France
The vast and diverse wine regions of France, each with its own unique terroirs, grape varieties, and winemaking techniques, are a treasure trove.
In Bordeaux, the birthplace of some of the world's most iconic wines, esteemed vineyards such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Latour, and Château Haut-Brion produce exceptional red wines, showcasing the art of blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. The region is also renowned for its exquisite white wines, with vineyards like Château d'Yquem and Domaine de Chevalier producing legendary sweet wines.
Moving to Burgundy, the vineyards of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, and Domaine Armand Rousseau capture the essence of the region's revered terroir, crafting exquisite red wines from the Pinot Noir grape. Meanwhile, Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Coche-Dury are celebrated for their world-class white wines, predominantly made from Chardonnay.
The Champagne region, known for its sparkling wines, boasts illustrious houses such as Krug, Dom Pérignon, and Moët & Chandon, as well as grower-producers like Pierre Péters and Jacques Selosse. These vineyards create exceptional sparkling wines using the traditional method, offering a symphony of delicate bubbles, elegant flavors, and vibrant acidity.
In the Rhône Valley, iconic vineyards like Chapoutier, E. Guigal, and Château de Beaucastel produce remarkable red wines in the northern appellations of Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, and Cornas, showcasing the elegance and power of Syrah. Further south, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is celebrated for its rich and full-bodied red blends, with Château Rayas and Clos des Papes leading the way.
In Alsace, vineyards such as Domaine Zind-Humbrecht and omaine Trimbach craft exquisite white wines, including Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris, expressing the region's unique terroir and varietal character.
These are just a few highlights among the diverse array of wines that France offers. From the Loire Valley's crisp whites and elegant reds to the Languedoc-Roussillon's bold and robust wines, each region presents its own vinous treasures.
France
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Wine Advocate (88+)
Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting, the 2014 St Aubin 1er Cru Clos de la Chateniere from Domaine Hubert & Olivier Lamy was not as clean on the nose as its peers, slightly cheesy at first and then light mothball scents. The palate is fresh on the entry with a pretty kiwi fruit and Cornice pear opening; but it never achieves the same level of tension and focus as other premier crus from the appellation, and it seems to drift on the finish. This may well be entering a dumb phase, and it may well re-find the promise it demonstrated from barrel, hence my plus sign.Inc. TAX€3,182.84 -
Inc. TAX€702.47 -
Vinous (90)
Full medium red. Wild aromas of strawberry and smoke plus a touch of meaty reduction. Fat, sweet and creamy in the middle, showing excellent volume for the year but not the verve or thrust of the Vosne villages. The wine's tannins coat the teeth and dry the sides of the tongue. (This wine was aged in 30% new oak, vs. 15% to 20% for the village wines.) My score assumes that this wine will absorb its oak element with time in the cellar.Inc. TAX€1,198.38 -
Wine Advocate (97)
I knew that the 2014 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru would be great when I tasted it from barrel last year...but not this great. It has a wonderful, tensile bouquet that just seems to sparkle. The fruit is so crystalline and laden with energy and mineralité that you almost have to sit down! The palate is surfeit with energy, the fruit perhaps a little darker than in barrel with white pepper, spices towards the almost Richebourg-like finish. Tasting them side-by-side, I would err for this over the Richebourg - it is a magnificent wine from Charles van Canneyt.Inc. TAX€3,503.20 -
Inc. TAX€592.25 -
Inc. TAX€581.52 -
Vinous (93+)
Deep ruby-red. Extremely dark aromas of black cherry, licorice pastille, crushed rock and violet. Wonderfully rich, pliant wine with splendid volume and sweetness for the year. Still very young but already displays lovely sucrosité that's nicely supported by its energy and structure. Humbert told me his 55-year-old vines on soil featuring a lot of small rocks are not far from those of Denis Bachelet and typically yield a structured wine. The dense, lively finish features black fruits, licorice, violet and bitter chocolate.Inc. TAX€1,282.88 -
Vinous (89)
(bottled in March): Slightly reduced, soil-driven scents of peach, truffle and porcini. Nicely balanced and ripe but with lovely lemony cut to its saline mineral and apple flavors. I find this more energetic than its 2015 sibling.Inc. TAX€922.12 -
Vinous (91)
Medium red. Complex, slightly exotic aromas of raspberry, cherry, red licorice, minerals and smoky underbrush. Saline and classically dry on the palate, with nicely integrated acidity giving the wine a rather suave texture. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and lingering notes of earth and dried herbs.Inc. TAX€1,347.73 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.Inc. TAX€2,919.73 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.Inc. TAX€8,249.20 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.Inc. TAX€17,518.38 -
Delight in the exquisite Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014, a symphony of flavour and elegance. This fine champagne hails from Montgueux's 4.7 hectares of Chardonnay hillside vineyards in the Aube department. Renowned vigneron Jacques Lassaigne, dedicated to organic farming and minimal intervention winemaking, meticulously hand-harvests the grapes and opts for natural fermentation in oak barrels for a distinct complexity.
The Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014 boasts a brilliant gold hue and shares a rhapsody of luscious lemon and apple intertwined with delicate notes of brioche. Its vibrant effervescence and elegant minerality, beneath a halo of refreshing acidity, make for a delicately balanced palate.
Honoured in leading wine publications, indulge in the prestigious Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014 for an unforgettable sensory voyage.
Inc. TAX€1,024.12 -
Vinous (91)
Bright ruby-red. Mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry and candied licorice are accompanied by a building floral nuance. Appealingly sweet and focused on the palate, offering energetic red and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors and a hint of spicecake. Shows very good focus and energy on a long, sappy finish framed by harmonious tannins.Inc. TAX€1,562.84 -
Vinous (91)
Bright ruby-red. Mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry and candied licorice are accompanied by a building floral nuance. Appealingly sweet and focused on the palate, offering energetic red and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors and a hint of spicecake. Shows very good focus and energy on a long, sappy finish framed by harmonious tannins.Inc. TAX€1,466.36 -
Vinous (89)
Bright dark red. Brisk, tight nose hints at dark fruits and minerals. In a juicy but very dry style, and distinctly imploded today. This tannic, slightly hard-edged wine is tough going. A puzzling showing: my score gives it the benefit of some doubt.Inc. TAX€1,058.87 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)
The 2014 Jean Faure is a powerful, authoritative wine. Mocha, savory herbs, mint and spiced notes provide aromatic topnotes. Plump and juicy on the palate, the 2014 has enough fruit and underlying tannin to drink well for at least a handful of years. This is an exotic wine with considerable Cabernet Franc aromatics, and yet it is quite striking.Inc. TAX€201.85 -
Vinous - Neal Martin (92)
The 2014 Cuvée Jean Gautreau is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot picked between September 23 and October 11. It has a much more appealing bouquet than the 2013, offering a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and smoke; clarity increases with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, showing supple tannin, a fine line of acidity and a well-defined, sensual finish that takes the oak in stride. This is an excellent Cuvée Jean Gautreau that should age with style. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.Inc. TAX€688.06 -
Wine Advocate (90-92)
The 2014 Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau has dark fruit, blackberry and black plum, with a touch of sous-bois on the broody nose that demands some encouragement from the glass. It has an effervescent entry with a surfeit of energy. There is still a veneer of toasty new oak to be subsumed here, but there is sufficient fruit to do just that. There is a hint of black pepper toward the finish that is conservative but nicely defined. Give this 2-3 years once in bottle.Inc. TAX€1,670.77 -
Burghound (95)
Somewhat surprisingly this is notably more elegant than it usually is with its expressive nose of black and red pinot fruit, spice and abundant earth and tea scents. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the precise, muscular and powerful flavors that possess excellent size, weight and finishing punch on the youthfully austere, firm and huge finale that is borderline chewy. This may be moderately more elegant than usual but it remains a Clos de Vougeot all the same and one that it going to require fully 15 years to reach its apogee. If you have the patience, this is knock-out good for the appellation.Inc. TAX€1,570.38 -
Wine Advocate (92-94)
The 2014 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru les Pruliers was much more backward on the nose compared to the 2014 les Roncières when I tasted it at the domaine; this is broody and a bit sulky at the moment. The palate is more expressive with fine, saturated tannin. The new oak is a little more prominent here and will need time to be absorbed, but there is plenty of fruité and density on the finish; plus there is tangible mineralité and indeed, spiciness on the finish that has more concentration than Etienne Grivot's other Nuits-Saint-Georges. Superb.Inc. TAX€958.38 -
Burghound (96)
A gorgeously spiced and perfumed nose is intensely floral in character while offering up notes of both red and dark currant, sandalwood, exotic Asian-style tea and discreet dried rose petal nuances. The muscular yet refined big-bodied flavors exude ample minerality onto the powerful, focused and once again compact, focused and explosively long finish. This too is indisputably built-to-age and I wouldn't be surprised if it required fully 20 years before it is fully ready. In sum this Richebourg is one of the finest wines of the 2014 vintage.Inc. TAX€1,875.73 -
The Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 2014 is a benchmark of true class in winemaking. Hailing from the renowned Chablis terroir in Burgundy, France, this extraordinary Chardonnay is the epitome of Jean-Marc Brocard's unwavering adherence to organic and biodynamic principles. Strict hand harvesting contributes to a rich, complex, and stunningly pure expression of its grand cru origins.
The 2014 vintage highlights an exhilarating balance of vibrant acidity and opulent layers of green apple, lemon, and a hint of white peach, all underpinned with distinctive Les Preuses mineral tones. Matured on lees in old oak casks for 15 months offer an intricacy of texture, while never veering away from the pristine fruit. Ageing potential is considerable, promising further evolution of depth over time.
Illuminating both the mastery of Jean Marc Brocard and the distinctiveness of its terroir, the Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 2014 remains a prized gem for discerning palates.
Inc. TAX€537.22 -
Vinous (89)
Good bright red with ruby tones. Rather wild aromas of black raspberry, smoke and leather. Supple, smooth and approachable; offers good volume for Chambolle and comes across as edge-free. A late dusting of tannins is nicely supported by mid-palate material. Not especially nuanced but this wine, too, will offer early drinkability.Inc. TAX€835.72 -
Vinous (93)
(made with 25 percent whole clusters) Inky ruby. Pungent, spice-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, candied violet, licorice and smoky minerals. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering pliant black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors that are complemented and lifted by a jolt of peppery spices. Becomes sweeter and deeper with air, with no loss of energy, and finishes sappy and very long; smooth tannins add shape and grip.Inc. TAX€1,286.77 -
Vinous (92)
(all new oak) Inky ruby. Intensely perfumed dark berry, cherry compote and violet aromas are complicated by suggestions of Indian spices and licorice. Juicy, expansive black and blue fruit flavors show impressive depth and energy, while a smoky mineral element adds lift and focus. Chewy tannins add grip to very long, floral-driven finish that leaves a sweet blueberry note behind.Inc. TAX€738.25 -
Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2014 is a standout wine hailing from the terrains of Meursault, in French Burgundy. An esteemed vigneron, Jean-Philippe Fichet, utilises traditional winemaking techniques to accomplish wines of remarkable complexity and exceptional quality. Crafted from old vines - 'vieilles vignes', the Chardonnay grapes are hand-harvested then meticulously sorted and swiftly pressed. Post fermentation, the wine endures an extensive maturing for 12 months in oak barrels, contributing to its splendid depth. Its flavour profile presents the unique expression of the Meursault terroir, with enchanting hints of citrus, white blossom, and toasted brioche. The palate is strikingly balanced, with a refined texture and a long, minerally finish. Displaying Jean-Philippe Fichet’s commitment to creating wines that truly reflect their origin, the Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2014 offers a sophisticated taste of French winemaking at its finest.
Inc. TAX€701.82 -
Inc. TAX€3,082.38 -
Wine Advocate (89-91)
The 2014 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Baudes was picked on September 16 and includes 15% whole cluster. It has a very perfumed bouquet, refined and elegant with hints of violet and blueberry tincturing the red cherry fruit. The palate is crisp on the entry, a little tighter and sharper than the nose was implying and perhaps I was expecting a little more substance on the finish. Hopefully that will develop in time once bottled.Inc. TAX€2,469.07 -
Vinous (90+)
(bottled in August):Bright medium red. Reticent raspberry and menthol aromas are complicated by smoky minerality. Very dry and a bit awkward four months after the bottling, showing a solid underpinning of minerality but not quite the flesh to buffer its slightly edgy acids and tannins. This will need time to harmonize and expand in bottle, but it appears to be a rather delicate style of Grands-Echézeaux.Inc. TAX€2,680.38
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Wine Advocate (88+)
Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting, the 2014 St Aubin 1er Cru Clos de la Chateniere from Domaine Hubert & Olivier Lamy was not as clean on the nose as its peers, slightly cheesy at first and then light mothball scents. The palate is fresh on the entry with a pretty kiwi fruit and Cornice pear opening; but it never achieves the same level of tension and focus as other premier crus from the appellation, and it seems to drift on the finish. This may well be entering a dumb phase, and it may well re-find the promise it demonstrated from barrel, hence my plus sign.In Bond€2,615.00 -
In Bond€563.00
-
Vinous (90)
Full medium red. Wild aromas of strawberry and smoke plus a touch of meaty reduction. Fat, sweet and creamy in the middle, showing excellent volume for the year but not the verve or thrust of the Vosne villages. The wine's tannins coat the teeth and dry the sides of the tongue. (This wine was aged in 30% new oak, vs. 15% to 20% for the village wines.) My score assumes that this wine will absorb its oak element with time in the cellar.In Bond€980.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
I knew that the 2014 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru would be great when I tasted it from barrel last year...but not this great. It has a wonderful, tensile bouquet that just seems to sparkle. The fruit is so crystalline and laden with energy and mineralité that you almost have to sit down! The palate is surfeit with energy, the fruit perhaps a little darker than in barrel with white pepper, spices towards the almost Richebourg-like finish. Tasting them side-by-side, I would err for this over the Richebourg - it is a magnificent wine from Charles van Canneyt.In Bond€2,910.00 -
In Bond€471.00
-
In Bond€462.00
-
Vinous (93+)
Deep ruby-red. Extremely dark aromas of black cherry, licorice pastille, crushed rock and violet. Wonderfully rich, pliant wine with splendid volume and sweetness for the year. Still very young but already displays lovely sucrosité that's nicely supported by its energy and structure. Humbert told me his 55-year-old vines on soil featuring a lot of small rocks are not far from those of Denis Bachelet and typically yield a structured wine. The dense, lively finish features black fruits, licorice, violet and bitter chocolate.In Bond€1,050.00 -
Vinous (89)
(bottled in March): Slightly reduced, soil-driven scents of peach, truffle and porcini. Nicely balanced and ripe but with lovely lemony cut to its saline mineral and apple flavors. I find this more energetic than its 2015 sibling.In Bond€746.00 -
Vinous (91)
Medium red. Complex, slightly exotic aromas of raspberry, cherry, red licorice, minerals and smoky underbrush. Saline and classically dry on the palate, with nicely integrated acidity giving the wine a rather suave texture. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and lingering notes of earth and dried herbs.In Bond€1,120.00 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.In Bond€2,430.00 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.In Bond€6,865.00 -
Vinous (96+)
Bright medium red. More expressive on the nose today than the Amoureuses, offering ineffable scents of black raspberry, lavender and flinty, smoky minerality. By far the plushest and deepest of these 2014s but still with outstanding definition and verve. This wonderfully fine-grained, classically dry Musigny boasts bulletproof fruit and finishes with impressive medicinal reserve. Beginning with the 2013 Musigny, Mugnier will be delaying the release of his top bottling for a minimum of two years--and possibly several years more than that--as he finds this wine especially hard to read in its extreme youth.In Bond€14,580.00 -
Delight in the exquisite Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014, a symphony of flavour and elegance. This fine champagne hails from Montgueux's 4.7 hectares of Chardonnay hillside vineyards in the Aube department. Renowned vigneron Jacques Lassaigne, dedicated to organic farming and minimal intervention winemaking, meticulously hand-harvests the grapes and opts for natural fermentation in oak barrels for a distinct complexity.
The Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014 boasts a brilliant gold hue and shares a rhapsody of luscious lemon and apple intertwined with delicate notes of brioche. Its vibrant effervescence and elegant minerality, beneath a halo of refreshing acidity, make for a delicately balanced palate.
Honoured in leading wine publications, indulge in the prestigious Jacques Lassaigne Blanc de Blancs Millesime 2014 for an unforgettable sensory voyage.
In Bond€831.00 -
Vinous (91)
Bright ruby-red. Mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry and candied licorice are accompanied by a building floral nuance. Appealingly sweet and focused on the palate, offering energetic red and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors and a hint of spicecake. Shows very good focus and energy on a long, sappy finish framed by harmonious tannins.In Bond€1,265.00 -
Vinous (91)
Bright ruby-red. Mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry and candied licorice are accompanied by a building floral nuance. Appealingly sweet and focused on the palate, offering energetic red and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors and a hint of spicecake. Shows very good focus and energy on a long, sappy finish framed by harmonious tannins.In Bond€1,185.00 -
Vinous (89)
Bright dark red. Brisk, tight nose hints at dark fruits and minerals. In a juicy but very dry style, and distinctly imploded today. This tannic, slightly hard-edged wine is tough going. A puzzling showing: my score gives it the benefit of some doubt.In Bond€860.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)
The 2014 Jean Faure is a powerful, authoritative wine. Mocha, savory herbs, mint and spiced notes provide aromatic topnotes. Plump and juicy on the palate, the 2014 has enough fruit and underlying tannin to drink well for at least a handful of years. This is an exotic wine with considerable Cabernet Franc aromatics, and yet it is quite striking.In Bond€157.00 -
Vinous - Neal Martin (92)
The 2014 Cuvée Jean Gautreau is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot picked between September 23 and October 11. It has a much more appealing bouquet than the 2013, offering a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and smoke; clarity increases with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, showing supple tannin, a fine line of acidity and a well-defined, sensual finish that takes the oak in stride. This is an excellent Cuvée Jean Gautreau that should age with style. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.In Bond€529.00 -
Wine Advocate (90-92)
The 2014 Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau has dark fruit, blackberry and black plum, with a touch of sous-bois on the broody nose that demands some encouragement from the glass. It has an effervescent entry with a surfeit of energy. There is still a veneer of toasty new oak to be subsumed here, but there is sufficient fruit to do just that. There is a hint of black pepper toward the finish that is conservative but nicely defined. Give this 2-3 years once in bottle.In Bond€1,355.00 -
Burghound (95)
Somewhat surprisingly this is notably more elegant than it usually is with its expressive nose of black and red pinot fruit, spice and abundant earth and tea scents. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the precise, muscular and powerful flavors that possess excellent size, weight and finishing punch on the youthfully austere, firm and huge finale that is borderline chewy. This may be moderately more elegant than usual but it remains a Clos de Vougeot all the same and one that it going to require fully 15 years to reach its apogee. If you have the patience, this is knock-out good for the appellation.In Bond€1,290.00 -
Wine Advocate (92-94)
The 2014 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru les Pruliers was much more backward on the nose compared to the 2014 les Roncières when I tasted it at the domaine; this is broody and a bit sulky at the moment. The palate is more expressive with fine, saturated tannin. The new oak is a little more prominent here and will need time to be absorbed, but there is plenty of fruité and density on the finish; plus there is tangible mineralité and indeed, spiciness on the finish that has more concentration than Etienne Grivot's other Nuits-Saint-Georges. Superb.In Bond€780.00 -
Burghound (96)
A gorgeously spiced and perfumed nose is intensely floral in character while offering up notes of both red and dark currant, sandalwood, exotic Asian-style tea and discreet dried rose petal nuances. The muscular yet refined big-bodied flavors exude ample minerality onto the powerful, focused and once again compact, focused and explosively long finish. This too is indisputably built-to-age and I wouldn't be surprised if it required fully 20 years before it is fully ready. In sum this Richebourg is one of the finest wines of the 2014 vintage.In Bond€1,560.00 -
The Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 2014 is a benchmark of true class in winemaking. Hailing from the renowned Chablis terroir in Burgundy, France, this extraordinary Chardonnay is the epitome of Jean-Marc Brocard's unwavering adherence to organic and biodynamic principles. Strict hand harvesting contributes to a rich, complex, and stunningly pure expression of its grand cru origins.
The 2014 vintage highlights an exhilarating balance of vibrant acidity and opulent layers of green apple, lemon, and a hint of white peach, all underpinned with distinctive Les Preuses mineral tones. Matured on lees in old oak casks for 15 months offer an intricacy of texture, while never veering away from the pristine fruit. Ageing potential is considerable, promising further evolution of depth over time.
Illuminating both the mastery of Jean Marc Brocard and the distinctiveness of its terroir, the Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 2014 remains a prized gem for discerning palates.
In Bond€429.00 -
Vinous (89)
Good bright red with ruby tones. Rather wild aromas of black raspberry, smoke and leather. Supple, smooth and approachable; offers good volume for Chambolle and comes across as edge-free. A late dusting of tannins is nicely supported by mid-palate material. Not especially nuanced but this wine, too, will offer early drinkability.In Bond€674.00 -
Vinous (93)
(made with 25 percent whole clusters) Inky ruby. Pungent, spice-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, candied violet, licorice and smoky minerals. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering pliant black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors that are complemented and lifted by a jolt of peppery spices. Becomes sweeter and deeper with air, with no loss of energy, and finishes sappy and very long; smooth tannins add shape and grip.In Bond€1,035.00 -
Vinous (92)
(all new oak) Inky ruby. Intensely perfumed dark berry, cherry compote and violet aromas are complicated by suggestions of Indian spices and licorice. Juicy, expansive black and blue fruit flavors show impressive depth and energy, while a smoky mineral element adds lift and focus. Chewy tannins add grip to very long, floral-driven finish that leaves a sweet blueberry note behind.In Bond€604.00 -
Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2014 is a standout wine hailing from the terrains of Meursault, in French Burgundy. An esteemed vigneron, Jean-Philippe Fichet, utilises traditional winemaking techniques to accomplish wines of remarkable complexity and exceptional quality. Crafted from old vines - 'vieilles vignes', the Chardonnay grapes are hand-harvested then meticulously sorted and swiftly pressed. Post fermentation, the wine endures an extensive maturing for 12 months in oak barrels, contributing to its splendid depth. Its flavour profile presents the unique expression of the Meursault terroir, with enchanting hints of citrus, white blossom, and toasted brioche. The palate is strikingly balanced, with a refined texture and a long, minerally finish. Displaying Jean-Philippe Fichet’s commitment to creating wines that truly reflect their origin, the Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2014 offers a sophisticated taste of French winemaking at its finest.
In Bond€540.00 -
In Bond€2,550.00
-
Wine Advocate (89-91)
The 2014 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Baudes was picked on September 16 and includes 15% whole cluster. It has a very perfumed bouquet, refined and elegant with hints of violet and blueberry tincturing the red cherry fruit. The palate is crisp on the entry, a little tighter and sharper than the nose was implying and perhaps I was expecting a little more substance on the finish. Hopefully that will develop in time once bottled.In Bond€2,020.00 -
Vinous (90+)
(bottled in August):Bright medium red. Reticent raspberry and menthol aromas are complicated by smoky minerality. Very dry and a bit awkward four months after the bottling, showing a solid underpinning of minerality but not quite the flesh to buffer its slightly edgy acids and tannins. This will need time to harmonize and expand in bottle, but it appears to be a rather delicate style of Grands-Echézeaux.In Bond€2,215.00
