Pierre Clair, vineyard manager at Marquis d`Angerville and formerly de Montille, and his wife Jennifer farm 3.5 hectares biodynamically, growing from a 0.4-hectare family plot in Corpeau. Aligoté from a small parcel: whole-bunch, native yeasts, aged in neutral oak, bottled unfiltered with minimal sulphur.
Chablis Clos Beru Monopole Chateau de Beru (Magnum)
Château de Béru`s Clos Béru is a monopole, a walled Chablis vineyard owned by the Béru family; the estate is farmed biodynamically. 100% Chardonnay on Kimmeridgian limestone. One of the most energetic wines of the appellation.
Chablis Clos Beru Monopole Chateau de Beru (Magnum)
`Still in barrel, the 2017 Chablis Clos Béru Monopole is a stunning wine. Rich and textured, with tons of phenolic intensity, the 2017 possesses remarkable depth from the very first taste. More than anything else, the Clos Béru is a Chablis to admire for its textural intensity and utterly captivating beauty. It is one of the most distinctive whites I have tasted in a number of years.` 93-95 Points, Antonio Galloni
Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Côte Bouguerots William Fèvre
`Note: from a 2.2 ha parcel at the bottom section of the vineyard; even so, the vineyard is so steep here that it must be worked entirely by hand as tractors would be dangerous to use. A cool and highly restrained nose reluctantly offers up its array of citrus, tidal pool, quinine and oyster shell. The exceptionally rich, even opulent, medium-weight plus flavors also brim with sappy dry extract on the mineral-driven, powerful and remarkably long finish. This is perhaps slightly less elegant than it typically is, but it is seriously good all the same. Buy it.` 95 Points Allen Meadows
`More open and airy – if not the same focus as the previous. Wide, crystalline – more mouth-filling. Here the fluidity of the best, mouthwatering, growing almost juicy – a cascade of flavour energy and mouth-watering moreishness that the Preuses isn’t showing today. Great wine – no overt oak either.` Bill Nanson
`More lemon than lime, a little touch of coconut, the wine has the intensity to handle it, amazing punch at the back. Superb concentration here. Vauprin once again shows the absolute magic of this site in the hands of the Lavantureux team. 91-94 points` Jasper Morris MW
`Vauprin is a special selection on the hill of Vauprin, situated close to Lignorelles. Vines range from 20-80 years old and the parcel is 1.8ha in size. This AP Chablis is notable for the confident way in which oak is used (up to 50%, ranging from new to five-year-old). Lovely density on the palate allied to purity of fruit. Here, the oak really does add a lot of complexity but the Chablis character is still evident underneath. A very fine Chablis` 93 Points Alex Hunt
From the heart of the original Chassagne clos: about 1.3 hectares of white vines, plus 0.8 of red, at a fourth-generation domaine founded in 1900. Thierry Pillot ferments naturally, ages on lees for 12 to 18 months, and keeps new oak to 10 to 20 per cent.
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Grande Ruchottes Paul Pillot
A 0.26-hectare parcel in one of Chassagne`s finest premier crus, acquired by Paul Pillot after he took over the family domaine in 1968. Thierry Pillot now makes it with natural fermentation, 12 to 18 months on lees and little new oak.
From the borders, but outside the Champagne AOC, the vineyards of Molesme share much of the similar geology. Hand Harvested, natural yeats and aged for 2 years on the lees, these reflect the work of Jeanne Piollot who worked with her parents on Piollot Pere and Marie Courtin before setting out her own stall..
Macon-Cruzille Aragonite White Clos Des Vignes Du Maynes (Magnum)
Chardonnay from a high, pure-limestone parcel at Julien Guillot`s seven-hectare biodynamic estate in Cruzille, on soils rich in aragonite. Vines are over 50 years old. Aged a year on lees in old oak, another in enamel, with native yeasts and no sulphur. Nearly two decades old.
Macon-Cruzille Les Chassagnes Clos Des Vignes Du Maynes (Magnum)
From a monks` clos recorded in 910 and farmed organically since the Guillots bought it in 1952, Julien Guillot`s biodynamic estate sits on clay and limestone in Cruzille. This white sees skin contact and ageing on lees, with native yeasts and no sulphur.
Macon-Cruzille Les Chassagnes Clos des Vignes du Maynes Julien Guillot (Magnum)
Julien Guillot joined his father in 1998, took over in 2001 and converted the whole seven-hectare clos at Cruzille to biodynamics. This white sees skin contact and ageing on lees, fermented with native yeasts and bottled with no added sulphur.
Jean-Marc Roulot trained as an actor before taking over the family domaine in Meursault in 1989. He farms organically, and this premier cru is his monopole, a walled vineyard. Roulot`s Meursault is among the region`s tensest and most mineral.
Jean-Marc Roulot trained as an actor before taking over the family domaine in Meursault in 1989. This premier cru is his monopole, a walled vineyard farmed organically, among the region`s tensest and most mineral Chardonnays.
Meursault 1er Poruzots Pierre Yves Colin-Morey [Pre-Arrival]
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, son of Marc Colin and Chassagne`s Morey family, set up his own domaine in 2001. Poruzots is one of his many Meursault Premier Cru`s and one of the strongest wines in the line-up.
Chardonnay from a small parcel of hundred year old vines planted over pure limestone. This was given a long, slow and gentle press before a year of élevage in old barriques.
Pouilly-Fuisse Cuvee Leandre L`Homme Lione Clos des Vignes Guillot
A Pouilly-Fuissé bottled under Guillot`s name from the family`s Cruzille estate, where the clos dates back to 910 and Julien farms seven hectares biodynamically, without additives.
Sylvain and Béatrice Bzikot farm 15 hectares of Puligny, Saint-Aubin, Auxey-Duresses, Santenay and Volnay. Their grandfather arrived from Poland before the war and built the estate; most grapes were sold in bulk until Sylvain persuaded his father to bottle their own wine in 1992. A premier cru from Les Perrières, one of Puligny`s most admired climats, aged in French oak with little new wood.
Étienne Sauzet founded this Puligny-Montrachet house in 1903, and it has long been one of the village`s benchmark white-wine producers, today run by the Riffault and Boudot families.
Sylvain and Béatrice Bzikot farm 15 hectares around Puligny; most of the crop was sold in bulk until 1992, when the family began to bottle its own. La Rousselle is a village lieu-dit directly below the premier crus Perrières and Réferts, aged in French oak with little new wood. Jancis Robinson scored the 2017 17+.
Extensive holdings in St-Aubin allow Sylvain to make some of the best value bottlings in the village, a lesser known 1er cru, but very complex and elegant with power in reserve.
Philippe Colin built his domaine from his share of the family Colin-Deleger vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet, when the estate split in 2003. A St-Aubin premier cru: 0.37 hectares of Le Charmois, rocky vineyards close to the Chassagne premiers crus, give a stony, mineral style. Larger barrels, little new oak, elegance before weight.
`The 2023 Saint-Aubin Village offers up a gently reductive bouquet of white flowers, pear and toasted bread. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, it`s long and racy, concluding with chalky grip. Pierre-Yves Colin has delivered another successful 2023 vintage, and almost everything I tasted remained un-racked on the lees, undergoing a long élevage in pursuit of more tension and complexity. As ever, picking tends to be on the early side with a view to retaining freshness` 89-91 Points William Kelley
