The way to find value in Burgundy these days is to look for wines from down-market appellations made by great producers. This one fits the bill perfectly. Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, a top producer based in Gevrey-Chambertin, makes a stunning array of wines from the village and Chambolle-Musigny.… Read more

Marsannay, practically a suburb of Dijon and the northern-most village appellation of the Côte de Nuits, lacks cachet. Its lack of prestige may be secondary to its relative youth since it gained a village appellation only in 1987, roughly 50 years after every other village (or maybe because it is the sole village in the Côte de Nuits that lacks Premier Cru vineyards).… Read more

Most village Chambolle-Musigny cost less than $100 a bottle, so the price might put you off. Don’t let it. This is no ordinary village wine! Indeed, you would be excused for thinking it is a Premier Cru. The grapes come from 75-year vines planted in three different plots around the village.… Read more

Erwann Boivin, the Commercial Director at Domaine Geantet-Pansiot, explains that the Le Poissenot vineyard is a cool site because sits high on the slope just under the forest and in the path of cooling breezes that come down the valley. Boivin thinks the site explains the wine’s elegance and liveliness in a warm vintage like 2023.… Read more

The Château de Chamirey, a top producer in Mercurey, has extensive holdings there. Their white is a blend of multiple plots throughout the appellation, giving the consumer a good idea of the character — the firmness — of the white wines from this primarily red appellation.… Read more

Château de Chamirey, a major producer of Mercurey, is also one of the appellation’s best, as this lovely village-designated wine shows. Blended from 10 plots throughout the village, it’s an excellent representation of the appellation. The generosity of the 2023 vintages melds beautifully atop the firm base typical of Mercurey.… Read more

Clos du Roi, unsurprisingly given its name (basically, “the King’s walled vineyard”), is a top Premier Cru in Mercurey. It is ideally situated, facing east to get the gentle morning sun, and was one of the original vineyards awarded that status in 1943.… Read more

The Marquis de Jouennes d’Herville acquired the Château de Chamirey in 1932 and, two years later, started to estate-bottle the wines to ensure their quality and authenticity. Currently, his granddaughter and grandson, Aurora and Amaury Devillard, run the estate. Aurore describes the soil at Clos des Ruelles as red, filled with iron, which she explains imparts structure to the wine.… Read more

The Devillard family, headed by the talented brother and sister team of Aurore and Amaury Devillard, run three major estates in Burgundy, this one in Givry, Château de Chamirey, in neighboring Mercury, and Domaine des Perdrix in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Aurore explains that they’ve owned Domaine de la Ferté since 2009 but have leased, farmed, and made wine from it for 35 years, so they know it well.… Read more

Clotilde Davenne, a top producer in Chablis, has expanded her portfolio to the adjacent appellation of Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre. With climate change, this northern appellation bordering Chablis, is rapidly becoming a fine source of affordable Bourgogne Blanc as more than one wine grower has told me, “We can make wine with ripe grapes now.”… Read more

Domaine de la Soufrandière, undoubtedly one of the finest and most consistent producers in the Mâconnais, made a sensational lineup of 2024s. The wines are all unique, reflecting their individual terroirs. Consumers can basically shoot blindfolded at Soufrandière’s 2024s and be happy with their choice.… Read more

Half of the wines from the Mâconnais are sold under the label of Mâcon-Villages, which indicates that the wine is a blend from more than one village. The other half come from one of the 27 villages allowed to put their name on the label, like this Mâcon-Vinzelles.… Read more

The Bret brothers inherited the Domaine La Soufrandière, the family estate in Vinzelles, in 2000 and have been making exceptional wines ever since. They acquired additional vineyards in the nearby appellation of Saint-Véran in 2016 and stated making this engaging wine.… Read more

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.… Read more

Some 16 years after the growers of Pouilly-Vinzelles, a small appellation encompassing only about 130-acres, applied for 1er Cru status, the French wine authorities awarded that accolade to three vineyards, one of which is the 32-acre Les Quarts, starting with the 2024 vintage.… Read more

Domaine Samuel Billaud, a top grower in Chablis, consistently makes terrific wines at all levels, AOC Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru. This excellent AOC Village Chablis is a blend from three plots, two on the left bank of the Serein River and one on the right bank, so it offers a good representation of the appellation.… Read more

Samuel Billaud’s Les Vaillons, from old vines, comes from the heart of Les Vaillons, not one of the adjacent vineyards that are allowed to use the name Vaillons. Typical of Vaillons, it displays a lovely floral aspect that contrasts with, and enhances, its minerality.… Read more

Minerals, flint, stones – these are the primary sensory signals that sum up this fabulous Chablis 1er Cru. Billaud admits that his 2023s are more minerally than many from that vintage and thinks it is because he waited longer to bottle them, allowing them to pick up additional complexity from the lees.… Read more

In general, the wines from Vaudésir and Les Clos compete for the pinnacle at the Chablis Grand Cru level. Vaudésir typically displays touch more richness, perhaps at the expense of minerality, compared to Les Clos. Samuel Billaud’s comes from two plots, one from the east side of the vineyard and the other from the west.… Read more

Paradoxically, robust yields saved this hot vintage from producing over-the-top wines. With a smaller crop, Frédéric Barnier, Jadot’s technical director, explains that all the vines’ energy would have produced overripe grapes. The dark color of the 2023 predicts the generosity on the palate.… Read more

The vintage was panned by many at the outset. Indeed, in 2018, when I tasted the 2017 Clos des Ursules from barrel, I found that it lacked charm. Oh, how it’s blossomed and developed since then! A brick-like color and a hint of leafiness on the nose accurately predict some maturity on the palate.… Read more

Montmains is what the Chablisiens refer to as a “flag bearing” Premier Cru vineyard. That means that the less well-known Forêts and Butteaux, neighboring Premier Cru vineyards located on the same hill, can use Montmains, the more well-known name, rather than their own.… Read more

Although the 2023 and a few 2024 Chablis represent the current releases from that appellation, I draw consumers’ attention to Domaine Louis Michel’s stellar 2022s, which, inexplicably, are still available on retailers’ shelves. This Vaillons and their Montmains (also reviewed this week) show the wonderful diversity of Chablis.… Read more

Maison Louis Jadot, one of Burgundy’s venerable producers, is a grower, that is, they own or control vineyards, as well as a négociant. The Domaine Gagey designation at the bottom of the classic Jadot label means that the grapes came from a vineyard owned by the Gagey family, which has run the company since 1962 after the sudden death of Louis Auguste Jadot, who had no heirs.… Read more