From the commune of La Roche Vineuse, one of the Mâconnais’ more qualitatively excellent sites, winemaker Thomas Perraud of Domaine Perraud de la Grande Burette selects only older-vine fruit for our special selection, a value in white Burgundy that can’t be beat.
What strikes you when you first experience Burgundy from Michel Ecard is the undeniable sensation that this is the sort of Burgundian Pinot Noir for which you’ve been searching all along. This talent’s wines are upfront and honest, captivating and convincing—truly how handmade, small-batch Burgundy should be.
Delarche Burgundy offers a clarity and purity of flavor that is captivating. Whites are creamy and concentrated, taking a cue from grand cru Corton-Charlemagne; reds are spicy and refined, delicious from the moment they’re bottled to years later, when you pop the cork on a perfectly cellared grand cru.
Vincent Boyer is an anomaly—a hard-working, hands-in-the soil grower focused on quality in an appellation where many wineries have hired enologists and coasted on Meursault’s reputation. Domaine Boyer-Martenot is a family winery where the wine in the bottle unquestionably lives up to its noble appellation.
The Bourgogne-Devaux family has made its home in these vine-covered hills since the late 1800s. Winemaker Luc Bourgogne (a name more than suitable for a local winemaker) represents the fourth generation in Meloisey to care for vines and craft wines from the family’s many older-vine plots.
This winemaking family represents a Burgundy we thought long gone, but really the Bouard-Bonnefoy clan embodies the sort of artisanal spirit to which we’ve always been drawn in our three decades of visiting the Côte d’Or. What Chassagne’s many beautiful vineyards offer, the Bouard-Bonnefoys capture faithfully—these are wines that astound with their pure aromas, their deep flavors and their ability to seduce from the very first sip.
The wines of Gérard Raphet are a Burgundy lover’s Burgundy. While the wine’s color in the glass is a delicate ruby, aromas and flavors surprise with their forceful intensity. This contrast often catches the uninitiated off guard, yet it is part of the attraction and seduction of these limited yet highly sought-after wines.
The silky persistence and enveloping aromas of Pinot Noir from Vosne-Romanée is what is often meant when one calls any wine “Burgundian.” There are few estates that capture the seductive power of Burgundian Pinot Noir as faithfully as does Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg in Vosne.
The key to discovering the extraordinary diversity of Gevrey-Chambertin is found in the cellars of Domaine Livera. These are wines that are both striking in their fidelity to the family’s exemplary vineyards and memorable for their uncanny ability to translate Gevrey’s earthy seduction to the glass.
Subtle, harmonious, supple—Burgundy from Domaine Anne Gros is intimately tied with the elegant, poised character of wines from Vosne-Romanée. While each cru faithfully reflects its terroir, it is terroir as translated through Gros’ expert touch, offering richer aromatics, rounder curves, silkier tannins. The combination is irresistible, so much so that Gros’ limited production is snapped up by global collectors faster and faster each vintage.