Rapet, Jadot, Drouhin, Comte Armand, Ballot-Millot, Marc Colin, Joseph Colin, Phillippe Colin, Moreau, Niellon
The quarries at Comblanchien, where vineyards give way to exposed limestone, mark the end of the Cote de Nuits. A little further south, the Cote de Beaune begins in the folds of the scenic valleys tucked around the hill of Corton. It was here, in the secluded, pretty village of Pernand-Vergelesses, that we made our biggest new discovery of the vintage. Rapet is the most important landowner on the hill of Corton, and over the past few vintages the domaine has received some runaway scores. We were entirely seduced by their elegant, unforced, high-energy wines. The white are bright, saline and brimming with verve, the reds have an expressive purity and a fabulous, lifted texture.
Next stop south is the wine town of Beaune. It was Maison Louis Jadot that really woke us up to the quality of the 2020 Burgundy vintage. Much of the production is now biodynamic, and Jadot has clearly understood that vineyard work is the path to truly great wines. Joseph Drouhin also make a stunning set of wines from some of Burgundy's finest terroirs, and apply the very best of modern practice in viticulture and vinification. Their very modern winery on the outskirts of Beaune contrasts with the labyrinthine medieval tunnels of their cellars under the centre of Beaune: in 1944 Maurice Drouhin, who had been helping the Resistance, used those tunnels to escape the German soldiers sent to arrest him.
Pommard has always had a reputation for powerful tannins and solid, structured wines built to last. That's not quite the whole story, though; and no site better demonstrates the sheer elegance Pommard can also achieve than Comte Armand's monopole Clos des Epeneaux. It remains the appellation's greatest single reference point.
After Pommard and Volnay, we are back in white wine country. Tasting over the last few years we have never been in any doubt that Ballot-Millot is one of the finest white wine domaines in the Cote de Beaune. From his cellars in Meursault, Charles Ballot has fashioned a set of 2020s that brim with verve, tension and energy. Tucked away in a side valley, St-Aubin is home to more than one Colin. At Domaine Marc Colin , Damien and his sister Caroline are making some seriously good wine; their 2020s are bright, pure, and intense. Their brother Joseph is making some similarly scintillating whites in the family vein, full of a nutty, oyster shell minerality.
Down the road in Chassagne-Montrachet and from a slightly different branch of the Colin family, 2020 marks Philippe Colin's 17th vintage since he went solo. It may well be his finest. He described the balance between sugar and acidity in 2020 as 'ideal', and his 2020s have a real sense of vitality and terroir distinction. At Bernard Moreau, Alex is a man at the top of his game. His 2020s are a racy, high-energy set. And at Niellon, Michel Coutoux is making ripe and concentrated wines that retain balance, poise and precision, from old vines and choice sites. /NT
Read our full 2020 Burgundy vintage report here.
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Winter 2022/3
