The Pascals introduced organic farming in 2016, which may explain its success in that tricky vintage. The only problem: it follows the 2015. Captivating savoury notes—that not-just-fruit character—are apparent and mingle with dark cherry-like fruitiness. Suave texture, now a hallmark of the domaine since 2015, adds to its appeal.

The grandeur of the 2015 comes from a combination of a new winery, a new winemaker, and the introduction of a second wine. That trio of changes catapulted the wine—and subsequent vintages—to a higher plateau. The 2015, with succulent dark cherry-like fruit, is concentrated, yet not over-the-top.

The 2014 vintage was difficult enough for red Burgundy in general. The fruit fly, Drosophila suzukii, wreaked even more havoc, according to Philippe, forcing them to sort severely. The wine reflects the challenges of the year with lighter colour and less concentration.

With rain during harvest, the 2013 was a difficult year in Burgundy in general and especially for the Domaine du Cellier aux Moines. Philippe Pascal reports that they discarded one-third of the crop because of rot.

The 2012, shows the benefits of the Pascal’s improvements in the vineyard. It was the first vintage to include a significant portion of grapes from their replanted massal selection of vines using the parcelaire approach, which they initiated in 2008.

The 2010 is positively gorgeous. Less dense than the 2009, it nevertheless displays excellent concentration and an invigorating tension, delivering a balanced mixture of cherry-like fruitiness and minerals. A streak of crystalline purity holds it all together.

The 2009, still a product of the early years of the Pascal’s ownership confirms the quality of the terroir. A muscular wine, reflecting the warm vintage, the 2009 has great acidity, imparting freshness and balance. Classic Givry stoniness underpins its black cherry-like fruitiness.

The 2007, from a generally early-maturing vintage, is clearly past its prime. I suspect it would have been far better five years ago. The fruit has faded while the tannins have persisted. Hollow and angular, it nevertheless displays lively freshness.

Fully mature, yet still fresh, the 2006 displays a nose of dried flowers and earth. Dried fruit flavours have evolved and blend seamlessly with woodsy accents. The firmness often found in young Givry has given way to suppleness.

La Ronce vineyard sits on a hill that has both north and south exposures, hence both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grow there. The soil is a mixture of Kimmeridgian limestone and clay, yet there’s more power here than in Goisot’s other St-Bris.

The traditional blend of two-thirds Gamay, one-third Pinot Noir makes this classically framed and easy-to-like Passe-tout-grains. The Pinot Noir comes from the Mâconnais and provides backbone, while Gamay from Beaujolais delivers upfront fruitiness. The lack of oak allows the fruit to shine, resulting in a ready-to-drink, mid-weight wine with charming rusticity and vivacity.

Brothers Alexandre and Benôit Moreau have run this top-notch Chassagne-Montrachet-based estate since 1999. Through their diligence in the vineyards and care in the winery, all of their wines – even from this lowly appellation – shine.

Trapet Père et Fils, a stellar producer based in Gevrey-Chambertin, blends equal parts Pinot Noir and Gamay grown in Grand Champs, a vineyard in that village, for its Passe-tout-grains. It takes its name from the philosophy of minimal intervention, which in this case means biodynamic farming, indigenous yeasts and the addition of only a hint of sulphur at bottling.

Aptly named, as this leading Volnay-based estate has 1ha of vines, almost 10% of its estate, planted to Passe-tout-grains, some older than 90 years. This organic, biodynamic domaine typically uses equal amounts of Pinot Noir and Gamay with wild yeast to make this truly exceptional wine.

The limestone in the soil of southern Beaujolais gives the name Pierres Dorées (‘golden rocks’) to the area. A company that knows a thing or two about Pinot Noir, Maison Latour has planted about 20ha of the grape there, and the wine it produces gets better with every vintage.

Jadot combines Pinot Noir grown in Givry in the Côte Chalonnaise with Gamay from Beaujolais and releases it after an extended time in bottle, which is why 2017 is the current vintage. Blending 75% Gamay and 25% Pinot Noir in 2017, it shows the virtue of using these two grapes: the spine and savoury nuances provided by Pinot Noir act as a foil for Gamay’s red fruit-like profile in this beautifully balanced wine.

This superb grower, based in Auxey-Duresses, used the flexible regulations of Coteaux Bourguignons to tweak its usual blend of consistently winsome Passe-tout-grains. The 2017 contains 70% Gamay and 30% Pinot Noir, both from slopes around the winery where the limestone-rich soil imparts even more acidity to the Gamay than the granitic soil of Beaujolais.

In a small vineyard in the commune of Meursault, but outside the Bourgogne Blanc appellation, Fatien Père et Fils has Chardonnay with, as Charles Fatien notes, ‘a few rogue Aligoté vines thrown in’. Previously relegated to the Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire category, it is no ordinary wine.

Bénédicte and Bastien Fargues established their tiny 1.3ha estate in Bligny-lès-Beaune in 2005 and are already making notable wines. They limit yields by debudding and bottle without fining or filtering. This 2017 Chardonnay-Aligoté blend demonstrates the virtue of that marriage.

This father-and-son team’s 2018 Cuvée Marianne is from 45-year-old vines planted on both Portlandian and Kimmeridgian limestone mixed with clay. Dense, but not heavy, it has aromas and flavours of wet stones. Invigorating acidity balances the ripeness of the vintage and amplifies a steely finish.

This cooperative of about 430 growers is best known for its Crémant de Bourgogne, but it also makes a lovely St-Bris. The 2018 took a silver medal at the 29th Concours des Vins du Grand Auxerrois.

Goisot, a family-owned estate, makes fabulous wines across its range, and has farmed biodynamically for two decades. The lower-yielding Sauvignon Gris used for the Corps de Garde is thought to provide more substance. The wine comes from a variety of vineyards composed of Kimmeridgian limestone mixed with clay.

Founded in 2002 with 2.8ha, based in the village of Chitry, near Chablis, and now expanded to 16ha. The Jacquets started producing St-Bris in 2011, and they are clearly fast learners, since this 2018 St-Bris won a gold medal at the 29th Concours des Vins du Grand Auxerrois.

Though they have a hectare of vines in Irancy, their Cuvée Marianne comes from Pinot Noir—and a tiny amount of César—from two lieux-dits, Les Rez and La Grande Côte Est, that they buy from a neighbouring grower.

The stony character of the appellation offsets the ripeness imparted by the 2019 vintage. The inclusion of César adds a savoury and enchanting rusticity that contrasts nicely with the more black-fruited, as opposed to red cherry, notes.

Davenne’s village Irancy shows her talent. While it does not command the same presence as her Paradis bottling, there’s plenty to like here. Great aromatics, a bit of red fruits, some minerality, freshness and a polished texture come together in this beautifully balanced wine.

Veaupessiot lieu-dit sits adjacent to Palotte, but lower on the slope. The 2019 Veaupessiot is a good contrast with their riper 2018 from the same site and demonstrates a clear distinction between these two hot vintages.

From Palotte, a south-facing lieu-dit that many locals and critics, alike, consider to be one of Irancy’s best site, Domaine Colinot has combined both a fruity and minerally expression of Irancy. Colinot’s Palotte bottling exhibits good ripeness—both the site and vintage speaking—with sufficient balancing acidity that keeps it lively.

Nicolas Ferrari, one of the leading young producers in Irancy, succeeded admirably with his 2019s. Subtle spiciness is a welcome counterpoint to the more black than red fruit flavours displayed here. The sunshine of the vintage explains the wine’s succulence, while the cooler nights and Irancy’s northern locale capture balancing acidity.

Here’s a great example of the high-quality wines from Irancy that a newly established small domaine can produce. Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this Irancy is a terrific expression of the appellation. Dark cherry-like fruitiness offsets the wine’s stony, iron-tinged side.

This wine made exclusively from Pinot Noir from the Les Bâtardes lieu-dit makes an excellent comparison to Maison de la Chapelle’s multi-vineyard Irancy bottling. As with their Irancy village bottling, Les Bâtardes is refined and pure, albeit expressing riper, more lush fruit character and less stoniness at this stage.

Unsurprisingly, this top Chablis producer has also produced a winning village Irancy. Polished tannins enrobe this lively mix of herbal, cherry-like fruit, and minerals. There’s a little bit of everything and not too much of anything.

Many wines, especially from lesser-known appellations, proclaiming Fût de Chêne (aged in oak) are askew with prominent wood flavours and tannins. Not Verret’s Irancy. It was aged for 11 months in used – four to 12-year old- barrels, which helps explain why the oak is seamlessly incorporated into the wine.

A field blend of Pinot Noir and César, this Palotte was aged in older oak barrels for 18 months, gravity-racked, and bottled without fining or filtration. This mid-weight wine displays a plethora of red fruits and distinct, almost tarry, minerality, reflecting the stature of the lieu-dit and the care and talents of the winemaking team.

Ternynck’s Mazelot bottling, made entirely from Pinot Noir, shows the wonderful diversity of the lieux-dits of Irancy. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts and judicious aging in mostly used French oak barrels allows the wine to convey the Janus-like duality of Burgundy – black cherry-like fruitiness and an earthy, savoury side.

This is a masterful blend of Pinot Noir and César that Colinot has co-fermented since the varieties are planted and harvested together. A hint of minerality peaks out from underneath the wine’s firm and fruity red cherry-like profile.

This new and tiny domaine, founded less than a decade ago, produces only about 6,000 bottles from one hectare of Pinot Noir in the Les Mazelots lieu-dit. This Mazelots reflects the care they put into their wines.

With her 2019 Paradis, Clotilde Davenne shows why the Paradis lieu-dit has potential for 1er Cru status. She does not want wood marring the wine, so she uses no new barrels, noting that ‘César does it all’.

From 75+ year old vines, the 2015 Podor Mazelots shows that the wine from the top lieux-dits in Irancy need time to show their stuff. There’s good density here and a touch of charming rusticity, no doubt from the five or so percent of César in the blend.

Wine from this south-southwest facing lieu-dit shows the importance of terroir. As much as I liked Simonnet-Febvre’s straight Irancy, this one is just better, although not for current drinking. Tighter and, despite no César in the blend, it’s more tannic than their straight Irancy.

Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this cuvée reflects the stature of the lieu-dit. This mid-weight wine displays excellent richness without a trace of heaviness or over-ripeness. Verret captured riveting acidity, imbuing the wine with energy. Minerals and red fruit flavours dance on the palate, intermingling seamlessly.

When tasted with Anita Colinot in 2019, she felt this bottling was just coming into its own. Though I hadn’t tasted it at a more youthful time, I can see what she means. Any rusticity that César may have imparted during its youth has morphed into an alluring complexity of earthy leafiness.

Benoit took over this multi-generational family estate based in Irancy itself in 1994. This cuvée, named for his daughter, is a multi-parcel blend that contains a bit of César and shows how beautifully these village wines can develop.

This well-regarded Chablis-based winery has hit the bullseye with their 2019 Irancy. Both elegant and firm, it displays the alluring Burgundian sensibility of what I call, flavour without weight. A floral element complements its red-fruited profile.

Goisot, a top-notch producer of white wines in the Auxerre, also shows their talents with this red from nearly 100-year old vines planted in the Mazelots lieu-dit. Goisot says they don’t need César in this cuvée because the terroir provides plenty of structure.