2017 White Burgundies

The Clos st Marc is part of the Vergers vineyard, that was decimated by frost in 2016. Fortunately, 2017 is a much happier story. And this is a simply brilliant expression of the vintage. There’s energy and length, as well as purity of fruit and a very saline finish. Brilliant.

This is a triumph: fine, delicate, floral, with wonderful precision. There's a delicious orange scent - citrus peel and orange blossom combined - on the nose, and a complex, skillfully handled phenolic frame on the palate. There is so much concentration and purity here. Tasted blind at Burgfest, July 2021.

A blend of Les Casse-Têtes with Les Murgers de Monthélie, bottled that way since 1996. Green pineapple on the nose and apples. Quite structured. Very conference pear on the palate with spice and fine acidity. Really driven and lovely texture and salty tang on the finish.

From 2 parcels within the vineyard, falling either side of the central ridge: one is a warm site, the other a cool one. Blending them together gives it great complexity and peresonality. There’s a tension here but also so much purity. It shows a lovely fine balance and cool fruit, and rewards the efforts of someone who picked at exactly the right moment in 2017.

Blagny sits high up, above the heart of the Meursault commune. This altitude brings a focused freshness to the wines. These vines were planted in the mid-1980s and are beginning to hit their stride. This 2017 has a reductive touch on the nose, with wonderful depth and an energetic mineral length. With its pithy purity, this 2017 will start drinking well from a few years in bottle, and unfurl over the next decade.

This showed brilliantly when tasted blind at Burgfest in July 2017. It was aged in oak (none new), and is regularly the most forward drinking of the Bessin premiers crus. In 2017 it has such a precise and vibrant palate, displaying some very welcome energy and a mouthwatering finish laced with salinity and lemon zest.

The cool, chalky-soiled village of Saint-Romain, which enjoys a higher elevation than most surrounding villages, is an excellent source of fresh, crisp whites these days. This has delicious notes of pear and ripe lemons on the nose with a vivid line of acidity threading through the palate. So quenching.

This vineyard is right on the top of the hill, just above Bonnes Mares. When replanting in 1981, Bruno decided to plant half of this limestone site with Pinot Noir, and half with Chardonnay, and thus making a rare but well worth example of Morey St Denis blanc. It has pretty notes of peach and orange peel, and wild flowers, and lovely length and definition on the finish.

Les Chaumées is situated high up the hill towards St-Aubin, and the paucity of soil here produces tense, linear wines. It comes from a plot called Clos St Abdon. It has energy, finesse and great purity. It is floral and fine with good density and length.

The Champlots is an outstanding wine from Olivier Leflaive. Notes of grapefruit and orange peel are supported by a leesy texture, and purity of fruit. Very long on the finish, and very fine.

Thierry’s dad, Paul, started bottling Mazures as a single vineyard wine, and its quality year in year out justifies the decision: Thierry considers it premier cru level. Nice depth and energy - with enchanting bitterness and coolness on the finish. Super fresh with nice balance. This domaine has proved to have been the source of some of the most exciting wines of this excellent vintage.

Just three producers work this vineyard, with Domaine Leflaive owning the lion’s share, and Alain and his brother Jean-Louis each with small holdings. It’s in the middle of the slope, below Folatières and next to Pucelles, but with slightly heavier soils. Planted in 1950. More closed today, some stone and also peach fruit, and creme patissiere, too. Palate has surprising richness given the nose’s shyness. There’s real drive on the mouthwatering finish. Starts shy, ends bold. Touch smoky on the finish.

This cuvée uses the fruit from the younger vines in the Clos de l’Arlot premier cru, from the southern side of the vineyard. Great texture, cool apple fruit, and some leesy character. 23% aged in new oak. Nice weight here, fine and silky acidity, lovely length and finesse. Excellent this year.

Les Vergers sits at Chassagne's northern edge, bordering St-Aubin, on the slope just above Les Chenevottes. This is an accomplished 2017, made in a floral, delicate style of Chassagne, with an energy and depth beneath.

There's a great energy and purity here. With very nice, vibrant fruit, slightly rounded with good salinity and depth, it's an excellent example from Savigny-les-Beaune. The tension alone is a reason to be excited.

Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau is making some of the best wines in Meursault these days. His premiers crus are a tour de force, but his village Meursualt, which comes from this exceptionally well-placed parcel that extends beyond the premier cru slope, is the insider’s secret. Amplified fruit, energetic freshness, and seamless flow.

This cuvée is predominantly taken from the hillside vineyard Les Clous, with a touch of Les Crotots from the bottom of the hill for intensity, as such since 2004. Very floral and citrus, and great purity. I love the energy and depth here.The finish lasts for minutes, with fine acidity.

This is an impressive wine, with ambitious structure, and chic reduction. There is an almost chewy density on the palate, with a textural power. Chevalier-Montrachets have done brilliantly on this vintage, and this is a highlight. Tasted blind at Burgfest, July 2021.

This is a highly regarded site, high up the slope of premiers crus in Puligny. It has s much depth and persistence, with appealing apple and blossom notes and a long refined, fresh finish. Tasted blind at Burgfest, July 2021.

This premier cru is high up on the hill in Beaune, where the poor soils give the wine life. Delicate and floral, with a beautiful chalky character. Lemon sherbet and orange blossom, hints of lees and love the length and the texture on the finish. Pretty impressive. Long.

The standout entry level white from Domaine de Montille. Fresh and juicy, nice density and dancing acidity. Really quite impressive, I love the density and depth here. 3 parcels, all in commune of Puligny.

Les Porusots is a premier cru in the heart of the Meursault hillside. De Montille's 2017 has a nutty, marzipan note on the nose, combined with the electric citrus fruit and floral lift on the palate. The palate has so much drive, and it begins to open up impressively with time in the glass. Tasted blind at Burgfest, July 2021.

Next to Truffières. Quite exotic on the nose, mineral and fine. Very floral with a character that sings warm summer days. Beautiful depth and elegance. Such a crowd pleaser, already so open and fine. And long on the finish. Surprisingly precise given the attack.

White from Morey may be a rarity, but this is probably the best. It comes from a monopole of the domaine and, unusually, is made entirely from Aligoté. Creamy apples and lovely focus, with plenty of marzipan and a finish that’s driven and that lasts an age. Stunning in 2017.