2024 Burgundy: Pernand, Beaune, Volnay

Rapet, Drouhin, Lafarge

Tucked behind the hill of Corton, off the back road that links up Nuits-St-Georges with the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, the village of Pernand-Vergelesses is removed from the main Burgundian slope. The Rapet family have been farming vineyards and making wine here for generations, and they own substantial parcels on the hill of Corton. Current winemaker Vincent has adopted the best in modern cellar practice, but otherwise vinification is the way his family have been doing it for generations. Stylistically, his wines are understated and only lightly extracted, with a gentle use of new oak. Most of the reds also have a judicious touch of whole bunch to them. They are discreet, classy wines, and we're big fans at Uncorked.

The nearby wine town of Beaune is the hub of the region. Joseph Drouhin founded his Beaune winery in 1880; 142 years later, it is expertly managed by his great-grandchildren. Maison Drouhin works as a landowner, producer, and négociant, applying the very best of modern practice in viticulture and vinification to some of Burgundy's finest terroirs, to make some very high-class wines.

Down the road in Volnay, Frédéric Lafarge is a man with an encyclopedic memory of vintages, always able to find historical references to any given vintage condition. But when it came to 2024, he told me, 'We can't easily compare 2024 to any vintage of the last hundred years. With the cold, rainy spring we would have expected a later harvest, but in fact summer was good and it advanced the season. Yields were as low as in 2021, but very differently distributed. Mildew and the poor conditions at flowering dramatically reduced the crop, but when it came to harvest, what fruit we had was in beautiful condition. We are sad about the quantity, but the quality of the wines is beautiful. A classic vintage for us'. His reds are supple and mellow, and his whites thrum with the exceptional energy of the vintage. /NT

Read our full vintage report here.

Offered subject to remaining unsold. Wines expected to arrive spring 2027. To place an order, click on the wines below, reply to this email, or call 020 7638 5998