For years St-Aubin was a white Burgundy collector’s hidden gem. Today it’s no longer hidden – many writers put in on par with Chassagne, Puligny and Meursault – but it’s still a gem. Tucked away down a valley running west from the Côte d’Or, St-Aubin’s vineyards average higher elevation than many towns, a boon in warm climates.
Chassagne-Montrachet is a town synonymous with opulence and richness. Its wines combine weight without heaviness – everything you want in a top class white Burgundy – but usually comes with a hefty pricetag. Roger Belland’s Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” blanc is not quite as complex or long-lived as a Chassagne premier cru, but for half the price it does an admirable impression, and we think it’s a steal.
In most corners of France, the 2022 vintage was the hottest and driest on record. While this might not portend positively for the future, some wines have undoubtedly benefited. Particularly on the margins – regional level cuvées and lesser-known appellations – the extra heat has made ordinary wines quite impressive.
The 2021 vintage was a tough one in Burgundy. A severe spring frost lowered yields dramatically, and the rest of the season was cool and wet. From a vigneron’s perspective, it was a year to forget – tons of work, for a small crop of limited aging potential.
It’s easy to forget just how big Bordeaux is. The region produces more than a quarter of the wine made in France – more than Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire and Rhône Valleys, and Alsace combined. The top Bordeaux chateaux get most of the press, but there’s an ocean of wine, much of it quite interesting, in a far more reasonable price category.
Sofie Bohrmann summed up the 2022 growing season with one word: “parfait.” After the catastrophic 2021 vintage, in which some of her parcels lost over 90% of their crop, 2022 provided clean, healthy grapes, and plenty of them. It was hot and dry as it always is these days, but rain fell at exactly the right time – a bit of good luck after a season of bad.
Stephane Robert of the Domaine du Tunnel is one of the brightest stars in Cornas. He’s humble and quiet in person, but his wines are bold, assertive, and charming. Robert farms an envious collection of old Syrah vines around the tiny appellation, and his wines are well worthy of their hype. Vinous calls Tunnel “among the top producers of Cornas.”
The Maconnais has long been one of our favorite sources for white Burgundy. This southern sub-region produces wines with an often friendlier character than those of the famous Côte d’Or to the north. Maconnais whites typically have low or no oak, they’re more affordable, and require less cellaring.
Climate change has made most winemakers’ jobs more difficult, but in some sectors it’s brought more good than harm. One area basking in the abundant sun these days is the Côte Chalonnaise, a sub-region of Burgundy just south of the Côte d’Or. Vignerons here do have to manage drought, powerful storms, and other new challenges, but the struggle for ripeness is largely a thing of the past.
Poggerino is often cited as a reference point for Chianti Classico. Vinous writes of their Poggerino’s “remarkable purity and nuance,” and Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.” Their organic vines from Radda-in-Chianti produced exquisitely balanced wines, full of depth and richness but also tension and lift.
Frosts are often the first challenge of a vigneron’s year. Unusually warm springs mean budbreak arrives earlier, and the vines now at risk for overnight frosts for months. Particularly in Chablis, an hour north of the rest of Burgundy, crop loss from frost damage has become a way of life.
single cuvée of white. Pierre’s grandfather Jean first planted vines here 50 years ago, and identified a single plot as well-suited to Chardonnay. (It turned out later he was proven right when a geological survey showed the vineyard contained a soil composition very similar to nearby Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne.)
In recent years the profile of Chablis has changed a bit. Most cuvées still show the terroir’s classic stony, mineral intensity; but warm summers have added a bit of extra flesh to the wines. Our favorites still taste like Chablis, but are often a bit easier to approach young or on their own.
Champagne is one of the most dynamic winegrowing regions in France today. Interest has moved away from the unvarying products from the big houses, and towards small grower producers who follow terroir and vintage variations to craft wines of character and complexity. Prices have also risen less steeply than in Burgundy and Bordeaux, and Champagnes today often provide exceptional value.
The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits are a patchwork of vineyards in the hills just west of the famous Côte d’Or. The land is 100 meters higher and the grapes ripens about a week later. With rising temperatures and earlier harvests, this delay has become a real advantage, and the wines from the Hautes-Côtes get better each year.