MONTHELIE
DOMAINE DARVIOT-PERRIN
Didier has now been succeeded by his son Pierre-Antonin, who returned after six years in the foreign office to make his first vintage alone in 2020, while his sister established an art gallery in Beaune. In the vineyard, Pierre-Antonin has changed to poussard pruning and an organic approach; the domaine will be certified from 2024. He prefers to take off the lateral shoots rather than leaf-plucking. The grapes reached 12–13% naturally and he chaptalized only those at the bottom of the slope. “I prefer premier cru with 12.5% and not to add sugar to reach 13%.
“I harvest a little earlier than my father; use less new oak and have reduced the bâtonnage.” He uses bâtonnage once or twice a month from harvest to MLF. 15% new oak, just to replace the barrels; mainly Cadus, with some François Frères for red and Damy for white. “I want the least oak impact possible.” One year in 228-liter barrels and five months in stainless steel. For the 2026 vintage, Pierre-Antonin will move all operations to Meursault, and with a new cellar he will introduce 400-liter barrels for whites.
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For the reds, 90% was destemmed in 2024. “I am interested to try some whole-bunch, but not in 2024.” Mainly remontage, just breaking up the cap a little with pigeage. For whites, foulage followed by a two-hour press. “I settle at 9ºC [48ºF] because I want a good débourbage and I also want the juice cold so it doesn’t start fermenting before it goes into barrels. All the barrels have their own life, so when we blend after a year it has more complexity.” There is fining but no filtration for the whites, and neither for the reds.
“In 2024 we are in classic Burgundy vintage. Even for my parents memory it is a very difficult year. We lost more than in 2021, but after a very difficult harvest the achievement was very good. The low alcohol makes my father think of his career in the eighties for the red.”
Bourgogne Les Magnys
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From a parcel planted in 1955, just over a wall from Meursault village. It’s nicely rounded and really quite concentrated. This was his most difficult parcel to manage in terms of the mildew in 2024, but it is super-pleasant, fresh, and citrus. They made a big selection in the vineyard. 2027–28. 84
Beaune Les Longbois
From a parcel above Lalune. This was previously planted to Pinot Noir, but Didier ripped it out and replanted Chardonnay in 2005. “White soil, lots of limestone. Very difficult to get maturity because of the forest, but now with climate change, it is interesting.” It is still nearly the last plot Didier picks. It’s light, floral, and nervy, with a chalky salinity. I love this. 2027–34. 87–88
Chassagne-Montrachet La Bergerie
From the oldest vines of the domaine, planted in 1919. This succulent and generous Chassagne village wine is full-bodied and earthy. 2028–34. 89–90
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Blanchots Dessus
Compact, dense, and powerful. It attacks the palate. Good layering. Packs a punch on the finish. 2029–35. 95
Meursault Clos de la Velle
This parcel fared better because it was protected by the wall from the mildew. Succulent and generous, with a touch of greengage and litchee and fresh acidity to finish. Smooth and rounded, but not heavy. 2027–33. 87–88
Meursault Les Clous
From three parcels, two lower and one upper. Tight and racy on the mid-palate; sharp and tense. Salty and pithy on the finish, giving light and attractive bitterness. 2027–34. 89–90
*Meursault Premier Cru Charmes Dessus
Straight, pure, and light. A slim Charmes, quivering with tension. 2028–34. 94
Meursault Premier Cru Genevrières
Vibrant and tightly edged. Pure and steely to finish. 2028–35. 94
*Meursault Premier Cru Perrières
From Aux Perrières, a total area of 0.3ha (acre), shared with Coche and Lafon. It was planted in the 1930s, but half of the parcel was ripped out in 2021. Only three barrels this year. Intense, channeled, directed. Excellent vigor and a lovely, long finish. Tip-top. 2029–35+. 95–96
Red
Volnay Gigotte
Only two producers have equal shares of this lieu-dit, 0.6ha (1.5 acres) in total, just below Carelles. The Darviot-Perrin vines are old, having been planted in the 1970s. Attractive strawberry fruit. Supple palate, with soft tannins. Nicely rounded. So juicy, with a touch of white pepper to finish. 2028–34. 89–90
*Volnay Premier Cru Santenots
From a total of 0.8ha (1.97 acres), 0.1ha (0.25 acre) in Santenots Blanc and 0.7ha (1.7 acres) in Les Plures. An elegant Santenots, with sweet raspberry fruit and zesty acidity underscored by light, sappy chalkiness. Silky tannins. Flows gently on the palate and the finish is sapid. 2028–35+. 94
AUXEY-DURESSES
DOMAINE THOMAS BATTAULT
Two easy-going Auxey wines from Thomas, who used only remontage this year, “as it is a light vintage.” Lutte raisonée. Harvested by machine. Thomas make fruity, forward wines that are easily accessible.
White
Auxey-Duresses Blanc
A somewhat oaky aroma, but the slim and straight palate is savory, sappy, and gently salty. Pleasing. 2026–27. 82
Red
Auxey-Duresses Rouge
Light-bodied, with a touch of sweet, red-cherry plumpness in the middle. Soft tannins and a little floral. Pleasant and accessible. 2026–27. 82
ALAIN AND VINCENT CREUSEFOND
Lutte raisonée is the approach in the vineyards. In 2024, there were 12 treatments, including three systemic sprays. Everything is machine-harvested, which was in action from September 10. The whites are whole-bunch-pressed. Débourbage for 36 hours. Fermented at 64–72ºF (18–22ºC). Bâtonnage twice a month before MLF; six to eight in total. No new oak for white or red, and already bottled when I visited in October 2025. “We didn’t want to leave 2024 longer in barrel. We wanted to keep it fruity,” remarks Alain, who adds that they are out of stock of 2023, so they need wine to sell. “It is a little like 2017. It is a good year to drink in five years. Fruity but not for long aging in the cellar.”
White
Bourgogne Côte d’Or
From 35-year-old vines in lieu-dit Cloux Perrons, which in 2024 yielded 48hl/ha and reached a potential alcohol of 12.8%. Nice and fresh, with a touch of almond. Quite sprightly. Simple but pleasant enough. Bottled in August 2025. 2025–26. 80
Auxey-Duresses
From lieu-dit Macabree. 13% ABV and 5.5g/l TA. Ripe, lemony aroma. The mid-palate benefits from the nutty richness of bâtonnage. Quite keen acidity here; tart and lime-like to finish. 2026–27. 82
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
From En Reugnes, but not labeled as such. Chantal Creusefond remarks on how steep this parcel is at the top. A pretty floral aroma. Some sweetness on the attack and generosity mid-palate, with sharp, lemon pithiness that carries to the finish. I like this bitterness. It’s attractive. 2026–28. 84
Red
Monthelie
From three parcels (0.78ha [acres] in total), co-fermented. There are parcels on both sides of the combe, so one gets the sun in the morning and the other in the evening. Fruity aroma. Soft and easy tannin, smooth and lightly rounded. Riper and finer tannins than the Auxey village red. A slightly floral finish. 2026–28. 82
*Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru
A blend of two premiers crus, Reugne and Les Duresses. “Les Duresses is very sunny all day. A sea of sunshine, so always very expressive, and when I cut the grapes, I sense the sugar in them, and the perfume in the winery is always different,” says Chantal Creusefond. Sweet, red-cherry fruit aroma. Sweet and juicy strike. Silky at first, this has zesty energy and light, crisp tannins. More complexity than the Climat du Val. It has a light mineral cut to complement the sweet fruit. 2026–28. 85
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Climat du Val
From long rows, top to bottom, 1.3ha (acres) in total, where there is a massal selection planted by Alain’s grandfather. “We have to wait for ripeness, and it is always the last to be harvested.” Accessible sweet fruit, quite juicy. Smooth tannins up-front, although quite a grip on the finish. Slight bitterness. Honest. 2026–28. 83
DOMAINE MICHEL PRUNIER ET FILLE
This is a good address at which to buy wine cellar door and speak with the family. This is an estate using a traditional approach, producing 40,000 bottles a year. They are not organic and used three systemic sprays of a total ten, with consequently little loss to mildew. Harvesting was from September 16. The pleasant, destemmed Hautes-Côtes is made in a vinomatic, the village and premier cru reds with a submerged cap using a grid. Estelle Prunier makes the wines. “We do not miss ripeness in 2024, as we had some warmth over the summer, but also less production.” For reds she used approximately 30% whole-bunch, a little less than usual. She presses and finishes sugar in tank in one day and barrels down immediately. The wines have been racked once, and were going to be racked again sometime between January to March. “I like to have a long élevage. I see people bottle after a year, and that is too soon.” She uses only 228-liter barrels. “I need to be independent and able to move barrels myself.
“2024 has red fruit and the tannin is soft. It is like 2021. Balanced and easy to drink. It needs less time to age than the 2023.”
White
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Climat du Val
Not the same as the Clos du Val, which is a smaller parcel they make in red. Climat du Val was replanted in white in 2020, so this is the second vintage and is a good refection of the terroir for such young vines. Quite simple, but there is light richness and roundness, with some minerality. 2026–28. 85
Red
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Pinot Noir
The vines for this have an easterly exposition, and the wine from them was chaptalized by 1.5% ABV. Pure and ripe summer fruit, with a light tannic twang giving it freshness and energy. It’s straightforward but attractive. 2026–28. 83
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Clos du Val
Spicy, peppery aroma. Quite a robust crunch to the tannins and a minty edge. It’s lively, slim, and just on the right side of herbaceous, with a leafy finish. 2026–29. 85
*Beaune Premier Cru Sizies
Exuberant and juicy, with red fruit. A bright, zesty, and piquant Beaune. The 30% whole-bunch agrees with it. 2026–30. 88
*Volnay Premier Cru Caillerets
“This is the first parcel we harvest. Everything is easy. It’s all here,” says Estelle and this is clearly quite a step up. Silky and supple. Texturally refined, this ripples elegantly to a chalky finish. The longest finish of the wines at this domaine. Carries the 50% new oak well. 2027–32. 92
DOMAINE JEAN ET GILLES LAFOUGE
This estate is in a different league from local producers in Auxey-Duresses holding its own among good estates in top villages. Maxime, Gilles’s son, is innovative with both reds and whites.
A half yield in red and from the old Chardonnay vines (the younger vines yielded more). Lafouge is not organic so used four systemic sprays out of eight or nine in total. Harvested from September 15, by hand (other Auxey producers harvest by machine). “It was sunny during the harvest week.” Reds were destemmed. The 2024s were chaptalized a little, “more for the reds, which were harvested at 12% [potential alcohol]. I did this in two or three additions to have a three-week fermentation. I kept it at 28ºC [82ºF], deciding carefully when to press. This vintage I used lower pressure, 0.6–0.7 bar, and I taste at every level.”
Maxime pays attention to settling at all stages. He is only the second producer (the other is Ben Leroux) I have encountered settling the juice pre-fermentation. “We do a lot of settling. We take all the juice we can the first night and settle it at 5–7ºC [41–45ºF]. That way we take out all the dust and large lees. No pump-over the first week, so as not to accelerate the fermentation. Tapotage, with only some remontage at the end. Settled after the press. You can see the dust. We want to barrel down clean reds.” The reds were racked into tank in stainless steel in October and will have another winter in stainless steel, as will the whites. “We really need to wait a second winter, as the wines need time.
“For the whites, the lees are very different. The lees we take depends on the quality and health of the vintage. We have increased our débourbage—now it is 18 hours. A lot of lees is another style of wine. We want clean and perfumed and aromatic wine. It’s also about the density of wines in Auxey-Duresses.” Classic Burgundy barrels, from Damy and Chassin, and for two cuvées, 350-liter barrels. This year Maxime put the 2024s over the lees of the 2023s: “beautiful food for them.” Given the lees are good, this is a good approach, which few people use.
I can’t include all the wines, but just to mention the village lieu-dit Clos du Rougeots, which has richness, energy, and succulence, not dissimilar to neighboring Tessons. There’s also a swift and salty, delicate and precise Meursault Casse-Têtes.
“It is not an extravagant style in 2024. But it has complexity of perfume, flowers and fruit, and it is fine and elegant. I know it is a vintage that is a little underripe, so we must go in a fine and elegant style. It is not light. It has juiciness.
“It is not like the 2021. It is more open and savory, and the 2021 has more acidity, so I think we should wait not too long for 2024. We don’t have the concentration of 2023 or the acidity of 2016, which can be great in ten years, but we do our best to have a vintage for five to seven years. For the reds, a potential of seven years maximum. They will be ready very soon, even the premiers crus.”
White
Bourgogne Aligoté
From 65-year-old vines on a northwest-facing slope in front of the winery. Aligoté was fermented in barrel “because we had a lot of barrels, but also because it was helpful in a vintage that was just a bit under-ripe. But we have to be careful of the time in barrel and not leave it too long.” When I tasted this in October 2025, it was in vat. White-peach fruit aroma. Citrus fruit on the palate, which is super-lively. Bright acidity. Straight, with a tingle of minerality. 2026–28. 83–84
Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonnières
Savory nose; earthy in a good way and sapid on the palate. Deeper and punchier than the floral Les Hautés. Confit of lemon, with a sappy, nicely grippy, savory finish. 2027–29. 86–87
Auxey-Duresses Les Hautés
Fresh cucumber and lemon aroma. Straight, energetic, and floral. Neatly edged and precise. Elderflower on the finish. 2026–28. 86–87
*Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Les Duresses La Parapelle
This is impressive for vines planted as recently as 2015. 20% new oak. Vigorous attack. There’s depth, intensity and sapidity. Already showing premier cru quality. Both honeyed and salty on the finish. Maybe more of Les Duresses should be planted to Chardonnay! 2027–30. 88
*Meursault Les Miex-Chavaux
From a parcel above Boutonnières, with deeper soil. Planted in 1928 and 1929. Four 350-liter barrels in 2024. Ripe citrus, juicy and expansive, but also delicate and airy. It has a bright, cut-glass finish. 2026–30. 90
Red
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru La Chapelle
Three pièces and a 350-liter barrel in 2024, with 30% new oak. Firmer than Climat du Val with black cherry and spicy aromatics. Fuller and more grippy. Good tension. Spicy and aromatic finish. 2027–30. 87
Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Climat du Val
Always the last to be picked. Ripe strawberry fruits, soft and succulent, rounded and juicy; plump middle, with lively fresh acidity zipping in at the finish. Very zesty at the end. 2026–30. 86–87
*Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Les Duresses
Picking always starts here, as it is the warmest of the three neighboring premiers crus. Forest fruits and cracked black-pepper aroma. Finer tannins than the other premiers crus svelte and well-sustained. A level up in density, structure, and tannin, but fine tannin. This is the domaine’s top red wine. 2027–32. 88
DOMAINE PIGUET-CHOUET ET FILS
Auxey-Duresses Cuvée Charly
Fruit-driven, pleasant, soft, and easy. Slightly peachy, with a hint of minerality. 2025–26 81
Monthelie Cuvée Clara
Slim, light-bodied, and lively, with attractive salinity. 2025–27. 82
DOMAINE PIERRE & LOUIS TRAPET
The first vintage for this new domaine was 2020. The parcels that came down through the Prunier family via Louis’s partner, are small, each around 0.08–0.12ha (0.2–0.3acre), and only 1.8ha (4.4 acres) in total. Grapes are brought to Gevrey in refrigerated trucks to be vinified in Domaine Trapet’s winery. Ceramic fermentation and aging for the whites. I like the wines here. The brothers are pushing to maximize the potential of their terroir in both Auxey-Duresses and St-Romain. Excellent Meursault Vireuils, too.
White
Aligoté
From a 0.6ha (1.5-acre) north-facing parcel in lieu-dit Sous-Châtelet, planted in the late-1930s. “We took out all the vines planted in the 1980s, which had large bunches,” explains Louis. “We spent two years finding the best DNA” (good material but not Aligoté doré). Straight and vibrant, nervy and saline… piquant. Rather nice. 2026–29. 83–84
*Meursault Vireuils
From the top of the climat, near the forest, with a high proportion of white marls. Pure, floral, slightly herbal nose, with fresh almonds, too. Savory palate, zesty and vibrant. I love the tension—so taut and pinging. What good intensity for a village wine. Fizzling, sapid finish. Top-notch. 2026–35. 90
St–Romain
A blend of two parcels—Le Jarron, with quite deep and heavy soils, and La Perriere, with more limestone. Rather soft up-front, with ripe, greengage fruit, but under this there is some cut and chalky minerality. Quite phenolic to finish, which I like. It needs that. 2026–29. 85–86
Red
Auxey-Duresses
There is one François Frères new oak barrel here, and it is pretty assertive. “I want to push the Auxey village. It can be too fruity and not so complex.” Crunchy, morello-cherry fruit. Snappy, bright, and slightly herbal. 2026–28. 84
DOMAINE PIERRE VINCENT
Pierre Vincent left his position as estate manager and winemaker at Domaine Leflaive to take over Fabrice and Sophie Laronze’s Auxey-Duresses domaine, Terre de Velles, to which he has added some parcels. Fabrice and Sophie, who drew the most from their Auxey terroir, were not local, and neither is Pierre.
Pierre started the harvest on September 16, with the reds. Average yields were 20–22hl/ha for the whites and 25hl/ha for the reds. Sugars reached 12.5% potential alcohol, so there was no chaptalization. Reds were 100% whole-bunch in 2024, with just 5–8% of the crop being removed during sorting. Cuvaison lasted 18–22 days, with only remontage by way of extraction.
“With two bunches per vine, the leaves gave all that energy to those bunches, so there is so much energy.” He is converting the vineyards to organic.
Pierre finds that “2024 has fantastic sapidity and energy and power in the whites. Reds have delicacy and finesse. Like 2010, as this was also a lesser vintage because of mildew, but it also had balance, with acidity and ripeness, and I recall the energy. A cool year, with salinity.”
White
Bourgogne Aligoté
From a 70-year-old parcel. 10% new oak. Deeply citrus and intense, but terse. Light bitterness to finish. 2026–28. 83
Auxey–Duresses Les Hautés
From a village lieu-dit with 55-year-old vines behind the cuverie. One 500-liter barrel. Straight, juicy, and energetic. Splashing with fresh citrus fruits. A lightly salty finish. 2027–30. 86
Chassagne-Montrachet La Platière
From a lieu-dit with deep soil, below Morgeot, and 22-year-old vines. Juicy village wine, which is pleasant, softly rounded, and quite generous, if a little lackluster. 2027–30. 85–86
Meursault Luchets Vieilles Vignes
The vines for this are 80 years old. Citrus focus, racy and intense, and really rather persistent on the finish. 2027–34. 89–90
Puligny-Montrachet
A blend from lieux-dits Les Noyers (90%) and Levrons (10%). Both are mature vineyards, the vines 45 and 55 years old respectively. The wine is succulent upfront, super-juicy, then becomes linear, slim but quite intense, well-edged with a mineral sapidity. 2027–32. 88
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Referts
I prefer this to the Charmes. It has much more substance and density. Earthy minerality. Almost chewy. Punchy, with good density. 2028–33. 93–94
Savigny-lès–Beaune Premier Cru Les Vergelesses
Peachy aroma, but super savory and stony on the palate. Linear, tense. This has good freshness and sapidity. 2026–32. 88
Red
Volnay Ez Blanches
From a village parcel above Clos des Chênes, with very white soil. Light and lean. Zesty, with redcurrant fruit. Very crunchy tannins, which are spicy and peppery. 2027–32. 86–87
BLAGNY
DOMAINE CHAPELLE DE BLAGNY
Etienne de Brechard has decided to retire. Winemaker Renaud Santiard arrived just before the 2024 harvest, having previously worked for a négociant in Nuits-St-Georges for 17 years. “Blagny was a lucky place in 2024, thanks to the soil, the slope, and the exposition,” he comments. This is the first vintage to be certified organic; they did more than 20 sprays and used 5–6kg (11–13lb) of copper. Harvest for the reds was September 16–22. For the whites, there was a light crush then pressing immediately thereafter, “more to get the fruit into the press, as we have only one press.” He added a little sulfur at the press. Renaud likes to work with only the fine lees, and he explained, “We didn’t chaptalize much—0.5% at most, to get to 12%.”
Levels of malic acidity were high, as is typical in the vintage. Ravelles had 3.9g/l, with a pH of 3.14 before MLF and 3.3 after. Each of the white cuvées passes through some 400-liter barrels. There was a little more new oak than usual in 2024, but still less than 30%. Renaud will not fine the wines—no need for bentonite, and in the past, Etienne didn’t use casein. “We have very nice acidity and good length. I don’t like too much acidity, but I like the freshness of aroma and the purity,” remarks Renaud. “Etienne finds the 2024 whites most like the 2016s, for their balance of acidity and purity.”
The sun catches several of the domaine’s vineyards which, despite their position higher up the slope, can get very warm in a hot vintage. In a cloudy vintage like 2024, however, the wines are nicely ripe, but delicate and light-bodied. These wines have charm.
White
Aligoté
From an old parcel of 60-year-old vines down by Corpeau. All of the 2024 production passed through one 400-liter barrel that was new in 2023. Slightly peachy but light-bodied, with a nice, sappy acidity on the finish. 2026–29. 86
Blagny Premier Cru Sous Le Dos d’Âne
There was less malic acid here—pH 3.37 after MLF. A riper, warmer feel, slightly fuller, with a hint of white pear. Undercut by nice acidity. 2027–32. 91
*Meursault Premier Cru Les Ravelles
There is always less ripeness in the grapes here, due to their proximity to the wood. 27% new oak. Zesty, pithy, and tense, with a light and lively line and an earthy, mineral note to the finish. It pirouettes. Cucumber-cool. 2026–32. 91–92
*Meursault-Blagny La Pièce Sous Le Bois Premier Cru
From 70-year-old vines, which yielded 24hl/ha in 2024. 30% new oak. Good intensity and energy. Attacks the palate. Straight, but no lack of nicely ripe citrus fruit. Tight, focused, and it pushes into an attractively pithy, bitter, and shaley finish. 2028–32. 93
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Hameau de Blagny
On a slight slope by Truffières, but without the trees, so the exposition is sunnier and warmer. 30% new oak. Gently rounded and lightly sumptuous on the palate, with a slightly glossy feel, but light and airy, with good freshness and smooth stone minerals to finish. 2028–32. 92–93
Red
*Blagny Premier Cru Sous Le Dos d’Âne
The fruit was totally destemmed, as usual. Very light extraction. Lively, red-cherry fruit on this light and crunchy palate, which has a vein of fresh acidity and just 12.6% ABV. It’s just nicely herbal, slightly minty and floral to finish. Slim and light, with so much charm. I do like this. 2027–32. 92
