Last week Burgundy-specialist merchants and journalists gathered to taste 29 White Burgundies from the 2010 vintage, an experience that was impressive and, dare I say, surprising. The element that was most encouraging being the absence of premoxed wines.
Giles Burke-Gaffney
Almost all were in good condition, except a slightly tired, bruised-fruit Pernot Belicard Puligny that may have just been a bad bottle and a Terre de Velle Puligny that was just about holding on. The regional wines, at the lowest end of the quality pyramid, were tiring a little but nothing more than you would have expected and still showed rather well considering. Certain wines displayed more unctuosity alcohol and exotic fruit, recalling the botrytis that affected some of the crop, these were fine and still very much alive now but did not necessarily offer excitement or suggest further ageing potential.
For me the greatest wines in the vintage are clearly still very youthful indeed, they have a drive and energy, a clarity of flavour, all of which combined with great finesse. I was thrilled by how many of these wines there were. High acidity was a common feature across the tasting but where it melded into ripe but not excessively ripe fruit, you have a beautiful and seamless marriage. The wines that embodied these qualities most in this tasting were from Puligny, which for me was the most consistent commune. Chassagne was a notch down but still good and above the less consistent Meursaults but I think this was more to do with the selection of producers rather than commune traits. Corton was the least well performing but this to me feels like a question of commune and not producer. Then again, it was a small sample to judge on.
Overall this was an excellent tasting, the encouraging conclusion of which was that the best wines still have plenty more to give – and there were far more examples of these than either 2009 or 2008 displayed at the same stage in their life, back in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
Comte Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre – Complex and full. Classic, well-executed Meursault, big framed but not fat. Lovely flint, nut and butter mix. Delicious now
Michel Bouzereau Meursault Genevrieres – The shrinking violet of the Meursaults. Pretty and elegant, floral. Very much a Genevrieres. Great expression, again another drinking beautifully now
Bernard Moreau Chassagne Morgeot – Full and weighty but with some flinty restraint. Characterful, deep but very youthful and energetic. Still on an upward curve. Most impressive.
Jean-Claude Bachelet Puligny Sous le Puits – Vivacious and charming now, open knit but with the energy to suggest there is further ageing potential. Limey fruit cuts through the honey and nutty oak
Jacques Carillon Puligny Perrieres – Lime and greengage nose, focused and pure. Classy rather than extrovert. Racy persistent and mineral. Textbook Puligny. Enjoyable but tightly-coiled enough to age further
Domaine Leflaive Puligny Folatieres – An aristocrat. Silky-textured, honeyed fruit glides seamlessly across the palate with a fine line of acidity giving this focus. A beauty. Brilliant now and no sign of peaking yet. Preferred this to their Combettes.
Jean-Philippe Fichet Puligny Referts – Toasty oak reduction on the nose is atypical for this producer but it works well. Great balance, lively long citrusy fruit to balance the sweet smoke. Coiled. Impressive
Etienne Sauzet Puligny Combettes – A sleeper. Bodied and unctuous as ever but clearly fresh and youthful. Holding much in reserve, quiet but really assured and powerful. Patience needed but promising.
Jean-Noel Gagnard Batard Montrachet – Deeper colour than many others and more golden fruit but this was always the case straight out of barrel. Slightly more exotic in style but it works incredibly well. Lots of sumptuous honeyed fruit with an excellent citrus kick. Perhaps a more divisive style but no doubting its freshness.
Remi Rollin Pernand Vergelesses Les Clous – Tasted well straight after the Batard and better than any of the Cortons in the flight. An appellation clearly able to punch well above its weight. Not the complexity or power of some of the wines in this tasting but deep enough and beautifully pure, incisive ripe fruit. Really racy without being astringent. Probably near peak, delicious now, but there is no need to rush this either.
Regional
Domaine Chevrot, Hautes-Côte de Beaune, Chardonnay
Domaine Chevrot, Bourgogne, Aligoté
Saint-Aubin
Domaine Hubert Lamy, Saint-Aubin, 1er Cru, Murgers des dents de Chien
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils, 1er Cru, Murgers des dents de Chien
Meursault
Domaine Patrick Javillier, Meursault, Clousots (magnum)
Domaine Latour-Giraud, Meursault, 1er Cru, Les Genevrières
Domaine Michel Bouzereau, Meursault, 1er Cru, Les Genevrières
Domaine Remi Jobard, Meursault, 1er Cru, Les Genevrières
Domaine Buisson-Charles, 1er Cru Meursault, Gouttes d'Or
Chassagne-Montrachet
Domaine Marc Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, Les Vergers
Domaine Blain-Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Clos St Jean
Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Morgeot
Domaine Bruno Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, En Remilly
Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, La Romanée
Puligny-Montrachet
Domaine Terre de Velles, Puligny-Montrachet
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils, Puligny-Montrachet, Sous Le Puits
Domaine Jacques Carillon, Puligny-Montrachet
Domaine Pernot-Belicard, 1er Cru, Puligny-Montrachet, Champ-Canet
Domaine Jacques Carillon, 1er Cru, Puligny-Montrachet, Les Perrières
Maison Oliver Leflaive, 1er Cru, Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatières
Domaine Jean-Louis Chavy, 1er cru Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatières
Domaine Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru, Les Folatières
Domaine Jean-Philippe Fichet, 1er Cru, Les Referts
Domaine Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru Les Combettes
Bouchard Père et Fils, Chevalier-Montrachet
Pernand-Vergelesses & Hill of Corton
Domaine Remi Rollin, Pernand-Vergelesses, Les Clous
Maison Olivier Leflaive, Corton-Charlemagne
Domaine Vincent Rapet, Corton-Charlemagne
Domaine Chanson, Corton-Vergennes
61 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1LZ
Reg. Company No: 68576
AWRS URN: XPAW00000105319
Please do not share with anyone under the legal purchase age for alcohol.
Drink Responsibly www.drinkiq.com
© Justerini & Brooks 2025. All Rights Reserved.