FRENCH WINE

ROBERT PARKER 93-95 POINTS: "The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux was not affected by frost and yielded a good quantity to the surprise of Arnaud Mortet —30 hectoliters per hectare. Matured with 50% whole bunch and up to 70% new oak, it has a generous, almost peppermint-tinged bouquet with great vigor and vivacity. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, good weight and plenty of blood orange-tinged black fruit. It is slightly attenuated right on the finish but this should flesh out once in bottle. This is how to make a great Les Champeaux."

DECANTER 97 POINTS - "Like the domaine's Bonnes Mares parcel, this 0.25ha block used to belong to Domaine Newman, but has hit even greater heights under the hand of Arnaud Mortet. Beautifully judged, this is the work of a winemaker at the peak of his game, showing subtle (40%) whole-bunch notes with black cherry and blood orange fruit, sinuous tannins and a bright, tangy finish."

WINE ADVOCATE 93-95 POINTS: "2017 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru is the fourth vintage of this grand cru that Arnaud Mortet has produced and it's a lovely wine, offering up notes of dark wild berries, orange rind, peonies and spices. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and layered, with excellent depth and dimension, framed by fine-grained tannins that assert themselves on the elegantly chalky finish. Mortet manually destemmed a quarter of this cuvée, cutting out the stems and retaining the pedicels."

DECANTER 96 POINTS: "This remarkable 0.35ha parcel used to belong to Domaine Newman but is now an established part of the Mortet range. All located on white soils on the larger Chambolle-side of Bonnes Mares, this is showing its 70% new wood at the moment but has the structure and concentration to soak it up. It's sappy, savoury and fine, with a palate-pleasing red fruit sweetness and underlying minerality."

DECANTER 96 POINTS: "Located just below Château de la Tour in what Arnaud Mortet calls 'the best part of the lower part of the Clos', the domaine's parcel runs to 0.35ha. Made with 30% stems and 70% new oak, it's very much a clay-derived style with plenty of texture, smooth tannins and layers of sweet, sensuous red berry fruit."

A light bouquet of refreshing red fruits, raspberries, and mild oak spices. Easy-going but less attractive than the Bourgogne Rouge. Juicy with high acidity. Fixin Vieilles Vignes 2018. Blend of 2 parcels, one on the north of Fixin and one right next to Gevrey Chambertin.

ROBERTPARKER.COM 93 POINTS: "Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, the 2014 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu from Comtes Lafon is blessed with a sensual bouquet with plenty of dark cherry and blueberry fruit, maybe a slight malic scent just underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, a fine line of acidity, fresh and tensile with impressive mineralité coming through toward the finish. This is a stylish, well-crafted Santenots that should age well in bottle and may eventually merit a higher score. Tasted September 2017."

BURGHOUND 92 POINTS -" A more restrained nose reluctantly offers up a bit more deeply pitched nose of violet, plum and anise hints. The sleek, delicious and beguilingly vibrant medium weight flavors culminate in a dusty, complex and sneaky long finish. While this is labeled as a villages, it performs at a 1er level."

DECANTER 92 POINTS -"Dominique Lafon uses his young-vine fruit from Santenots and En Champans to make this delightfully drinkable village Volnay. Crunchy, fresh and vibrant, it has pomegranate and wild strawberry fruit, gentle, fine-grained tannins and some sweet spice from 20% new wood."

DECANTER 95 POINTS: "Produced from what is nearly a monopole grand cru - Domaine Taupenot-Merme owns 0.004ha - Clos des Lambrays is always marked by its 90% whole bunches, but the style is very well done in 2017 under new cellarmaster, Boris Champy. With 50% new wood framing the palate, this is subtle, nuanced and focussed, with polished tannins and bright acidity."

BURGHOUND 92 - 94 POINTS - "A beautifully layered nose offers up notes of liqueur-like plum, warm earth and a lovely array of spice and floral elements. The exceptionally rich and generously proportioned flavors are unusually seductive in the context of what is typical for the appellation, all wrapped in a velvety, sappy and palate coating finish where a hint of wood appears. This too should drink well young."

WINE ADVOVCATE 90 - 92 POINTS - "The 2016 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru was perhaps the one grand cru that I felt was a little disjointed and did not quite deliver the vivacity of the Chapelle-Chambertin or Latricières. It includes 40% whole bunch fruit and was depleted by 30% because of the frost, but it just came across a little dolorous at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This feels a little foursquare and conservative and just needs more of the flamboyance and blue fruit you associate with this vineyard. Maybe this Bonnes-Mares just got stage fright on the day I visited? They’ve done it! “What have they done, exactly," you rightfully ask. Well, Drouhin-Laroze has finally produced a clutch of wines commensurate with their stellar array of holdings. Without wishing any disrespect to Philippe Drouhin, since first encountering their wines in the late nineties, myself and other mavens felt that they were a bit 'over-produced.' Maybe picked too late? Certainly they were often burdened with an excessive use of new oak that obfuscated terroir, and when you have half a dozen grand crus under your wing, that is a shame."

INSIDE BURGUNDY 91 POINTS - ""Dense black purple. I cannot tease out the nose at first, but there is a beautiful, balanced weight of fruit in the mouth, with a fresh mineral finish, lots of stones in the soil, and a saline finish. Nicolas describes it as digeste, a wine that slips down easily. Tasted: December 2018."

BURGHOUND 92 - 95 POINTS - " This is also brooding to the point of being almost inexpressive and it is only with aggressive swirling that reluctant aromas of pungent earth, spice, floral, dark currant and mocha notes emerge. This is a seriously powerful and concentrated Maz with its muscular big-bodied flavors that also possess a hugely long finish on the almost painfully intense finale. This is terrific and should amply reward longer-term cellaring and note too that it's going to need it as this is very structured though not hard or tough."

ORGANIC PRODUCER

BURGHOUND 93 - 95 POINTS - "This is markedly more restrained with its reluctant aromas of brooding dark berry fruit, earth, sauvage and hints of dried flowers. There is excellent volume, concentration and imposing power to the big-bodied flavors that deliver plenty of minerality and outstanding persistence on the robust but balanced finish. This classically proportioned Clos de la Roche is indisputably going to require extended keeping."

DECANTER, TIM ATKIN 94 POINTS - "The Seysses family are more readily associated with Morey-St-Denis than Vosne-Romanée, but they make some impressive wines in the latter village, too. This compact, savoury, plushly textured premier cru has 85% whole-bunch fruit and 60% new wood. It shows flavours of blueberry, raspberry and black cherry fruit with some peppery spice and balancing acidity."
Drinking Window 2023 - 2030