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Marcel Moreau originally developed this domaine in the 1960s. His son Bernard Moreau took over in 1982, pioneering estate bottling and the separation of the various premier crus into individual cuvees. However, it was when Bernard’s sons Alex and Benoit arrived in the early 2000s that Domaine Bernard Moreau really began to acquire a serious following. Alex handled the winery, Benoit managed the vineyards, and Bernard Moreau became known for some stunning wines in a very contemporary white Burgundian idiom. bright, tense, mineral, and full of energy.
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We saw Antoine Jobard this year for a change. He is gradually taking over more responsibility for the wines. The wines had just been racked and put onto their fine lees for the second winter in cask. The `07 harvest was finished in early September and the grapes came in with a high malic content, which will stand them in good stead from a structural point of view, and the natural alcohol was around 13%. The ripeness of the fruit combined with the high acid levels means that the wines are balanced and have good richness. -
Cyprien Arlaud has the natural confidence of a man at the top of his game. He has been making the wines at Domaine Arlaud since 2001 and, as he sees it, he is now reaping the benefits of his early switch to organics, followed swiftly by biodynamics. He also puts in prodigious amounts of work in the vineyard, and the domaine employs considerably more vineyard workers than any of the near neighbours.
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Tasting over the last few years I 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 fashions a set of wines that invariably brim with verve, tension and energy. He is the 15th generation of his family to front the domaine, so perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that he knows what he is doing. Nor he is afraid to innovate; his wines are very much in the modern mode, lean and elegant, with a deliberate touch of reduction.
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The Jura's rich mix of microclimates and soils has long drawn comparison to the Cote d'Or, located on the other side of the Saone river. In the 19th century, 20,000 hectares were once planted to vines in its rolling hills. Unlike Burgundy, however, it lacked the resources to recover from the ravages of phylloxera, and even today only a small fraction of its potential is being realised — increasingly and rightly the subject of savvy drinkers' attentions, despite tiny yields and tight allocations.
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From a village that is often not taken as seriously as it should be comes Christophe Coillot, who takes his wine very seriously indeed. And yet his wines are fun, in a way you don`t often find. They`re fun because of the classic, silky textures, the balance and the well judged structures, but above all else because of the fruit. 90% of the domaine is organic, and no herbicides or pesticides are used, with instead lots of hard work done by hand. -
The Dugats trace their Burgundy lineage back 13 generations now that Loïc has joined. Bernard Dugat worked his first vintage in 1975 and having married Jocelyne Py in 1979 renamed the Domaine to reflect this in 1994. Dugat-Py isn’t just an historic Domaine, it is a very traditional one too. Work in the vineyards is absolutely meticulous with 10 employees in the vines making sure that the health of these old plants – average 65 years – is top notch. The Domaine has been certified organic since 2003, though Loïc has gradually been introducing more elements of biodynamie.
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Amelie Berthaut is one of the leading lights among a new generation of growers, and since she took over in 2012, she has turned a relatively obscure family domaine into a hot property. She is also credited with putting her home village of Fixin back on the map; while it was widely overlooked until recently, in the 19th century Fixin was considered to have parts the equal of Gevrey-Chambertin. Amelie inherited an impressive array of vineyards from her parents, and has since managed to expand her reach further.
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Berliquet can seem like a relative newcomer. In fact it is an historic estate, but one whose grapes for generations were sent to the local co-op. In-house bottling did not begin till 1978, and so, despite the excellent location, it wasn’t even classified till 1986. Nicolas Audebert freely admits that when the Wertheimer brothers acquired Berliquet in 2017, the intention had been to roll the vineyards into their neighbouring Chateau Canon.
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Fabien Moreau says his goal is to make `the most classical Chablis possible` - and the way to achieve that is `through a balance between ripeness and tension`. Domaine Christian Moreau was only officially constituted in 2002, but in reality is the culmination of six generations of work and history. Quality is always outstanding here, and the wines offer the epitome of the `oyster shell` character habitually attributed to Chablis; they are mineral and intense, tangy, structured, sometimes austere but always elegant.
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Thanks to the Australian government, who vetoed his visa after the French started nuclear testing in the Pacific, the young but highly experienced Benjamin Leroux stayed in France in 1999 and ended up at Comte Armand, where he had done some work experience. This is a young man in a hurry and the changes to this 7.5 ha property came fast. The first was to move to a completely biodynamic culture and picking at phenolic ripeness. Less extraction than previous regimes and a post-fermentation maceration have softened what were, for many, tough wines with little grace. -
Arnaud Mortet, his sister Clemence and their mother Laurence make a close and formidable team, dexterously managing the multitude of small plots at this top family domaine. In Arnaud’s words. ‘Before being made in the cellar, the wine is made in the vineyard with supple and impeccable soils, which allow the vines to take root deeply. I thank my father and my grandfather who understood all this a long time ago’. They gave up on most chemicals long ago, and rely on indigenous yeast in the winery.
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Laurence and Laurent Guillet are the guardians of some of what is arguably Beaujolais` greatest terroir. Beaujolais isn`t a terroir wine in most people`s eyes, but the wines produced here have an energy and a minerality that makes them exceptional. The Cote de Py is the bit of decomposed granite that produces these extraordinary wines and combined with careful husbandry transforms an often overlooked and sometimes leaden grape (Gamay) into vinous gold. It`s alchemy, I tell you. (CW 24/06/14)
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Morey-St-Denis is a fine bit of the Cote d`Or that flies under the radar of many people, overshadowed by Gevrey and Nuits, amongst others. Perhaps it was because in 1936, when they were handing down the Grand and Premier Cru classifications that the then owner refused GC status in case he had to pay more tax! Clos des Lambrays has found its place since then of course. And under Thierry Brouin has a director of immense prowess and great humility too. -
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Etienne certainly compares the 2008 vintage to 1993, citing the very similar vegetative cycles in both summers. And to reinforce that he gave us a 1993 Richebourg to taste at the end of our visit.Still needing time, obviously, this was still a majestic wine, with masses of fruit and development. The 2008s were the main event here and together with a mystery Russian and his PA, we tasted (the Russian drank) through the range. The overall impression was of suppleness and energy in the wines. They were all full of gas, but the wines here spend two winters in cask. -
Frédéric Lafarge has established Domaine Lafarge-Vial in the charming, dramatic village of Fleurie. The wines are vinified back in Volnay, but Frédéric was keen to tell me the fruit here demands a different approach; he vinifies his Fleurie with 30% whole cluster, which brings a more expressive, aromatic style. /NT
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When Jacques Seysses bought the domaine that was to become the eponymous `du jac` in the sixties and then buying some top plots who would have thought that Dujac would become such an influential player in the region.
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Domaine Felettig has an origin story you hear time and again across Burgundy (and more broadly, across much of France and viticultural Europe). Grape cultivators gradually become landowners in their own right, and sent their grapes to the village co-op until someone (in this case, Henri Felettig) took the dramatic decision to begin estate bottling. Over time, family holdings increased. In 1993, the next generation took over, with Gilbert handling the winemaking and his sister Christine administering the domaine.
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What can one say about Francois that won`t be misinterpreted? Capricious, fey, self-deprecating, tiny, dedicated, giggly as hell, slightly anxious about his wines, says pfff more often than any other Frenchman I`ve ever met, crafter of brilliant Chambolle. I`m not sure he ever wanted to be a winemaker, but he`s a bloody good one. (CW 14/03/14)
