($16, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.): Véronique Drouhin explained that they have always purchased grapes from a variety of growers who have holdings in Les Crays, but this is the first year they decided to put the name of that lieu-dit (vineyard) on the label. … Read more
($27): Godard just acquired a vineyard in Moulin-à-Vent, expanding her holdings to about 16 acres in total. Au Michelon, located in the northern part of Moulin-à-Vent, has dark stones and dark sandy soil, according to Godard, which she says gives the wine a combination of power and elegance. … Read more
($29): Mee Godard, a young woman originally from Korea, is one of the rising shining stars of Beaujolais. Her wines are not to be missed because of their precision and distinctiveness, not to mention their sheer deliciousness. Located in Morgan, she bottled three different wines in 2017 from various climats (vineyards) in that cru, Corcelette, Côte de Py and Grand Cras. … Read more
($37): The union of Morgon producers divided Morgon into six climats according to soil type about 50 years ago, according to Godard. Now, more and more producers there — and in Moulin-à-Vent as well — are putting these sites on labels. … Read more
($37, Louis Latour USA): Latour’s En Caradeux, which always over delivers for the price, is true to form in 2016. Pure and delicate, the wine is nonetheless rich and long. It has the classic focus and harmony of Latour’s wines. This exhilarating wine shows there are still well-priced Burgundies. … Read more
($55, Louis Latour USA): 
Simonnet-Febvre’s 2016 Preuses is an exceptional wine at an exceptional price. Full-bodied with exotic undertones, it nonetheless conveys the firm minerality of great Chablis. Zesty, not shrill, the flavors jump from the glass and persist. A seemingly endless finish just adds to the appeal of this energetic wine.… Read more
($35, Louis Latour USA): 
The Fourchaume vineyard, which sits adjacent to the strip of Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis, is considered to be among the top 1er Cru vineyards. This wine has the added richness and depth characteristic of Fourchaume without scarifying any verve or energy. … Read more
($29, Kobrand Wine & Spirits): Bouzeron is the only white wine appellation in Burgundy that prohibits Chardonnay in favor of another grape, Bourgogne Aligoté, because the soil is particularly well-suited to it. Although wines labeled Bourgogne Aligoté can been thin and harsh, the wines from Bouzeron generally are not. … Read more
($26): Domaine Paul Pernot, one of the leaders in Puligny-Montrachet, seemingly can do no wrong with their white wines. Year in and year out, my notes indicate you can buy any of his white wines and be happy. Take this Bourgogne Blanc, which comes exclusively from Chardonnay grown in plots located just outside the delineated area of Puligny-Montrachet. … Read more
($75, Louis Latour USA): Les Chaillots is one of the many vineyards where Louis Latour owns vines. Hence the labeling, Domaine Louis Latour. The 2016 vintage received a bad rap because of the horrible weather that reduced yields dramatically. The weather may have been bad, but many of the 2016s, such as this one, are excellent. … Read more
($28, Kermit Lynch): 
Château Thivin is THE producer Côte de Brouilly, one of the ten crus of Beaujolais, which sits on a small ancient volcanic cone. The Geoffray family purchased the estate, which had been in existence since the 12th century, in 1877. … Read more
($24, Kermit Lynch): 
Château Thivin owns about 18 acres of this 65-acre east-facing vineyard in Brouilly, the largest and most southern of Beaujolais’ ten cru. Lighter and fruitier than their Côte de Brouilly, it still conveys underlying minerality because of the rose-granite soil in the vineyard. … Read more
($44): 
Pinson, one of my favorite Chablis producers, makes wines, even their village Chablis, that are focused, precise and well-priced. This one, from a lesser known site, is quintessential Premier Cru Chablis, delivering a fine flinty stony signature that expands in the glass, but never becomes heavy or ripe. … Read more
($15, Loosen Bros. USA): 
Created in 2011 and replacing the very down-market sounding appellation, Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire, Coteaux Bourguignons encompasses all vineyards from around Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south. For reds, the allowable grapes include Pinot Noir, Gamay, and César, a lesser-known grape grown around the Chablis area. … Read more
($26, Weygandt-Metzler): 
Pierre-Marie Chermette’s Fleurie Garants, though on the same pink granite soil as their Fleurie Poncié, comes from a southwest facing slope, which exposes it to warmer afternoon sun. Still highlighting the mineral component, it’s a slightly firmer, more muscular wine that maintains the incredible suaveness, which is always present in Chermette’s wines.… Read more
($26, Weygandt-Metzler): 
Pierre-Marie Chermette, a well-regarded producer in Fleurie, one of the cru of Beaujolais, focuses on terroir — site specificity — in keeping with the tradition in the rest of Burgundy. Chermette produces two excellent, but very different Fleurie, this one from Poncié and one from a slope called Garants.… Read more
($22, Louis Latour USA): 
The 2015 vintage in Burgundy–and most of France for that matter — produced excellent reds, with ripeness and presence. Whites were less consistent because sometimes the warmth of the vintage robbed them of needed acidity. But when producers harnessed the ripeness without losing acidity, as with this wine, the result is stunning. … Read more
($89, A Jeanne-Marie des Champs Selection): 
To me the talents of a producer shine when they make great wine from less than great sites. Domaine Parent does that consistently, though they also make great wine from great sites, as their 2016 Les Chaponnières shows. … Read more
($144, A Jeanne-Marie des Champs Selection): 
As enthusiastic as I am about Parent’s village wine, La Croix Blanche, Parent’s Les Chaponnières shows the glory of a premier cru. Although it’s a touch more powerful, it’s really the wine’s elegance and complexity that puts it into a different category. … Read more
($305, Frederick Wildman and Sons): 
Given the horrendous weather during the 2016 growing season in Burgundy, it’s amazing that growers made any wine at all. Sadly, some did not since entire vineyards were wiped out by hail. Many producers had written off vintage, prematurely, as it turned out. … Read more
($27, Frederick Wildman and Sons): 
Domaine Labruyère, a serious producer based in Moulin-à-Vent, has a variety of bottlings from that Beaujolais cru. This one, a blend of grapes from older vines and aged in older oak barrels, reminds us of just how good and exciting wines from Moulin-à-Vent can be. … Read more
($36, Frederick Wildman and Sons): 
I hear it already, “How can you give Beaujolais 95 points?” First, this is not Beaujolais really; it’s from Moulin-à-Vent, arguable the best of the 10 cru of Beaujolais, which taken together, are in a class by themselves. … Read more
($37, Becky Wasserman Selection):
Becky Wasserman’s name on a bottle is a sure sign of quality. Her name is never on the front label — that’s reserved for the producer and appellation. Seeing her name on the back label is a superb recommendation for a producer you may have never heard of. ($28): 
The wines from Côte de Brouilly, one of top-tier of the ten cru of Beaujolais, are not to be confused with those from Brouilly, another cru, but whose wines have less consistent quality. Although Château Thivin, one of the region’s best producers, makes a range of wines from Côte de Brouilly depending on the position of the vines on the slope, this one is a blend from several sites. … Read more
Geantet-Pansiot, Bourgogne Rouge, “Pinot Fin,” 2015 ($30 – 45):
Pinot Fin is a clone of Pinot Noir that produces smaller berries and thicker skin, according to the internationally acclaimed wine expert, Jancis Robinson. It’s rarely grown in Burgundy today, because it’s a finicky grape to grown, even more troublesome than Pinot Noir, susceptible to many diseases that result in lower yields–meaning, more expensive wine. … Read more
Having tasted the 2015 Burgundies now that they have been bottled and are on retailers’ shelves, I can confirm my initial impression of the vintage –sensational for both reds and whites. Importantly, though, the character of the wines is very different depending on the color. … Read more
($23, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.): 
Mercurey, a small town in the Côte Chalonnaise in Southern Burgundy, is an especially good place to look for values in 2015. The extra warmth of the vintage helped these less prestigious sites. Compared to Drouhin’s Rully, from a neighboring village in the Côte Chalonnaise, this Mercurey has more earthiness accompanying its bright fruitiness. … Read more
($17, Constellation Imports): 
The Marlborough region on the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island is rapidly becoming known for Pinot Noir. This one imparts a pure, clean fruitiness that is, paradoxically, both intense and delicate. There’s not a trace of heaviness. … Read more
($69, Frederick Wildman and Sons): 
Pouilly-Fuissé doesn’t get any better than this. Le Clos, sure to be classified as a premier cru vineyard when the classification system for Pouilly-Fuissé goes into effect in the next year or so, is owned solely — a monopole — by Château de Fuissé, one of the top producers in the appellation. … Read more
($12): 
Chaintré is one of the communes that comprise the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation. If a wine comes exclusively from vineyards in the village, but lie outside of that famous appellation, they can carry the name of village instead of the more generic appellation of Mâcon-Villages. … Read more
($35, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.): 
The 2015 vintage in Burgundy was outstanding for both reds and whites. Reds belong in the cellar, while the whites are delicious for earlier drinking as this one demonstrates. Domaine Vaudon is the Drouhin estate in Chablis where they make sensational wines. … Read more
Usually it is perfect weather during the growing season that results in exceptional wines. Think 2005, 2009 or 2015 in Burgundy. Those “ideal weather” vintages produced excellent wines almost across the board. In 2016, the capriciousness of Nature was apparent: Hail ravaged some vineyards, destroying the entire crop, but leaving a neighboring vineyard untouched. … Read more
($23): 
After tasting this lovely Rully, a word Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson once used to describe a wine sprang to mind: “Delish!” Fresh and juicy, there’s not a hint of over-ripeness in mid-weight red. A hint of earthiness adds intrigue to this well-proportioned ready-to-drink village wine. … Read more
($30): 
Mercurey, an often-overlooked village in the Côte Chalonnaise, is home to well-priced authentic Burgundy, both red and white. In this era of stratospheric prices for Burgundies, consumers should search for wines from this village. Château de Chamirey, one of the finest producers in the Côte Chalonnaise, made a superb array of Mercurey wines in 2016. … Read more
($35): 
This is the first vintage that Château de Chamirey decided to bottle wine from this 3.5-acre vineyard separately. Half went into this bottling, while the other half went into their village Mercurey blend. Although not from a premier cru vineyard, this 2015 tastes like a premier cru wine. … Read more
($35): 
Domaine Salomon is a — perhaps the — star in Givrey, yet another under-rated village in the Côte Chalonnaise. (Don’t confuse this village with Gevrey, as in Chambertin, in the Côte d’Or.) This wine, their flagship, hails from a 17.5-acre that they own exclusively. … Read more
($118, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Vaudésir, along with Le Clos, sit atop most critics’ lists — certainly mine — of top Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis. To me, the wines from Vaudésir, in the hands of the best producers, combine power with elegance and epitomize the stature of Grand Cru classification. … Read more
($48, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Vaillon is a large well-known 1er cru vineyard on the Left Bank in Chablis that is composed of many plots. Christian Moreau’s plot, where the average age of the vines is 56 years, according to their website, is in the heart of the vineyard. … Read more
($75, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Fabien Moreau, the current winemaker, says that this portion of their plot in the Vaillon vineyard was planted by his grandfather, Guy, 83 years ago and contain the oldest vines of their estate. Located on the steepest part of the slope, the vines have excellent exposure and drainage. … Read more
($25, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Aviron’s Moulin-à-Vent dazzles with a paradoxical firmness and fleshiness. The tannins are fine, not hard or astringent. You can almost taste the granitic soil of this cru in this tightly wound wine. Uplifting brightness in the finish amplifies its appeal.… Read more
($25, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Morgon, along with Moulin-à-Vent, are the two cru that produce the sturdiest wines that often need several years of bottle age to show their true beauty. The Côte de Py is an area within Morgon made of black volcanic soil that imparts an austere mineral-like quality to the wines. … Read more
($21, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
While not as ripe and fleshy as the 2015 wines from Beaujolais, the 2016s are racier while maintaining charm for which the region is known. Aviron’s Juliénas borrows a bit of the density of his Chénas and combines it with an alluring spice. … Read more
($22, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd): 
Stéphane Aviron makes wines from many of the crus of Beaujolais, the ten villages that have the potential to produce distinctive wines that stand apart from those labeled Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages. (Indeed, wines from these villages rarely put Beaujolais on the label.) … Read more
($14): 
One of Drouhin’s talents is that, along with their top-notch prestigious Burgundies, they make high-quality wines from appellations with lesser pedigrees, such as Macon-Villages. This Chardonnay-based wine, while ripe for Drouhin’s style, still does not approach the opulence seen in many New World Chardonnay. … Read more
($20, Louis Latour USA): 
Viré-Clessé is an under-the-radar appellation in the Mâconnais that was created in the late 1990s from combining two villages, Viré and Clessé, that made distinctive wines that were previously included under the umbrella of Mâcon-Villages. It joins St.… Read more
($75, Louis Latour USA): 
Simonnet-Febvre, a top-notch Chablis producer, makes classically structured Chablis — tightly wound and linear. Their Preuses, from their own vineyards, is always one of their best wines. Preuses has the reputation of being one of the least elegant of the Chablis Grand Cru. … Read more
($21, David Bowler Wine): 
Sensational is the word that comes to mind when describing the 2015 vintage in Beaujolais. Of course, we are talking about the cru of Beaujolais, the ten villages within that region whose wines stand apart from the remainder of the region, which explains why the name of the cru alone — without the word Beaujolais — appears on the label. … Read more
($18, Quintessential): 
The reputation of Beaujolais is that of an easy-drinking fruity wine to be consumed soon after release. That description may be accurate for most Beaujolais, but not those from ten villages, known as the cru of Beaujolais, whose wines are far more distinctive. … Read more
($23): 
Though technically, the “third” wine from Caiarossa, the Pergolaia would finish first in a line-up of similarly priced Tuscan wines. Of the seven red grape varieties planted at Caiarossa, the Pergolaia relies on the three most usually found in Super Tuscans: Sangiovese (88%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%) and Merlot. … Read more
($20, Dreyfus Ashby): 
The 2015 vintage in Burgundy delivered outstanding reds and whites. It’s a rare vintage that is successful for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but 2015 was. The reds, for the most part, though engaging now, are best put in the cellar. … Read more