One of the most historic Crémant houses in Burgundy, Maison Louis Picamelot is the single reference in the region for character-driven and complex Crémant de Bourgogne wines. This family-run winery has long focused on wines of terroir, sourcing only the finest grapes, harvested by hand, from top vineyards.
Nestled between the ruddy elegance of Volnay and the nutty intensity of Meursault, Monthélie just may be the Côte de Beaune’s best-kept secret, a source of mineral-rich whites and soulful reds in equal measure. Winemaker Charles Boigelot is a young talent already making serious waves in greater Burgundy.
Romain Barolet-Pernot, the family’s fourth generation, has in a few short years turned this modest winery into one of the region’s up-and-coming stars. A more organic approach in the fields has transformed the family’s wines to better reflect Saint-Romain’s terroir soul, its stony energy and high-altitude freshness, like a polished mirror.
One of the more dynamic winemaking teams in the Anjou today is the partnership of Dominique Sirot and Alexis Soulas at Fief Noir. These are wines that are vivacious and pure, honest in their depiction of the true character of each grape and irresistible in their aromatic clarity and flavorful power.
The next generation of talent in the Côte Chalonnaise has arrived—and the name that’s causing a serious stir is Maxime Cottenceau. His exemplary wines are a delicious sign of the extraordinary potential of both the appellation of Montagny, and the Côte Chalonnaise overall.
“We go where the wind takes us,” was long the motto of Nathalie and Benjamin Boyer, two talented winemakers-for-hire, who for many years crafted wines for other domaines across France. After living in regions as diverse as Burgundy, Corsica and Monbazillac, the duo decided it was time to do their own thing and found a perfect piece of land in Fitou, Languedoc.
Charles Sparr represents the eighth generation of his family of negociants-vignerons to tend vines in Alsace; Amelie Sparr hails from the larger Barmès-Buecher winemaking clan, natives of Wettolsheim. Inheriting small parcels from both sides of the family, the young couple started their own domaine in 2017, the goal to create dry wines of terroir according to biodynamics.
Totaling some 25 acres in the Côte de Nuits, Domaine du Couvent owns a grand diversity of terroirs, including parcels in Gevrey, Chambolle and Vougeot, as well as Vosne, Nuits and Marsannay — not to mention three monopole vineyards.
With many vines planted in 1924 and terroir that echoes Châteauneuf’s finest, winemakers Marilou Vacheron and her brother Axel are more than well-positioned to craft seriously compelling and character-rich southern blends.
