to the fold since Louis-Michel Liger-Belair took on some of the Lamarche vineyards, this cuvee emanates from two plots, one from the bottom and one from the top of the vineyard on the south side. A typically brooding and more tight-wound Vosne than the others. Hallmark Malconsorts flavours of muscled dark fruit, earth and spice. A wine of depth and force that will need time to reveal its potential. Vosne Romanée, Petits Monts 1er Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2029

An absolutely thrilling Vosne of crystalline, pristine fruit. So animated and gleaming with transparent, tense cherry and wild damson characteristics. The feel is suave and fluid, yet there is tempo and brilliance shining through the ripe, delicate fruit and mineral flavours. A live wire. A stunning Vosne vineyard, high up on a steep slope with very poor limestone-influenced soils. Vosne Romanée, aux Reignots, 1er Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2030

Extraordinary, the most stylish and complete Vosne we have tasted. Pure harmony, this is stylish, silken and seamless yet does not lack for vibrancy. Poised, airy and elegant yet with plenty of “cher” and mid palate depth. Entrancing aromas of rose hip and peony, overlaying ripe wild berry, mineral and crushed stone characteristics. Simply breathtaking. The parcel is bordered on the east by the wall of La Romanée and climbs to more than 200 metres on the hill. The Domaine’s vines represent close to half of this Premier Cru and it is the only parcel that includes all the different types of soil going from the bottom to the top of the appellation. The soils here are not deep, rarely more than 20 to 25cm of earth lying on heavily fissured limestone. These fissures permit the roots to travel for more than 10 metres of depth in order to seek both water and nutritive elements. Echézeaux, Grand Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2030

Louis-Michel is a master of Echezeaux, harnessing and tempering the vineyard’s natural hedonism. The 2022 is a prime example, tightly-coiled and tense and its core, a hint of savoury stone counter-balanced the sweet red cherry and strawberry fruit. Polished, suave and harmoniously composed - the finish is epically long and haunting. A blend of parcels in Cruots/Vigne Blanche and Champs Traversins that average 65 years old and now also includes the Clos St Denis plot that was originally farmed by Lamarche.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 77


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DU COMTE LIGER-BELAIR, VOSNE-ROMANÉE = Red

= White

Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2030

Plummy, floral and velvety, this is a Clos de Vougeot of scale and depth yet, equally, is measured and even-keeled. A wave of bramble, blueberry and dark plum rolls across the palate and builds into an expansive and energetic finish. From an organically farmed vineyard of fifty-year-old vines. Grands Echézeaux, Grand Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2030

Ethereal, red, mineral fruit, girdered with a steely backbone. Tightly-coiled but waiting to spring into life, this is a really tense and edgy Grands Echezeaux, offering lots of grip and energy, building momentum as it drives and expands across the palate. Crunchy notes of black cherry, a crystalline alpine touch and notes of wild herb and forest floor. Complex, lively and assured. La Romanée, Grand Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger Belair

2022

2034

One of the most downright seductive young La Romanées we can remember tasting. Whilst this is very flattering already, there is plenty of typical La Romanee depth, structure and mystery - this is as serious and sophisticated as you’d expect but so arresting for its sheer elegance and beauty. A complex array of hedgerow fruit, bullace, plum, fresh violets and cool earth flavours float hauntingly across the palate through to a mile-long finish. Unforgettable. A hallowed 0.84ha Monopole, this is the jewel in the crown of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair. The soil structure is complex, a mix of marl and red and yellow gravel over clay, silt and limestone. Unusually the vines, that average fifty years old, are planted on a north-south axis, protecting them from sunburn.

78


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

GEORGES ROUMIER, CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 2022 reminds Christophe Roumier of the 2017s but with a bit more force. “They have the prettiness of 2017, but with a bit more power. I’m happy, the vintage gives me what I want from the vineyards; the wines really respect their origins. It was a year with lots of hot and dry weather yet the wines simply aren’t solaire in style - they have more delicacy than that.” These are, as you might imagine, gorgeous wines in 2022. Intense, complex and weightless at the top end, sumptuous yet nimble and fresh in the village and 1er Cru wines – each and every one profound in its own way.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Rouge, Georges Roumier

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Sumptuous and bright with cherry, almond blossom, fine orange – this has the most lovely brilliance clarity and energy. A seriously pretty Bourgogne. Chambolle-Musigny, Georges Roumier

2022

2027

Silky, suave and flowing with bright florals and fine red fruits. Fermented with an almost invisible 50% whole bunch, this is luminous, seductive and gorgeous. A wave of pure Chambolle fruit. Morey-Saint-Denis, Clos de la Bussière, 1er Cru, Georges Roumier

2022

2028

Very Bussière in that this marks a real contrast to the Chambolle, with darker fruit and some polished earthy notes, but there’s also an elegance and flow to it. There’s suave seduction here. Sumptuous and caressing; one of the most refined in recent years. Plenty of old vines here from ‘55, ’65 and ‘67 and then a parcel planted between ’84 and ‘94. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Cras, 1er Cru, Georges Roumier

2022

2029

This has the elegant floral lift of more whole bunch. A lacy structure, this is not about density yet maintains great intensity and this haunting high-toned length. All red fruits and firm minerals around a rocky core. A wine of restless kinetic energy. Gorgeous. Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru, Georges Roumier

2022

2029

Still very wrapped up in itself, with a core of stones and rich earth, this is all about texture and very suave tannins that have the cool spice and earth scented fruit wrapped up like a ball, waiting to unravel. A long finish promises much to come. The vines all sit within the Chambolle commune on the border of Morey next to the vines of Bruno Clair. The plots are planted on the white marne soils (55%) which dominate and influence the style of the final blend more than the 45% on redder soils. Two parcels planted on marne blanche soils were added in 2016, amounting to 0.5ha, which means this cuvée has become even finer. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Amoureuses, 1er Cru, Georges Roumier

2022

2032

This is just one of those wines that makes you sigh. A discrete, whole bunch scented nose, one you wish you could spend more time with, then this breeze of floating, lacy, red berry and peach scented fruit, with an ultra-fine tannic line and a long flowing tail that haunts the finish. The term lifted concentration springs to mind. A salty, delicate, floating intensity that goes on for an unbelievably long time. Fermented with 80% whole bunches. Musigny, Grand Cru, Georges Roumier

2022

2033

For the first time since 1999 there are two full barrels of Musigny this year. Compared to the Amoreuses tasted just before, this has a touch more grip and verticality, a core of tannin and tension that holds it upright as the complex aromas coalesce in the glass – floral notes, red fruits, blood orange, tea and mountain herbs. You can feel the energy and minerality at the core of this intense Musigny – one will just have to be patient as it all unwinds. Entirely fermented with whole bunches.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 79


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

GHISLAINE BARTHOD, CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Ghislaine couldn’t quite remember if it was the 27th or 28th that they started harvest in Chambolle, not that it really matters, though she did point out that contrary to the past, they now find the ‘usual’ harvesting order no longer applies. A full two weeks were spent picking in 2022. “The first impression is that we are surprised by the freshness in 2022. The rains helped, as did the volumes. It’s a very seductive vintage, with great balance” Ghislaine beamed, continuing “maybe we can compare it to 2012, with this sensual character, though our 2012s were more closed at this point”. Regardless of comparisons, we found plenty to love here - crystalline ripeness, great vineyard definition, plenty of Chambolle lift and charm and beautifully supple, rewarding textures.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Rouge, Ghislaine Barthod

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

Lovely high-definition crystalline fruits here, all red and bright and crisp and with a light dusting of salt on the finish. Wonderfully translucent and clear eyed. From vines in the Chambolle commune aged in used oak barrel. Chambolle-Musigny, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2026

Heady floral notes play off deeper cherry fruit notes, with waves of seductive, supple fruit through the mid palate. Ample, bright, red fruited and brimming with charm. Chambolle vinified. The result of a blend of 13 parcels aged entirely in used oak barriques. Chambolle-Musigny, Gruenchers, 1er Cru, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2027

A wonderfully expressive Chambolle, charming floral notes and beautiful red berry perfume, pure harmony and equilibrium, with touches of sweet citrus that electrify this clear, long, weightless Pinot. Very tonic, very balanced. Very good. A vineyard with relatively poor soils, situated just below Fuées. The vines are now 60 years old. Ghislaine was fortunate enough to buy this vineyard from Pousse d’Or in 2009. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Cras, 1er Cru, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2027

A surprisingly up front and charming Cras, dark cherry aromas with a touch of blackcurrant leaf; silky composed and grown up, with fine tannins, great depth and freshness, a calm poise and a sense of dimension to it. Gloriously textured throughout, with a driving finish and plenty of persistence. One of Barthod’s higher Chambolle vineyard parcels where the soil is very white and stony, strongly influenced by chalk and limestone, this is naturally very fresh, lifting and mineral, if often a little reserved in its youth. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Véroilles, 1er Cru, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2027

Freshness, energy and salty red fruits come together in this dart of a wine - focussed, driving, and mineral, with taut concentration and freshness. Blood orange, wild strawberry and salt. Lovely, transparent and bright eyed, with wonderful energy. This is one of Chambolle’s higher Crus sitting adjacent to Bonnes-Mares. It also has denser soils than its neighbouring Chambolle vineyards, often producing very intense, mineral but powerful and compact wines, rather like Bonnes Mares in style. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Fuées, 1er Cru, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2028

Darker fruit dominate Fuees, with a firmer spine of mineral and structure than anything before. Complex, cool dark fruit over a rocky core. Torque and tension give a vertical feel to the structure. For all that it is very fine, very long. Top stuff. One of Chambolle’s highest Premier Crus vineyards, Ghislaine’s parcel is over 75 years old and planted to rocky soils with a high iron content which produces intense, deeply complex and very refined wines. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Charmes, 1er Cru, Ghislaine Barthod

2022

2028

Ripe, sultry, seductive, texturally ravishing, very flattering, sleek and sumptuous, with floral notes and deep red cherry and black raspberry notes. A lick of sapidity on the finish gives shape to this luminous, rich, sun kissed Chambolle. Highly alluring. Charmes is very distinct from the Cras, Veroilles or Fuées in being one of the lower Chambolle vineyards. One of the earliest of Barthod’s vineyard parcels to ripen, its wines are always very flamboyant and full. 80


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

“When the wines are balanced like they are in 2022, they are easy to love.” CHRISTOPHE PERROT-MINOT

81


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE PERROT-MINOT, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS Christophe Perrot Minot’s range of 2022s are drop dead gorgeous. But not only are they gorgeous, they are intellectually stimulating too, with one or two of the cuvees suggesting true greatness in years to come. “I really don’t think this vintage is too imprinted by the sunshine,” Christophe intoned, and indeed he is right. Blessed with extraordinary holdings of old vines and a truly meticulous attention to detail, Perrot-Minot has been crafting increasingly impressive wines in recent years. These 2022s seem to crown his ascent, offering up seductive textures, bright and detailed flavours, haunting length and lifted structures. Using an optical sorting machine for all the destemmed fruit, Christophe believes this gives him the ability to remove any signs of heat stress in a vintage such as 2022: “anything even slightly shrivelled is eliminated. Only the very roundest, smoothest skinned grapes are fermented – which makes a big difference to the purity of flavours”. In 2022, the harvest date was essentially a question of going as early as possible – “I would prefer to chaptalise a tiny bit to bring the wines up to 13%, to give more complexity and consistency by prolonging the fermentations, than wait and lose freshness”. Whatever decisions Christophe took, they’ve paid off. These are wines that are very easy to love, managing to delight the senses as much as they stimulate the imagination. This looks set to be one of the ranges of the vintage. = Red

= White

Morey-Saint-Denis

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2027

Sumptuous cherry fruit with floral aromatic notes. A beckoning nose that mirrors the generosity and sweet supple texture of the palate; silky gliding fruit, plenty of sashay and style to this sumptuous and bright Morey-Saint-Denis. It’s going to be hard not to love this. From three parcels within the En La Rue de Vergy vineyard that sits above Clos de Tart, a vineyard which tends to reflect the generous fruity side of Morey-Saint-Denis. Vosne Romanee

2022

2027

More floral than the Morey with lifted, very fine red fruits and a crisp, floating intensity to the fruit. A fine and yet present structure sits at the core of this, while fantastic energy and momentum keep it oh so lively. Haunting and gorgeous. Vosne Romanee, Les Champs Perdrix, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2027

Aromatic flowers and purple fruits, violets and sweet plums, a seductive, sweet fruited Champs Perdrix, all flowing allure and silky tannins at first, then, as sweet red fruits flood the finish, you find freshening notes of salt and fine stones too. Polished, yet not without structure, this is full of energy, animation and expression; a restless river of fine seduction. Chambolle-Musigny

2022

2027

Quite a serious, red fruit and stone dominated nose demands a little time of the taster – and then on the palate the habitual play between the vineyards with an almost dual textured feel, one rocky and full of tension, the other seductive texture and rich and sumptuous. Irresistible, sensual, charming and tactile, with a luminous quality throughout. A very serious ‘villages’ made up of 40% premier cru fruit from Orveaux. As usual this contains fruit from a wonderful villages parcel of 100-year-old vines situated near the Bussiere of Morey (60%) and also includes Perrot-Minot’s famed 1er Cru Combe d’Orveau cuvee (40%). Gevrey-Chambertin

2022

2027

A sumptuous yet fresh villages awash with ripe salty fruit that charges around the palate. Wild red strawberry, darker spice notes, Victoria plum and genuine sophistication of tannin. A smart Gevrey village of dynamic animation and tension. From two parcels of Gevrey villages one on the south side of the appellation (Seuvree) and one in the north (the famous La Justice). Morey-Saint-Denis, La Riotte, 1er Cru, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2027

Lovely fine cherry fruit nose, floral notes with a fine seam of gripping structure that threads across the palate. Salty, nervy, lifted – with a core of tightly wound fruit that looks set to emerge in time. Red cherry, aniseed, fine spice, almond blossom. Intense, mineral, and tight knit – this needs some time, but should be a wonderfully rocky, pretty wine in time. Builds slowly to a very persistent finish. Very good. Always one of the most tightly-wound and strict wines in Perrot-Minot’s cellar. 82


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE PERROT-MINOT, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS = Red

Vintage

= White

Nuits-Saint-Georges, La Richemone, 1er Cru, Cuvee Ultra, Vignes Centenaires 2022

Drink From

2030

Strap in, this is serious, complex and sophisticated, with mineral strewn aromas that immediately grab the attention, running seamlessly from fruit to more savoury notes. There’s so much to get lost in, layers and waves of fruit and fine tannin produce a sense of depth and intensity that stops well short of being muscular – rather this is all about motion, layering and complex briary fruits that effortlessly cross the colour spectrum. Very smart stuff, about as good and serious as Nuits-Saint-Georges gets. A legendary cuvee that hails from a tiny, fine parcel of 0.5ha, bordering Vosne that was planted in 1902. Only a small quantity is bottled up as the Cuvee Ultra, the vast majority is blended into the Nuits Villages Cuvee. Chambolle-Musigny, La Combe d’Orveau, Cuvee Ultra, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2030

Here the register is more red fruited, but also there’s more of a focussed character on the palate compared to Richemone Ultra; the Combe d’Orveaux is upper register, with fine minerals, fine flowers and a sense of this high toned ethereal intensity – power with very little weight – floating across the palate with a sense of grace and levity. This is dancing, all delight. Salty to finish. Very impressive. What a brace this would make with Richemone Ultra! Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru

2022

2032

Rather more closed on the nose, needing a little coaxing, which is no bad thing, then releasing across the palate with lustrous layers of spicy floral delicate fruit. A supple, feminine Grand Cru, glowing with charm as rose petal and fine fruit flavours deliver an image of classy allure. From a fine parcel of 90-year-old vines that produces tiny “millerande” berries year in year out. Charmes Chambertin, Du Dessus, Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2032

Expressive, flowing, translucent, glowing with peachy red fruit and haunting ethereal flavours that include orange peel and autumn raspberry. Utterly glorious, combining elegance and concentration, this is intense, light on its feet and joyous. A wine of luxuriant finesse and great beauty. Christophe Perrot-Minot has a stunning parcel of old vines in the prime haut part of Charmes, opposite Rousseau’s Chambertin. There is much less clay here than further down the slope, which gives a very refined wine. Mazoyeres Chambertin, Grand Cru, Vieilles Vignes

2022

2032

Broad and dark fruited, with a sense of creamy fruit across the mid-palate yet also a pique of acidity and energy at its core. Dark plums and damson fruits combine with touches of spice and sweet earth to produce a sultry, complex Mazoyeres, with the lift of blood orange and spice on the finish. Deep and seductive. A parcel of 60 year-old vines from the prime haut part of the Mazoyeres vineyard opposite Combottes and Latricières-Chambertin, close to Christophe’s Charmes but so different in profile with much deeper soils, giving bigger, richer wines. Chambertin, Grand Cru

2022

2032

“This, this is quite concentrated” Christophe smiled, and so it is, with handsome Chambertin flavours that offer up as much fruit as they do salt and pipe wood and aromatic apple wood stores. The tannins are pronounced but so sleek they grip the palate like a Ferrari grips the road, a display of persistence and intent that purrs with power, yet also appears swathed in cashmere and leather goods. Sophisticated intent here – very deep and layered. And long! Chambertin, Clos de Beze Grand Cru

2022

2032

Perhaps a notch more aromatic than the Chambertin, Christophe’s Beze has a wonderful floral note accompanying the layered mineral fruit – lithe, lifted, full of energy. Floral, dried roses, complex notes that are definitely not all fruit, captivating the senses. Where the Chambertin took you on a drive into the woods, this leads you on a walk through a wildflower meadow. Such elegant sophistication here, less powerful and deep, more about poise and effortless impact.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 83


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

ROBERT GROFFIER, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS Nicolas Groffier has produced a brilliant range of 2022s, wines that are extremely expressive while possessing all of the Groffier energy we’ve come to expect. This is Pinot as viewed through a crystalline kaleidoscope – all fragrant profiles, fine structures and crisp minerality. Discussing their vinification, Nicolas noted that “The dry weather in 2022 meant we had to be very careful in our extractions. During vinification we had to be careful with our pigeage, extracting gently – the skins were beautiful so we did more infusion than normal, avoiding taking anything green from the pips. The wines are open like in 2017 but there’s more persistence. The fruit is clear, we don’t have big tannins, they are very fine, and the wines are easy to understand at this early stage”. The big news chez Groffier concerns Amoureuses, which looks set to be split into two cuvees, highlighting the difference between those grapes grown on the sandier sections and those grown on more clay dominated soils.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Passetoutgrain

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Fragrant, crunchy, sappy bright and silky – a high quality Passetoutgrain that screams out to be drunk a table with something hearty and nourishing. A blend of a maximum 25% Gamay and 75% Pinot Noir aged in used oak barrels only. Bourgogne, Pinot Noir

2022

2025

A salty, bittersweet, mouthwatering Bourgogne that bursts with salty red and dark berry hedgerow fruit and finishes with a sense of perfect balance. “These wines are easy to understand, they are open,” Nicolas remarked, and truly it is hard to see how a wine like this isn’t going to win people’s affection. Two thirds of this comes from the Vougeot commune and one third Morey-Saint-Denis. De-stalked and aged in one and two-year-old barrels. Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Seuvrees

2022

2027

A wonderfully expressive Seuvrees that offers up autumnally toned briary red and black fruits, very clearly expressed, with a strong saline note on the finish. Very calm, sleek, this is very much a Gevrey of refinement over power. A fine Gevrey village vineyard situated just below Mazoyeres on the border with Morey-St-Denis. Fermented with 30% whole bunches and aged in 25% new oak barrels this year. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Hauts Doix, 1er Cru

2022

2027

Energetic and taut, with a compact core of intense and salty fruit and a great focussed, dart like finish. This is so very lively, its bittersweet fruit and fine salty berries making for a Pinot of genuine and mouthwatering excitement. A little known but wonderful parcel of 70-year-old vines within Amoureuses that faces east. Fermented with 50% whole bunches and aged in 30% new oak. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Sentiers, 1er Cru

2022

2028

Very salty again with fine grained crunchy tannins holding the sweet red fruits as this intense Sentieres grips the palate with fleshy, flowing, deep and broad fruit notes and a remarkable sense of pitch and persistence. A parcel of 80-year-old vines situated below Bonnes Mares planted on iron-rich, clay soils giving full, structured wines. All fermented with whole bunches and aged in a maximum of 30% new wood. Chambolle-Musigny, Les Amoureuses, La Graces des Argiles, 1er Cru

2022

2032

Always producing slightly fewer millerande berries than the plot on the sandier soils and correspondingly harvested slightly earlier, this parcel sits at the southern end of the vineyard and offers up a vision of great charm and open heartedness. Very fluid, flowing, red fruited with touches of toast and mulberry, gliding and glowing, a lacy slick of caressing fruit, combining fine spice with fine minerals. This is a mere snapshot of what is to come. Fermented with 100% whole bunches.

84


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

ROBERT GROFFIER, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS = Red

= White

Chambolle-Musigny, Les Amoureuses, La Délicatesse de Sable, 1er Cru

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2032

From a northern section of Amoureuses that has a tendency to produce millerande berries. This is the steel to the silk of the Argile bottling – red fruited, exceptionally pure and delicate, with great detail, great mineral etching and a sense of fine tannic grip. You sense this will require longer to reveal all its charms – for now it’s all about floating length and delicate high toned, taut fruit. Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru

2022

2032

Displaying a zen like balance and fine yet effortless persistence. Luminous red and dark fruits grace the palate and there’s a tannic finesse here that’s absolutely gorgeous. A sophisticated and really rather seductive Bonnes Mares. There’s nothing firm here, not on the surface anyway, just sleek, fine fruit, flesh over a chasm of minerality. Long, persistent, powerful yet weightless. This is a glorious Bonnes Mares of long, haunting, weightless power as well as remarkable early charm. Chambertin, Clos de Beze, Grand Cru

2022

2034

Glorious silky power here. Very bright, deep and tonic, energetic, dynamic and long. Glowing with savoury fruit, polished stones, this is a wine of regal proportions, excellent definition, stature but also beauty. From an 80-year-old parcel of vines. Fermentation is all whole-bunch. Being a small cuvée it is aged exclusively in new wooden barrels.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 85


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DROUHIN-LAROZE, GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Scenes unfolded in Gevrey-Chambertin in 2022. After a dry start to the year, a huge 120mm of localised rain fell in an hour on 22nd June, saturating the ground and leading to widespread flooding in the vineyards and the village. Walls fell and water coursed through the streets, flooding cellars along the way. The Drouhins were fortunately spared the latter but spoke of the challenges of getting back into the vineyards after the deluge – a problem shared by so many that a helicopter was employed by the village to carry out treatments across the vineyards. Apart from the biblical rains, a touch of hail troubled certain vineyards to the north of the village, and yet beyond that, it was a year that Caroline Drouhin primarily remembers as yielding “beautiful grapes”. Harvest arrived in a a measured fashion, with very little stress, little selecting was required, which allowed for a percentage of whole bunches in all the cuvees. It was “a chouette millesisme” Caroline smiled, pleased at the freshness and polished textures on display throughout the range. We would have to agree. = Red

= White

Gevrey-Chambertin, Dix Climats, Drouhin Laroze

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2026

A Gevrey of great aromatic charm, with wild raspberry, peach pit, cherry stone and plum notes Lovely freshness here, expressive fruit and a luminous quality. This is a decorous Gevrey, with a fluidity and weave to it and a cleansing mineral finish. A blend of 10 village parcels, fermented with 25% whole bunches and aged in 40% new oak of light toast. Gevrey-Chambertin, En Champs

2022

2026

This has a restrained nose, with tight grained rocky aromas combining with savoury, sapid, cacao and bramble notes. Quite an earthy Gevrey attack, with the light touch Drouhin feel keeping it nimble. Mineral, dark fruited, but suave too. Fermented with 10% whole bunches and aged in 40% new oak. Gevrey-Chambertin, Au Closeau, 1er Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2026

A lively, dancing, lifted Gevrey with notes of flowers amongst the mid weight orange zest scented red fruits. A firm stoniness at core provides focus, while a bright and fresh acidity gives a real sense of animation. Hard to recall a better Closeau. Delicious. Au Closeau benefits from having very deep soils with water reserves which suit well the warm year and, in Caroline’s words, “make it quite easy to keep freshness in the wine”. Fermented with 30% whole bunches and aged in 40% new oak. Gevrey-Chambertin, Lavaut St Jacques, 1er Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2027

Wild winter berries and gingerbread spice with a touch of darker fruit, velvety tannins and plenty of suave mouthfeel. This is cool, earth bound, and dark toned; a wine of the night compared to the sunshine and daylight of Closeau. An excellent 1er Cru, one of the appellation’s higher, cooler vineyards next to Clos-St.-Jacques. Fully destemmed and aged in 40% new oak. Chapelle Chambertin, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2028

Spicy complex fruit sashays from the glass in this velvety, elegant Chapelle – a wine of sleek fruit, cherry stones, polished tannins and flow. Grand Cru finesse. Fermented with 20% whole bunches and aged in 60% new oak of medium toast. Latricières Chambertin, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2028

Lacy and floral, with a super-fine weave of tannin, elegant in structure and imbued with plenty of freshness and detail. Haunting intensity here is delivered without weight but with plenty of persistence. One of Gevrey’s great Grand Crus, the Drouhin Laroze parcel is majorly influenced by the surrounding forest, which helps to offset the warm, stony soils. Fermented with 30% whole bunches.

86


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

DROUHIN-LAROZE, GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN = Red

= White

Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2029

Here you can feel that there’s a core of powerful structure hiding behind the youthful padding of fruit – a spine of Bonnes Mares minerality and muscle. There’s great intensity and so much length – undoubtedly lots to come. From 1.5ha planted on white soils on the Chambolle side of the appellation. Fermented with 25% whole bunches and aged in 80% new oak. Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2029

This has a complex weave of fruit; salty, earthy, wild hedgerow fruit, crème de mure, touches of kirsch, cherry stones and herb. A certain velvet character to the palate and tannins. Long persistent finish. Mouthfilling, ample, full of matière. Plenty of Grand Cru dimension here. The domaine has 1ha of vines, spread over two lieu-dits in the northwestern corner of the vineyard, “Plante l’Abbé” and “Quartier de Marei Haut”, in the sector called “des Papes” – owing to the fact that the produce from this sector was traditionally reserved for the Popes of Avignon. Fully destemmed and aged in 80% new oak. Chambertin, Clos de Bèze, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2029

A captivating Clos de Beze; floral, salty, lithe and dark fruited with interesting flecks of earth and a crisp mineral dimension below. This is not so much about body and density as about momentum, energy and a sense of drive. Layers of fine intensity and great length. A very complete bottle of Burgundy. From a 1.5ha parcel of almost 70-year-old vines. Fermented with 30% whole bunches. Aged in 80% new oak barrels. Musigny, Grand Cru, Drouhin Laroze

2022

2030

There’s a sensual character to the dark fruit in this Musigny; a grounded, sleek, taut, complex and long Pinot Noir that, while absolutely embryonic, hints at what’s to come with the sheer concentration, length and persistence on display. Notes of complex tea, sweet earth, dark cherry and black plum atop the silkiest of structures. Fermented with 30% whole bunches, just two barrels were produced, the wine moving from new to old barrels post malolactic fermentation.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 87


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

BRUNO CLAIR, MARSANNAY Less than perfect timetabling saw us heading north from Chateau de Meursault to Marsannay on the Monday after France crashed out of the World Cup, where we were met with rather more visible disappointment by the rugby loving Clair boys Arthur, Edouard and Bruno. However, kicking off with the Marsannays, directly after those of the eponymous domaine, proved without doubt that this secteur profited in 2022. This is a big tasting and one conducted in rapid fire French. But with wines like this, it flies by! The harvest began on 25th August with plots of younger vines, and progressed at a measured pace. “It didn’t feel like a hot harvest and we had time to pick precisely,” Arthur recalled. “We had a good-sized team and not a lot of sorting to do, so, in relative terms, it was quite calm” Edouard continued. The stylistic refinement continues here as the percentages of whole bunches are reduced in La Dominode, Clos du Fonteny and Les Cazetiers – a return to “Papa’s style”. Proving that dogma means nothing when it comes to the capriciousness of Pinot Noir and specific terroirs, both those wines with low-to-no-whole bunch fermentation and those with a high proportion have plenty to say. The Clairs are in a purple patch and their glorious 2022s do nothing to halt their run of brilliance.

= Red

= White

Marsannay, Blanc, Bruno Clair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

An uncomplicated cuvee that blends lemon fleshed fruit with a gentle nuttiness. Clean, pure and easy to drink. A rare blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris (known locally as Pinot Beurrot). Aged in a mixture of tank and oak foudres. Marsannay, Blanc, Cuvee Source des Roches, Bruno Clair

2022

2025

This looks likely to be the last vintage for Sources de Roches, as the various plots will be separated out into single vineyard bottlings as of 2023 – good news for all the lovers of single vineyard Marsannay Blanc out there! As a swansong, this offers up a good deal more crisp intensity than the straight Marsannay Blanc, with a salty edge cutting into silky flowing white fruits and lemon zest. Lip smacking stuff. Morey St Denis, En La Rue de Vergy, Blanc, Bruno Clair

2022

2026

A restrained yet intense cuvee with green toned fruits and a cool nuttiness that pulls the fruit together. Quietly intense, traditionally styled and likely to age rather well over the mid-term. A vineyard planted in 1981 located just above Bonnes Mares, En la Rue de Vergy is planted on poor, rocky limestone soils. Aged in barriques for 18 months, 15% new oak. Corton Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2027

Much more expressive and open than the MSD and yet this is very definitely not all fruit. Energy and snap are delivered with a fine saline seam, whilst the silky, easy texture belies real depth. Energetic, very complete and long. Very good! From two plots in Le Charlemagne, planted in 1972 and 1976, located in the upper part of the slope on the Pernand side of Aloxe-Corton where the wines offer ripeness and freshness in equal measure. Marsannay, Les Vaudenelles, Bruno Clair

2022

2027

A truly accomplished Vaudenelles this, one that manages to retain the vineyard’s habitual sense of high-toned delicacy with a bit more structure than in recent vintages. Wilted roses, rosehip and herbs over pale red berries. Really quite a complex florality, then on the palate, a salty grip to the translucent fruit. Planted in 1970, well suited to warm vintages, Vaudenelles is a relatively high Marsannay vineyard whose white marl soils produce fine grained elegant wines that can often be approached relatively young. Fermented now with 50% whole bunches and aged in predominantly used oak barrels. Marsannay, Les Longeroies, Bruno Clair

2022

2027

A wine that invariably requires a little more time than Vaudenelles, this is unsurprisingly harder to taste and yet you sense a complexity and animation at heart. From barrel this is definitely more about tension and energy than aromatic splendour, though you suspect that will come easily enough. A complex, dynamic Marsannay that will repay some cellaring. Now fermented with 50% whole bunches and aged in predominantly used barrels. 88


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

BRUNO CLAIR, MARSANNAY = Red

= White

Gevrey Chambertin, Bruno Clair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2027

Replete with handsome Gevrey fruit, salt and wild briar notes, this offers up appellation specific structure but nevertheless has supple fruit to it too – a core of dark creamy inviting fruit, all you could want at Villages level. There’s lots to love here, this vintage suiting the cuvee down to the ground. This comes from two plots on rich clay soils: Les Carrougots and En Jouise; and includes 10% of Bel Air Premier Cru. Morey St Denis, En La Rue de Vergy, Rouge, Bruno Clair

2022

2029

Complex, supple, sweetly-spiced fruit over a rocky minerality. There’s more savoury earth tonality to this than either Chambolle and, as a result, those spicy mineral elements give the wine a certain crunch. Located just above Bonnes Mares, En la Rue de Vergy is planted on poor, rocky limestone soils. Chambolle Musigny, Les Véroilles, Bruno Clair

2022

2028

One of the best Véroilles we can remember tasting Chez Clair, a wine that glides and slides as if on rails, with an undercarriage of polished spiced red cherry fruit and wonderfully fine tannins. Irresistible, and in 2022 a hidden gem in the range. Véroilles is one of the highest vineyards in the commune producing tense, high-toned wines that retain that Chambolle charm and texture. Chambolle Musigny, Les Charmes, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2028

Tasted immediately after Véroilles, Les Charmes offers a more seductive and deep vision of Chambolle, and yet this looks to be a particularly sophisticated rendition. “We’ve worked hard on the harvest date for Charmes, picking a little earlier than in the past,” Arthur explained. As a tactic it certainly seems to have paid dividends in 2022, producing a silky, flowing, supple Chambolle of sweet cherry fruit, savoury spice and melting tannins. Bravo. Vosne Romanée, Les Champs Perdrix, Bruno Clair

2022

2028

Showing the tight nap we’ve become accustomed to in this cuvee, with fine red fruit and floral notes, excellent tension and focus too. Silky, yet gripping, bright intense and animated. Needs a bit of time but this a very grown up, very Vosne cuvee from an extremely well situated lieu dit, right next to Reignots 1er cru, a touch higher up the slope. In the Clair’s hands it is parcel that seems to go from strength to strength. Savigny Lès Beaune, La Dominode, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2028

The legendary Dominode plot has really produced the goods in 2022, blending dark and red fruits with notes of salt and earth in what must be the most refined and complete example we’ve tasted here. The texture and structure, which always demanded time, now have a level of sophistication to them that put this up with some of the best wines of the cellar. Whole bunch usage has been dropped to 20% for this cuvee, to maintain acidity in what is invariably quite a high pH vineyard – and the result is a resounding success. Another hidden gem in the range. Don’t miss! Vosne Romanée, Aux Raignots, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2029

Favouring the old cadastre spelling of Raignots, with an “a”, the Clairs farm a tiny plot in the highest corner of the vineyard whose vines were grafted over in 2017. Immediately more mineral and driving than Champs Perdrix, with complex salty stones underpinning the briary red fruits. A driving, haunting finish convinces you of the seriousness of this cuvee. Gevrey Chambertin, Clos du Fonteny, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2030

Perhaps as a result of the tiny millerande berries always found here, this seems riper on the nose than any other preceding wine. Luxurious fruit that is darker and more sultry, though not without a salty touch to the mulberry fruit. Should turn out to be a real people pleaser. A slightly north facing Gevrey 1er Cru, influenced by the cooling combe. The vines produce tiny millerande berries every year, making for deep, dark fresh wines. Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 89


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

BRUNO CLAIR, MARSANNAY = Red

= White

Gevrey-Chambertin, Petite Chapelle, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2030

A more savoury offering where woodland aromas mingle with the sweet notes of a woodworker’s bench. More complex and restrained than the sumptuous Fonteny. Complex wild briary fruits coalesce into a firm driving point. Structure sits front and centre, but the fine finish promises good things to come. Situated just under Chapelle Chambertin, where the soils are typically “Gevrey” and clay dominated. Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Cazetiers, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2030

Complex and savoury with grown up, handsome fruit, wild small berries and skin smooth tannins. This has it all going on, Gevrey seriousness with sweet fruit below. A tonic, chiselled Pinot that is both strong and sophisticated. A mere three barrels were made in 2022 due to replanting. Fermented with 50% whole bunch, this is very good indeed. A first rate Gevrey Premier Cru vineyard high up on the slope next door to Clos St Jacques. Whilst there is a similar aromatic quality to the wines of its neighbour the taste profile is very different, with suaver, rounder fruit coming from the white clay soils found here in this limestone-influenced parcel in the upper part of the vineyard. Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St Jacques, 1er Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2032

For all the brilliance of Cazetiers, the Clair Clos St Jacques steps it up a level or two. There is simply more class here, more complexity, more focus. The fruit at this early stage comes across as darker, with a more elemental note, spring-loaded and waiting to bloom. The finish is one of haunting length, echoing the wine’s overall sense of seriousness and charm. Power and class in equal measure. Superb. One of Gevrey’s great Premiers Crus situated high up on the slope, many believe it to be more deserving of Grand Cru status than a number of Gevrey’s more dubious Grands Crus. This high situation and red clay-based soils make for wines of freshness, tension and well-defined structure. The vineyard was planted in 1957, a massale selection of Pinot Fin made by Bruno’s father, resulting in low yields – rarely more than 30hl/ha. Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2032

Aromatically this is all limestone and crisp red fruits with that racy detailed mineral character that seems to define Bruno’s Bonnes Mares. In a vintage like 2022 this gives a singular sense of freshness to the wine. Across the palate, powerful and firm flavours gather around a core of refined structure, with a wash of briary red fruits that add a sense of caressing, if salty, energy. This is serious. Velvet power and persistent intensity. Apart from one tiny parcel of 0.12 ha situated on the Chambolle side of the vineyard, the core of this cuvée comes from two parcels in the Morey commune, one of which is next to Clos de Tart. One part was planted in 1946 another in 1980. This makes Bruno Clair the only producer with Bonnes Mares vines within the Morey-Saint-Denis commune. Bruno describes the wine as being three quarters from red soil based vines and one quarter white limestone marne-based soils, resulting in a wine of great intensity and vigour. Chambertin, Clos de Bèze, Grand Cru, Bruno Clair

2022

2032

So very complete. Precision, charm, complexity. Long and deep, with a wonderfully polished finish. Powerful yet very fine with it, here is a wine with all the Grand Cru volume and dimension you could hope for, and yet it is all so beautifully composed that the fine layers simply melt together. This is in no way a powerhouse, but it is extremely serious. The Clairs are blessed with an excellent old vine parcel of Clos de Beze. Two thirds of this plot were planted in 1912 and the remainder in 1972. The parcel extends upwards on the slope. The upper part, poorer and stony, gives an aromatic wine of great finesse whereas the lower part, rich and clayey, brings power and body.

90


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

CECILE TREMBLAY, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS These are exciting times for Cecile Tremblay as 2022 is the year in which her domaine increases in size from just under five hectares to just under eight. With two healthy vintages in a row her newly enlarged cellars are satisfyingly full. And to add to the excitement Cecile, inheriting what she thought was a 1.8ha parcel in the Vosne 1er Cru Beaux Monts, was astounded to discover, while studying some old maps, that 0.4ha of said parcel was actually, and unarguably, Echezeaux! Having taken control of the new vineyards in 2022 there’s work to be done, and as such, the Beaux Monts holdings will go into a Vosne 1er Cru this year, while the “new” Echezeaux will remain apart from her Echezeaux de Dessus for the time being. Beyond the extra vineyards to shepherd, Cecile reported it being “a happy harvest”, an emotion that carries over into the wines. These are reference point Burgundies, up there with the very best the region has to offer.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne, Côte d’Or, Cecile Tremblay

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2025

There are Bourgognes and there are Bourgognes, and here’s one with glorious flesh and fine gripping tannins, a sense of energy and grace too. Deep fruit at core. Delicious. A top Bourgogne of superb pedigree that comes from vines aged between 30-70 years old planted in the Chambolle and Vosne communes. Chambolle Musigny, Les Cabottes, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2027

Such a beautiful texture with luminous red fruits and a greater emphasis on minerality and tension than the Morey tasted before. Such finesse, such energy, fine floating fruit tethered to a stony core. A blend of three parcels dotted around the Chambolle appellation, aged in less than a third new oak. Chambolle Musigny, Aux Echanges

2022

2027

Aromatic and complex, red fruited, delicately spiced, white stone and floral notes, with sticky gripping tannins and flavours that coat the palate yet never feel heavy. The vines for this cuvee are an impressive 95 years old. This is a cuvee that Cécile produces with 100% whole bunch fermentation and absolutely no sulphur added during the winemaking process. Vosne Romanee, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2027

A spicy sappy flowing Vosne with great tension and real fruit density at its core. Powerful, with a twist of salty torque on the finish. Sure to require a bit of time to be at its best, but in its infancy the combination of elegance and structure is really quite thrilling. Top notch villages from two parcels, Aux Communes and Les Jacquines Vosne Romanée, 1er Cru, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2028

Not, this year, a blend necessitated by tiny yields, but rather a declassification of Cecile’s new Beaux Monts holdings. Having taken control of the vineyards in 2022, Cecile felt that a year was needed to get to grips with the site, and this 1er Cru Vosne is the result; a silky, creamy dark fruited Vosne with sweet spice notes that appear on the supple, flowing finish. Sumptuous and polished yet not without lift

92


CÔTE DE NUITS / BURGUNDY 2022

CECILE TREMBLAY, MOREY-SAINT-DENIS = Red

= White

Vosne Romanée, Les Beaux Monts, 1er Cru, Cecile Tremblay

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2029

A single barrel of Beaux Monts in 2022, hailing from the Hauts Beaux Monts sector. Compared to the new holdings, there’s markedly more energy and precision to this stunning cuvee. Deep, glowing dark fruits, backlit freshness, fine complex stony notes. Layered, deep, regal. A cracker. Vosne Romanée, Les Rouges du Dessus, 1er Cru, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2028

Very Rouges de Dessus! Electric, bright, nervy red fruits and a dancing mineral component. Marvellous energy, radiance and detail, full of vitality. So refreshing. So focussed with high wire fruit that really excites the palate. A distinctive and high-quality Premier Cru perched high up the slope directly above Echezeaux yielding fresh, highaltitude wines with a strong mineral character. Chapelle Chambertin, Grand Cru, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2030

Floating, complex ethereal aromas yet the palate offers up depth and layering, with a polished underbelly of ample fruit and fine tannin. Long and rather regal on the finish. Very persistent. This will be quite something when mature. Cécile has a mere 0.4ha of fifty-year-old vines in Chapelle, a shame as hers is one of the finest examples of this lesser-known Grand Cru that you will find. Aged for 18 months in three quarters new oak barrels. Echézeaux, Du Dessus, Grand Cru, Cecile Tremblay

2022

2030

Dark spiced fruit with oodles of tonic energy and grip, salty dark berries, spicy sappy tannins and an intense depth that culminates in a long and haunting finish. For all the impact, there’s a very precise and fine-grained feel to this. Sensational. Aged in 75% new oak and no whole bunch, this is a more fine-tuned, lifted style of Echezeaux than most; from the high “Dessus” part of the vineyard, the 6ha heart of Echezeaux.

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BURGUNDY 2022

94


BURGUNDY 2022

CÔTE CHALONNAISE

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 95


CÔTE CHALONNAISE / BURGUNDY 2022

DOMAINE DE LA FOLIE, RULLY Clemence and Baptiste continue to raise their game at Folie, a bastion of finely tuned Rully produced from domaine vineyards that encircle the estate. Perched on a small hill with a view right the way up the Cote d’Or, this is a domaine blessed with a high proportion of old vines, and some of the only red marne found in the appellation. Favouring a neutral approach to ageing, both in tank and in light toast oak, their aim is simply to spotlight the fine pallette of terroir they have at their disposal. This is one of the biggest crops the Domaine has seen, August rains helping to release the ripening curve and plump up the crop. The result is a sense of generous juiciness and plenty of sleek sophistication; there’s much joy to be had here in 2022.

= Red

= White

Bourgogne Aligoté

Vintage

Drink From

2022

2024

Produced from centenarian Aligoté Dorée vines, the oldest on the estate, on a north, north-east facing vineyard, this is brimming with delicate chalky minerality and white fleshed orchard fruits. Refined and very refreshing. Vinified exclusively in steel tanks to enhance the wine’s natural freshness. Rully, Blanc, Clos Folie

2022

2024

Wonderfully inviting aromas here, delicate fine white orchard fruits with a fine seam of acidity and an expressive, energy fuelled palate. Very fresh and clear with a neat symmetry to the finish. Very pretty, very charming. A north, north-east clay limestone Monopole vineyard of Domaine de la Folie with 40-year-old vines, fermented and aged in steel tanks only, no oak. Rully, Blanc, 1er Cru, Clos du Chaigne

2022

2026

Ripe, bold and expressive yet not without a controlling line of gripping acid and extract. Charming and boisterous, plump with fruit but also lit up with energy. Sun kissed lemons, plenty of breadth tapering into a fine mineral finish. This is gaining in complexity and tension year on year. Excellent. Élevage was carried out exclusively in barrels in ’22, of which 20% were new. A due east-facing vineyard on clay-dominated limestone soils. Rully, Blanc, 1er Cru, Clos St Jacques

2022

2026

As you’d imagine the Clos St Jacques displays more finesse to the flavours, a touch more oak control, more tension, and a fine mineral line. While it has less flesh than Clos du Chaigne, it has more tension and length. Pure and sophisticated, with salty freshness and fine citrus fruit that culminates in an electric, focussed finish. Another Domaine de la Folie Monopole. A fine, east-facing stony vineyard of vines aged between 70 and 80 years old. Surrounded by the forest it habitually gives small berries with focussed flavours. Aged in oak barrels, 20% of which are new. Rully, Rouge, Cuvée Marey

2022

2025

Darker fruits but not in any way heavy, indeed touches of limestone minerality rise up on the finish. This feels like the most supple and juicy rendition we’ve tasted. There’s definitely more depth than the straight Bellecroix, yet it retains a translucent, lifted feel. An east facing 45-year-old plot within the Clos de la Bellecroix vineyard. The soils are less deep than the regular Bellecroix, forcing the vines to work a little harder, which results in many millerandee berries. Aged in both steel cuve (one third) and barrique (two thirds,) one fifth of which are new. Rully, Rouge, Clos de Bellecroix

2022

2026

Pale griotte cherry and soft summer pudding notes provide up front fruit in this juicy, transparent Pinot that’s designed to be drunk young. An east, north-east facing vineyard planted on clay and limestone soils. Ageing is predominantly in tank, with a small percentage of used barrels, to give a light and pure expression of Rully.

Orders: 020 74846430 or Email: justbrooksorders@justerinis.com www.justerinis.com/en-primeur/burgundy/2022 96


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