Vincent hits the spot

Bargain of the vintage! 2014's final call.

One of the tightest ships in Burgundy, this is a tiny production operation but with room to breathe in the enormous barn and cellars that house it. There's nothing superfluous here, no laser sorting machines; just constant, meticulous work in both vineyards (especially the vineyards) and the cellar. We asked Vincent what he got out of being certified organic. His answer was that while the vines are the same (a lot of them predate chemical agriculture anyway), the grapes are much healthier. Before the switch to organic farming the grapes had maturity but were short of acidity. Now, they achieve full maturity but with better acidity.

As always with converting to organics yields go down significantly while the vines adjust to finding their own nutrients and our tasting showed attack and intensity throughout. Vincent is rightly highly respected by his peers and indeed is one of our finest growers. The whites reflect his prowess as much as the vintage and they all have this intense, ripe mandarine fruit, with precise, mineral finishes, mouthfilling and very long.

The reds are supple and delicious. Even the Bourgogne rouge has real complexity, with the fruit coming from Nuits and Puligny. The Rully Maizières is several steps up with ripeness balanced by freshness and fine tannins with a long finish. Vincent is the last of our growers to bring his wines to market, so don't miss these amazingly good value wines. /CW

Offered subject to remaining unsold for shipment 2016/17