Jean Philippe Bret, who along with his brothers, owns Domaine La Soufrandière, explains that 90 percent of this wine comes from the 1er Cru vineyard, Les Quarts, that they have declassified. Jean Philippe describes how some plots of Les Quarts have more clay in the soil, making the grapes not suitable for the elegance and finesse they value in their 1er Cru bottling. Excluding those grapes from their 1er Cru bottling helps explain why that wine dazzles. At the same time, including them in this wine creates a village wine that stands out among its peers. Yes, this village wine lacks the precision and elegance of the 1er Cru bottling, yet with its vivacity and depth, it still delivers enormous enjoyment, and at half the price. Still tight, give it time in the glass or a year or two in the cellar to open.
94 Michael Apstein – April 1, 2026