France

Domaine E. Guigal Showcases an Impressive Line-up of Benchmark Rhone Wines at the Launch of their New La Reynarde Cote Rotie…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Few names evoke the majesty of France’s Northern Rhône Valley quite like Domaine E. Guigal. Founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, this legendary house single-handedly redefined the global reputation of Côte Rôtie reds. Guigal became world-renowned for its iconic trio of single-vineyard Syrahs, affectionately dubbed the “La-La’s”: La Mouline, La Landonne, and La Turque. Known for their near vertical terraced slopes, low yields, and unyielding 40-month maturation in 100% new French oak, these cuvées are benchmarks of power, aromatic complexity, and profound longevity. 

Now, a historic new chapter at Domaine Guigal unfolds. For the first time in nearly four decades, a fourth “La-La” enters the pantheon: La Reynarde 2022. Planted in the iron-rich mica-schist soils of the Fongeant lieu-dit (historically divided by the Reynard stream), this spectacular 100% Syrah marks its official commercial debut with the 2022 vintage.

Bridging the floral, perfumed elegance of La Turque with the dense, structured muscle of La Landonne, La Reynarde incorporates 100% whole-cluster fermentation and intensive punch-downs. The 2022 release stands as a monumental achievement, offering a rich tapestry of black fruits, liquorice, and graphite, becoming in its own way, a fitting tribute to the next generation of Guigal Rhône royalty now led by Philippe Guigal.

To mark the prestigious London launch of the La Reynarde, Guigal’s UK importer John E. Fells opened a fascinating selection of white and red wines from the Domaine E. Guigal range, to mark this momentous occasion… and I was there to taste and assess all the new and current releases. 

White Wine Flight:

Domaine E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône 2024, 14% Abv.

Tantalisingly pithy citrus driven aromatics, lime peel, wet limestone and green apple. Lovely concentration and freshness, well delineated and deliciously long on the finish. Very impressive for an “entry level” wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Croze-Hermitage Blanc 2023, 13% Abv.

A more savoury, leesy nose with waxy bergamot lemon peel, lanolin, sweet herbs following to a full glycerol palate with tangy white peach, a well integrated acidity and a fleshy substantive length.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Saint Joseph Blanc 2023, 13% Abv.

A deep earthy savoury aromatics loaded with quince, peach and bruised yellow orchard fruits. Fleshy and glycerol with more high toned pithy peach pip viognier’ish profile of zesty fruit with real body and power.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Saint Joseph Lieu-Dit Blanc 2023, 14.5% Abv.

An enticing aromatics with complex layers of quince, apple puree, and biscuity, leesy savoury hints. More wet stone granitic minerality on the palate with sweet herbs, green fruits and a very complex harmonious finish. Superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2023, 13.5% Abv.

A savoury waxy aromatics greet you with incense, lanolin and slightly oily, buttery yellow orchard fruits. Concentrated and moderately intense, the acids are soft but tangy, the fruit weight fleshy and persistent.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Condrieu 2022, 14.5% Abv.

Plenty of archetypal peach stone fruits, zesty apricot and savoury leesy ginger biscuit nuances. Lovely peachy fruit in the mouth, impressively concentrated with a delicious balance and intensity. Classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal La Doriane Blanc 2023, 14.5% Abv.

A complex melange of wet limestone and granitic minerality with pithy peach stone fruits. Cool and creamy on the palate, the freshness finely poised, the ripeness perfectly in check. A really delicious La Doriane good to drink now.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal La Doriane Blanc 2024, 14.5% Abv.

This 2024 shows a tighter, more mineral dusty granitic aromatics before hints of lemon grass, dried herbs and peach stone. Full but fresh in the mouth, beautiful delineation, cool, classical and tight knit. This will still improve further in the cellar. Lovely.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Hermitage 2019, 14% Abv.

Delightfully complex nose shows earthy wet chalk, rain on hot slate and delicately mealy, savoury hints of lemon biscuits, peach stone and a full and fleshy palate with yellow orchard fruit concentration, real energy and drive. Rhône’s answer to Burgundy?

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Blanc 2020, 14.5% Abv.

An intricately complex aromatics showing white blossom, honied peaches and a savoury mealy complexity. The freshness is chislled and cool, supporting massive honey comb concentration and peachy toasted fruit nuances. Wow, a beast of a wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Blanc 2022, 14.5% Abv.

A slightly tighter, stricter aromatic expression, with a stony minerality and pithy peachy hints. Palate is super cool and taut, almost steely, with a profound purity and tight knit fruit crystallinity. Very classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rose 2025, 14% Abv.

Delightfully chalky musky aromatics showing pink flowers, red currants, and pithy wild strawberry. Super fine, cool and crystalline, the fruit purity is delicious, the freshness perfectly judged, finishing with a complexing sapidity. Lovely.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Red Wine Flight:

Domaine E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône 2022, 14.5% Abv.

Such a succulent aromatics loaded with ripe strawberry, earthy red currant and delicate sweet herbal nuances. Perfectly weighted palate, bright, dense, compact yet delightfully fleshy and fresh. Very impressive for the money!

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Hermitage 2021, 13% Abv.

A delightful melange of sweet red and black berries, savoury notes, cured bresaola and granitic spice.  A notable high toned sapidity and peppery spice supported by bramble berries, wild strawberry and a pronounced mineral intensity.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Saint Joseph 2021, 13% Abv.

A deep, dark fruited broody aromatics showing lashings of black berries and black plums, a savoury mid-palate and a cool, sleek, silky fine grained finish. Very classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice 2021, 13% Abv.

Loaded with aromatics of blue and black berry fruits with a delicate veneer of oak polish, Kalamata black olives and savoury meaty nuances. Sleek, polished and beautifully fresh, the acids add linearity to the ripe, savoury molasses tinged fruits. Chalky and grippy in a powerful, muscular style.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Gigondas 2021, 14.5% Abv.

Quite a restrained, earthy, broody aromatics require plenty of coaxing. Hints of wild strawberry, red plum and watermelon linger. Palate is cool, crunchy and fresh remaining true to the restrained 2021 vintage styling.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Hermitage 2020, 14.5% Abv.

Earthy ripe brûléed hints over meaty red fruits, cured charcuterie and gun smoke spice. Compact, harmonious and creamy in the mouth with lactic black berry yogurt hints, molasses and warm vintage Xmas spices. Certainly a punchy style.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie 2021, 13% Abv.

A lovely fragrant perfumed expression showing dusty granitic spice, lavander, potpourri, red plums and incense spice. Elegant and poised, neither imposing nor weighty, this is lithe, sleek and elegantly fashioned from a cooler vintage that shows tension and restraint.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Chateau d’Ampuis Cote Rotie 2018 (Magnum), 14.5% Abv.

Delicate molasses tinged fragrant lift, with sweet Xmas spices, red liquorice and savoury chargrilled meaty notes. Beautiful density, harmonious palate weight and an effortless black berry laden persistence. Wow. Really very good.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Rouge 2017, 14.5% Abv.

Savoury and meaty on the nose, the aromatics are earthy and dusty with a mineral under vein. Fruit profile is ripe and fleshy, full of molasses, cured meats, savoury spices and stewed plum compote. Bold, ripe, and big in style.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Rouge 2020, 14.5% Abv.

A vanilla pod tinged aromatics showing bramble berry spice, savoury plum compote and molasses hints. Cool, plush and super creamy texture, this has a dense compact intensity, fabulous balance and a harmonious, vibrant finish. Effortless class.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2017, 14% Abv.

This Cote Blonde vineyard yields a beautiful wine showing savoury notes, biscuity gingerbread dough aromatics with fabulous broody black berry fruits and a super cool, creamy, seductive length. So elegant, finely poised and complex.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2019, 14.5% Abv.

Quite an earthy, savoury under vein with ripe plum, pomegranate, and stewed plum compote. More fireworks on the palate that shows a notable creamy, lactic ripeness with sweet, fleshy black berry fruits, a tannin texture of velvet and a meaty, chargrilled length.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2022, 13.5% Abv.

This shows a complex, cheeky aromatics of raspberry, wild strawberry and earthy pomegranate fruits. Purity and precision are key, following to a pinpoint palate that’s silky soft, fine grained and incredibly vibrant and fresh with tangy acids and a ginger bread finish. Simply stunning.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2016, 13.5% Abv.

This Cote Brune vineyard shows a deep, complex aromatics of tilled earth, dusty granitic spice and blue black berry fruits. Tight knit, silky and soft, showing big concentration, a mouth coating density, fine grained powdery tannins and a gunsmoke, graphite, and a peppery finish. True classism and class.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2018, 14.5% Abv.

A majestic balance of black savoury fruits, lavender perfume, blueberry fruits, and a subtle, granitic mineral spice. The youthfulness is front and foremost outstanding, the density plush with a bright creamy texture, super harmonious balance and real assertive power. Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2022, 13.5% Abv.

A deep blue black fruited aromatics are emboldened with creamy lactic nuances, custard cream biscuits and blueberry crumble. Tight knit and super compact, this has among the finest textured tannins I’ve ever tasted, complementing a tight grained, chalky, black berry laden chalky finish. Simply astonishing.

(Wine Safari Score: 99/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne 2016, 13.5% Abv.

This shows an incredible granitic, sappy, mineral aromatics with a seductive pyrazines salt and pepper complexity. Complex, nervy and mineral laden, this is one of the most fruit-backward expressions I’ve tasted. Pithy, enticing but certainly an intriguing expression!

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne 2020, 13% Abv.

A rich vein of creamy lactic milk chocolate aromatics set this wine apart. Plummy, mulberry fruits notes develop, with a weightless silky palate, impressive black berry fruit concentration, and freshness and a spicy, ethereal, silky grippy tannin finish. Sublime!

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne 2022, 13.5% Abv.

Beautifully harmonious aromatics integrating lavender, violet perfume, garrigue, limestone and blue – black berry fruits. Sleek, silky and classically structured showing beautiful elegance, fine grained velvety tannins with a really premium presence. Superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Reynarde 2022, 13.5% Abv.

Incredibly deep, broody and broad shouldered aromatics with layers of earthy savoury black berry fruits, black liquorice and savoury cured meaty notes that follow to the palate that’s more intricate, musk laden, chalky and incredibly tight knit and fine grained with massive concentration coated by premium chalky tannins. A beautifully unique lieu dit Cote Rotie expression. I’m in love!

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Lacombe Cadiot – A Jewel in the De Schepper Family Bordeaux Crown…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Chateau Lacombe Cadiot 2021 is an impressive Bordeaux Supérieur red wine made by Jean Michel Garcion and is sourced from a 15-hectare vineyard bringing together a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot from vines that are on average 25+ years old and grown on classic loam and clay soils in Ludon-Médoc, just down the road from the famous Chateau Cantemerle Cru Classé Haut Medoc estate. 

The wine was matured for 12 months after fermentation, 60% in oak barrels including 25% new oak, and the remainder was aged in large vats. This is certainly a petit chateau wine with a pedigree, with previous vintages like 2019 scoring 97/100 in the Decanter World Wine Awards blind tasting, followed by an admirable ‘sighted’ 94/100 on A Fine Wine Safari. I recently tasted the classically elegant 2021 vintage currently on the market and it was love at first taste.

Chateau Lacombe Cadiot 2021, AOC Bordeaux Supérieur, 13% Abv.

The 2021 Lacombe Cadiot has turned out beautifully in bottle, offering up pretty aromatics of dark berries and saline creme de cassis notes that mingle with hints of cigar wrapper, tea leaf and lead pencil. Medium bodied, delicately fleshy and elegantly seamless, this 2021 shows an impressive weightless concentration for the vintage, silky sweet lithe tannins alongside soft, well integrated refreshing acids. This is an effortlessly charming, classically fine boned Claret ready to be enjoyed now and over the next 3 to 5+ years. 

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Lacombe Cadiot is available ex-cellars. Contact Anthony Crameri for more information and pricing:

anthony_crameri@orange.fr

Could the Future of the Bordeaux Wine Region be Resting On White Wine Shoulders? Tasting the Stunning New Chateau Climens Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Chateau Climens, legendary for its sublime sweet Sauternes wines from Barsac, brings its centuries of winemaking mastery into the dry white wine arena with their Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec. Named after the delicate white lily that mirrors its elegance, this exceptional cuvée marks a thrilling new modern chapter for this historic Barsac estate.

Produced with the same meticulous attention to detail and organic and biodynamic principles that define the estate’s sweet Barsac grand vin, Lilium is composed of 100% of Sémillon grapes. This choice beautifully bucks the Sauvignon Blanc-heavy trend of the region, allowing the grape’s natural texture, power and complexity to shine through. In the glass, Lilium is a masterclass in balance. It bypasses oak treatment completely in favour of pure, vibrant fruit flavours from fermentation and ageing in glass demijohns, offering a bouquet of crisp white peaches, citrus blossom, and a distinct, classical chalky minerality derived from the estate’s unique limestone soils.

Sémillon vineyards at Chateau Climens on limestone soils.

Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec is not just a second act, or even a recovery from difficult sweet wine sales, it is a complex, fresh, sophisticated expression of Barsac terroir, tailor-made for contemporary wine lovers seeking a dry white wine with deep historical roots and a bright, energetic soul – fully suited to a new generation of younger wine drinkers. 

The very fancy 4000 Euro glass demijohns used for the Lilium white fermentation and ageing.

Chateau Climens Lilium Grand Vin Blanc Sec 2023, Barsac, 12.5% Abv. 

This is the top 100% pure Semillon dry white from the Chateau Climens range. Fermented and aged in large glass Demijohns, this is a more mineral, taut, ‘serious’ stylistic expression of Bordeaux Blanc Sec made for extended ageing. The aromatics are more backward and steely, restrained with suggestions of white apple blossoms, jasmine, pear fruits, and honey suckle. Cool and sleek, the texture is beautifully polished and elegant, the acids finely integrated with a steely structure that is at once accessible and seductive but also restrained and mineral, holding back a little extra exuberance for later in life. Drink now or cellar for another 3 to 5+ years before cracking your case. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

The Age of Bourgogne Aligote: Part 11 – Domaine Leflaive’s Bourgogne Aligote 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In the prestigious landscape of Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Leflaive stands as the definitive titan of Chardonnay. However, their Bourgogne Aligoté represents a fascinating, ultra-rare departure from the estate’s golden standard. While most of the world’s Aligoté is relegated to high-yield production for casual consumption (famously as the base for Kir), Leflaive treats this “other” white grape of Burgundy with the same biodynamic rigor and artisanal precision as their Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet.

The rarity of this wine is two-fold: geography and philosophy. Domaine Leflaive produces a remarkably small volume compared to their village and premier cru labels. The fruit is sourced from ancient vines, some over 80 years old, planted in tiny, prized parcels that escaped the 19th-century trend of uprooting Aligoté in favour of the more profitable Chardonnay.

Because the estate focuses almost exclusively on its 22 hectares of noble terroir, the Aligoté is often a “hidden” allocation, rarely appearing on retail shelves and typically vanishing into the private cellars of the world’s top collectors. To find a bottle is to experience a masterclass in tension; it is a high-acid, mineral-driven unicorn that proves even Burgundy’s “lesser” grape can achieve transcendence in the right hands.

Domaine Leflaive Aligote 2016, Bourgogne, 12.5% Abv. 

Delicious stony, flinty reduction on the nose with aromatic layers of pithy white citrus, bergamot, lemon peel, sweet dried herbs and delicate limestone nuances. The texture is full in the mouth, the acids soft and beautifully integrated, deliciously harmonious and elegant, melting into waxy yellow stone fruits that coat the palate. There’s a weightless concentration, a delicate pithiness and a creamy, tangy vibrancy on the fresh finish. Super youthful at 10 years old, this wine is invitingly drinkable and an incredibly charming expression of Aligote. My first time trying it as well! 

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

Bordeaux En-primeur 2025 – Part 2: The Wines of Martin Krajewski – Chateau Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The 2025 Bordeaux vintage is defined by a paradox of extreme heat yet produced many wines with surprising elegance. After a mild winter, an exceptionally early and uniform flowering in mid-May set the stage for an accelerated growing season. However, the defining characteristic was a series of intense heatwaves in June and August, with temperatures peaking near 42°C.

The result was a year of remarkably low yields but also intense, pure concentration. Small, thick-skinned berries – particularly in the Merlot – produced wines with deep colour and rich phenolic structure. While the heat initially threatened to block ongoing ripening, critical rains in late August combined with cooler night temperatures preserved a “crystalline” acidity that distinguishes 2025 from the more opulent and hedonistic 2022 vintage.

Key Highlights:

• Quality vs. Quantity: Exceptional aromatic intensity and ripe tannins, though volumes are down roughly -15% due to heat-induced berry shrivelling.  

• Terroir Success: Clay and limestone soils (notably in Saint-Émilion and Pomerol) thrived by regulating water stress.  

• Style: Early tastings suggest a “modern classic” – combining the power of solar vintages with a refined, fresh finish and moderate alcohol levels (averaging 13.5–14%).  

For collectors, 2025 stands as a “vigneron’s year,” where precise harvest timing was essential to balance its natural fruit density with graceful acids.

Petit Cantenac 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 13% Abv.

The 2025 Petit Cantenac stays true to the vintage and displays an incredibly intense, lifted, “crystalline” purity and perfume with piercing notes of violets, crushed red cherries, black currants and red currants with a delicate dusting of leafy spice, freshly cut cedar, and subtle notes of Asian five spice. The palate shows a mouthwatering crunchy structure, tightly delineated acids and a steely tension that envelops the bright red and black berry fruit concentration. The tannins are tense and sinewy rather than muscular, holding the ripe fruits in perfect balance. This is essentially a “modern classic” with a cool demeanour, crunchy bright acids together with a potent, focused depth of fruit. Forward and elegantly accessible in style but simultaneously quite a serious expression. Drink from 2028 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Clos Cantenac 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru. 13.25% Abv.

Once again, the 2025 Clos Cantenac Saint Emilion Grand Vin is a 100% Merlot offering that will be aged for 12 months in 40% new oak barriques and 60% in second and third passage barrels. While this wine’s aromatics share an exotic, lifted exuberance with its junior sibling, Petit Cantenac, the perfume and fragrance is that much more intricate, broader, and more intense, showing sweet violets, rich ripe black berry fruits, crème de cassis, blue berries, black cherries and pronounced Christmas gateau nuances. There is a lingering hint of spicy new oak in the background, but this wine is decidedly plush and hedonistic with an impressive classical elegance. The palate is tight knit, cool and incredibly focused revealing a tight grained, stony minerality, hints of cigar box, tobacco leaf, black cherry compote and tart cassis on the finish. This wine possesses all the composure, freshness and seduction of a truly great Bordeaux vintage. Dink from 2028 to 2045+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

L’Innocence de Seraphine 2025, Pomerol, 13.5% Abv.

Many drinkers imagine Pomerol wines being 100% Merlot, but this example is a 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc assemblage. The aromatics are true to form – lush, plush, exotic and hedonistic with fragrant notes of sweet violets, red currants, black cherries and frais de bois wild strawberries. Complexing veins of black chocolate run deep into the wine, complimented by notes of wet tobacco and dried baking spices. The mouthfeel is full, glycerol and textural revealing hints of vanilla pod spice, picante black berries, creamy tannins and a savoury black liquorice finish. This wine has all the power of Pomerol fruit but with a slightly softer, more integrated, harmonious finish. This wine offers great value for Pomerol lovers. Drink from 2028 to 2040.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Seraphine 2025, Pomerol, 13.5% Abv.

We often like to compare second wines to their Grand Vins but this Seraphine is in a completely different league. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine will be aged in a selection of 300 litre new French oak barrels and amphorae. Thereafter, the wine is racked off into French oak barrels (45% new and 55% second and third fill) where it will be matured for 12-14 months to harmonise further. On the nose, this is pure hedonistic joy – vibrant, lifted and enticingly fresh and perfumed showing bay leaf and thyme spice. Notes of fresh violets, savoury black cherries, earthy loam, and damsons plum nuances melt into earthy black currants and a sappy wood spice persistence. The concentration is notable, the acid freshness and creamy fruit concentration simply breathtaking, buffered by incredibly supple, creamy fine grained tannins. An intricate, powerful, complex expression that is sure to impress Bordeaux lovers! Drink from 2028 to 2040.

(Wine Safari Score: 96-97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

EP and back vintages of Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine are available from specialist UK merchant Museum Wines.

Bordeaux En-primeur 2025 – Part 1: The Wines of the De Schepper Family – Chateau Haut Breton, Tour Baladoz and La Croizille…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The 2025 Bordeaux vintage is defined by a paradox of extreme heat yet produced many wines with surprising elegance. After a mild winter, an exceptionally early and uniform flowering in mid-May set the stage for an accelerated growing season. However, the defining characteristic was a series of intense heatwaves in June and August, with temperatures peaking near 42°C.

The result was a year of remarkably low yields but also intense, pure concentration. Small, thick-skinned berries – particularly in the Merlot – produced wines with deep colour and rich phenolic structure. While the heat initially threatened to block ongoing ripening, critical rains in late August combined with cooler night temperatures preserved a “crystalline” acidity that distinguishes 2025 from the more opulent and hedonistic 2022 vintage.

Key Vintage 2025 Highlights:

• Quality vs. Quantity: Exceptional aromatic intensity and ripe tannins, though volumes are down roughly -15% due to heat-induced berry shrivelling.  

• Terroir Success: Clay and limestone soils (notably in Saint-Émilion and Pomerol) thrived by regulating water stress.  

• Style: Early tastings suggest a “modern classic” – combining the power of solar vintages with a refined, fresh finish and moderate alcohol levels (averaging 13.5–14%).  

For collectors, 2025 stands as a “vigneron’s year,” where precise harvest timing was essential to balance its natural fruit density with graceful acids.

Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere 2025, Margaux

A rich, ripe, generous aromatics with an accessible plushness tempered by graphite and wood spice notes. The palate is textbook Margaux – silky soft, seductive, and texturally incredibly fine with a deceptive voluminous breath and depth of fruit. A very harmonious classical rendition that should put on a little more muscle in the barrel. One of the finest expressions I have tasted yet from Haut Breton.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Tour Baladoz 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe

This attractive Saint Emilion packs an impressive 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec alongside a more traditional 70% Merlot component. The nose is creamy, plush and delicately savoury with a wealth of blue and purple fruits, a fragrant brightness and stony liquorice salinity. Creamy tannins are braced by a bright underlying acidity, caressed by the most velvety, creamy limestone minerality. Lovely dry extract, a full plush mid-palate and a very fine-grained finish. Harmony and balance personified.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe

This flagship 4.5-hectare Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and in 2025 shows a luxuriously plush aromatics of black cherry, damson plum and saline black currant fruits with a kiss of liquorice and graphite. Broad and silky on the palate, the power and concentration is clear to see with bright, crisp supporting acids, a delicately picante wood spice and a creamy black currant laden finish with very impressive concentration and depth. A really impressive, well finessed Right Bank expression that shows the true pedigree of the 2025 vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines are available direct from the De Schepper Family’s own negociant business ‘De Mour’. For more information and pricing, contact: anthony_crameri@orange.fr

The Majestic Vintage 2024 Burgundy Wines of Jerome Galeyrand Profiled on His Annual London Visit…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Good winemakers can make good wines in great vintages, but only great producers can make great wines in difficult vintages. This is what I saw when tasting Jerome Galeyrand’s 2024 wines at his new cellar in Gevrey-Chambertin in December 2025. I already commented the previous year, that he had produced some of the most serious Pinot Noir expressions in the “lighter and more accessible” 2023 vintage. But 2024 dished up an entirely different buffet of viticultural challenges, all of which Jerome seemingly brushed aside to produce one of the most complete and impressive line-ups of red and white wines of the vintage. 

But for Jerome, the hard work never ends, because as soon as his back breaking toiling finishes in the vineyards, it continues in his new winery in Gevrey-Chambertin where he vinifies all his wines. But that’s not where it stops. For the past several years, Jerome has made an annual pilgrimage to London after harvest to showcase his newly bottled releases with his exclusive UK agent Musigny Wines, alongside a selection of recent back vintages. This year, Jerome and Musigny Wines hosted two superb private client tasting dinners that I was gratefully invited to.

Andrew Pavli from Musigny Wines with Jerome Galeyrand.

The first event was held in London’s Wimbledon Village at Light on the Common restaurant. A relaxed jovial evening, Jerome used this setting to show off a stunning selection of his newly bottled 2024 wines. Tasting through Jerome’s finished bottlings, not only were my enthusiastic En-primeur barrel scores and reviews vindicated, but they started to look almost conservative in nature compared to how the wines were showing in their completed state. Sitting alongside two very big Burgundy collectors for the evening, their reaction to Jerome’s 2024 wines was very insightful – both of them were simply blown away with the quality of the wines, and this was after both had already tasted many of Burgundy’s top domaines’ new releases during January’s En-primeur tasting week.

Below is the stunning selection of 2024s presented by Jerome:

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Bouzerons Cran 2024

A classical expression boasting the complexity of this village, packing in musky talc perfume, limestone minerality, lemon bon bons and a chalky sherbety depth. The acids are intense and tangy, the fruit weight fleshy, concentrated and glycerol.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Marsannay Est-Ouest Rouge 2024

Deep and broody, this shows depth and beautifully perfumed complexity, full of black cherry, saline cassis, and wild strawberry. Super precise, steely and tightly wound with piercing length. Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes 2024

The 2024 NSG announces itself from the glass with aromas of damson plums, blueberries, Christmas spices, dark chocolate and delicate woodsmoke nuances. Medium-bodied, this impressive young wine is ample, fresh and perfumed with a sweet core of broody black berry fruits, powdery tannins, and an elegant persistence. This fourth vintage could be Jerome’s best yet.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice 2024

The aromatics resonate with rose petals, pink musk, lavender, and red cherry rock candy over subtle limestone nuances. The focus and the precision marry tart tangy acids, silky tannins and fleshy red and black berry fruits in a seamlessly balanced expression that rides high on its purity and finesse! Simply enchanting.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin En Billard 2024

An enticing aromatics of strawberry candies, violets, and cherry sherbet with a delicate undertone of limestone minerality. The concentration is massive with layers of unctuous black plum, black berry fruits, and strawberry jam nuances. Wow, what concentration and power. This is simply knock out.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin En Croisettes 2024

A seductive aromatics with a blueberry and black cherry lift, violets and saline cassis with a maritime nuance and a bloody, steely strictness. The concentration is intense, piercing with tart tangy acids and a rich, generous fleshy plummy finish. Very classy but also quite classically structured.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Marsannay Clos du Roy 2024

A mere 3 barrels (900 bottles) produced in 2024 of this benchmark expression that shows delicate notes of potpourri pressed violets, rose water and black cherry. The focus, purity and precision are phenomenal, seamless finesse, perfect ripeness, and a magical balance. This is not to be missed.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Cotes de Nuits Village Les Retraits 2024

This iconic vineyard next door to Frederic Mugnier’s Clos de la Marechale Monopole offers an intricacy and complexity almost unmatched. Layered aromatics with limestone, chalk, sapidity, wood spice and black cherry follow to a fully loaded palate packed with bramble berries, blueberries, piercing salinity and a velvety concentration that leaves you gasping for more. Massive concentration, effortless power, and undoubtedly one of Jerome’s finest Retraits expressions to date.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Meursault Village 2024

Aged for 14 months in barrel, 25% new oak, this is another very classy expression of Meursault with complex aromatics of green apple, lemon grass, and wet stone minerality. Youthful and punchy, the depth and power are eye-watering, full throttle tangy acidity, green apple cordial, white peach and a leesy, oatmeal biscuity depth. Phenomenal concentration, precision and harmonious balance. Undoubtedly Jerome’s best example yet.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Jerome’s second dinner in Chelsea featured a similarly stunning array of wines including a tighter selection of 2024 new releases alongside a line-up of slightly older vintages from 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. As always, Jerome’s opening salvo came from his delicious and highly accomplished Aligote. The Les Blanches 2022 was outstanding and certainly merits being highlighted even when tasted alongside Jerome’s superb Meursault Au Village 2024 white.

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Aligote Les Blanches 2022

Few producers produce Aligote with the verve and vigour that Jerome Galeyrand manages to illicit from this Burgundian white grape. His beautiful Les Blanches 2022 is another evocative examples with pithy aromatics of lemon and lime peel, crushed limestone, lemon grass herbs and hints of saline brine. This 2022 vintage bursts with tangy, salty yellow citrus, delicately savoury maritime notes, a liquid minerality and a finish that’s loaded with zippy sour yellow plum nuances. Such incredible energy in this beautiful expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Three superb Lieu Dit Gevrey Chambertin.

As the Domaine Jerome Galeyrand wines sell out so quickly on allocation, I normally only get the opportunity to taste older vintages when visiting with Jerome at his cellar in Burgundy. The opening line-up of reds commenced with the Galeyrand Marsannay Combe du Pre 2019, a wonderfully characterful wine that possessed all the blue – black fruit power of the best Marsannay reds but with extra sapidity, spice and mineral complexity. After another taste of Jerome’s Nuits Saint Georges 2024 offering, a real treat – tasting a back vintage line-up of his Gevrey-Chambertin En Billard 2020, the incredible La Justice 2020, and a stunningly fresh, mineral and structured En Croisettes 2019, the Cotes de Nuits only producer labelled ‘En Croisettes” lieu dit. After another reprise for the sensational Cotes de Nuits-Village Les Retraits 2024, it was time to enjoy two big guns… Jerome’s first and second vintage of his epic Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru.

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2023

Big and deadly serious, Jerome moves into the big league and knocks it out the park with four barrels of Clos de Vougeot! Packed full of blue and black berry fruits, it shows effortless power, a piercing acid vibrancy and freshness, layered with violets, cherries and pink musk. An incredibly substantial wine with taut power, structure and depth from a vintage associated with accessibility and upfront opulence.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2024 (Tank Sample)

Only two barrels produced with 18 months of ageing in barrel and bottled in April 2026. The aromatics offer up a wealth of depth and breath with plenty of earthy savoury black berries, wood spice and smoky complexity. The palate shows weight and power, creamy mineral limestone mineral depth with chalky tannins and ample black plummy bramble berry length. A very complete wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Magnum of Marsannay La Combe du Pre 2020.

The fine wine market is on an eternal crusade, vintage after vintage, to find the next big thing… and in Jerome Galeyrand, you not only have the next big thing but also the complete real deal. I expect his masterful wines to become some of the most sought-after and allocated wines in Burgundy in the coming years, and rightly so. After the tremendous showing of Jerome’s 2024s, the opportunity to visit him again in Gevrey-Chambertin later this year to taste his 2025s, the first wines he will have produced in his stunning new cellar, will be a tasting not to be missed. Collectors and connoisseurs will be dazzled and delighted when they taste his new 2024 releases – the precision, purity and focus of the wines complemented by impressive structure, acid freshness, and textural polish. These are, quite simply, wines collectors are going to want in their cellar.

The iconic Les Retraits 2024.

The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are exclusively imported into the UK by his agent Musigny Wines. For more allocation and pricing information, contact: andrew@musigny.wine

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Lights Up the Burgundy Fine Wine Scene with Her Highly Collectable Pinot Noir Wines – Tasting and Reviewing the 2024s in Barrel…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

After spending several weeks in December tasting the 2024 Burgundies in barrel with premium UK specialist importer Musigny Wines and their owner Andrew Pavli, including visiting and tasting at several of Musigny Wines’s key UK exclusive agencies such as Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot, Kei Shiogai and Domaine Koji Nakada et Jae Hwa, it became evident during the final tasting with Koji Nakada that he happened to be good friends with Cécile Tremblay, another iconic Burgundy producer that I had not yet had the privilege to visit. But as they say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and after some kind introductions by Koji, Cécile Tremblay graciously agreed to host us for a tasting of a selection of her new 2024 wines.

Tasting some icon wines of Burgundy at La Lune restaurant – Domaine Tremblay, Kei Shiogai and Koji Nakada.

Domaine Cécile Tremblay is considered one of the most exciting rising stars in Burgundy at the moment and is recognized for producing wines that beautifully capture the true essence of the Côte de Nuits terroir as seen through the lens of utmost purity, elegance, and weightless concentration – a style I often refer to as “the new Burgundy.” Cécile Tremblay also happens to be the great-niece of legendary Burgundy producer Henri Jayer and has made a name for herself with wines that are crafted with a focus on organic and biodynamic practices. 

Winemaker Cecile Tremblay

The domaine’s vineyards, spread across some of the finest terroirs in Burgundy, are meticulously tended to ensure that the grapes express the true character of the land. Tremblay’s wines are celebrated for their purity, finesse, and ability to age gracefully, making them highly sought-after by collectors and connoisseurs alike. Whether it’s her delicately fragrant Chambolle-Musigny or her more robust, muscular Nuits-Saint-Georges, each wine in the Domaine Cécile Tremblay portfolio is a testament to the artistry and dedication of her winemaking skills. “Since I started about ten plus years ago, my aim has been to care for the land, its subsoil, and all the species that live there. Therefore, I chose to work using organic and biodynamic farming methods on the four hectares of vines I cultivate, a large part of which comes from family land” Cécile explains.

Morey vineyards next to the Domaine Tremblay winery.

The slowly growing Domaine Cécile Tremblay range now includes a Bourgogne Cote d’Or Rouge “La Croix Blanche” and village wines from Morey-Saint-Denis Très Girard, Chambolle-Musigny “Les Cabottes”, Vosne-Romanée “Vieilles Vignes” and Nuits-Saint-Georges “Albuca”. Her more ‘elevated’ vineyard sites include Premier Cru parcels from Chambolle-Musigny “Feusselottes”, Vosne-Romanée “Les Rouges du Dessus”, Vosne-Romanée “Les Beaumonts” and Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Murgers”. Finally, Cécile also cultivates parcels of Grand Cru vines from some of the most sought-after vineyards in Burgundy including Chapelle-Chambertin, Echezeaux “du Dessus”, and from the 2024 vintage, a new parcel of famed Griotte-Chambertin.

But Cécile’s success has been earned through hard work, starting out as a young female winemaker in 2003 and only managing to build her cellar in 2012, with further building work completed in 2021. All the vineyards she cultivates lie between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin, farming organically since 2005 and biodynamically since 2016, thought she has chosen not to burden herself with the paperwork and bureaucracy of certification, rather preferring to let her wines do the talking. Though almost all the 2024 fruit harvested was 100% destemmed (tiny whole bunch fractions were included in the 2024 Grand Cru fermentations), the winemaking at the domaine often involves the use of a portion of stems during vinification, which takes place in wooden vats for up to a month, with some delicate punching down but very little pumping over. The tanks are then pressed at the end of fermentation with a small vertical press, and the wines are then raised in Burgundy barrels with between 33% and 66% new oak, for 15 to 18 months without racking.  Cécile’s favoured cooper is Chassin, who works closely with her to select specific types of barrels and toasts of wood to suit her individual wine styles.

In Cecile’s impressive cellars.

The incredibly difficult 2024 vintage has been well document by now with some of the worst flowering and yields seen in decades. While even just setting foot through the hallowed doors of Cécile’s cellar in Morey Saint Denis is considered a highly coveted privilege, this year Cécile took the decision not to taste several of her smaller production wines with any journalists or critics due to the tiny quantities produced and also not wanting to potentially compromise the wines in barrel with repeated opening and closing. For Cécile, the harvest started on September 19th 2024, with vines cropped at between 5 and 25 hl / ha depending on the specific vineyard. The Bourgogne and village level wines were particularly harshly impacted in 2024, more so than the Grand Cru sites.

The Tremblay winery in Morey Saint Denis.

Domaine Cécile Tremblay – Purity and Elegance Shine in 2024: 

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2024

Racked one week prior before being tasted in January 2026, this is an extraordinarily beautifully fragrant wine showing seductive aromatics, lifted and oh so pretty, bursting with pink musk, black cherry, and saline black berries with a delicate dusting of limestone minerality. The energy and freshness on the palate are palpable, pulsing with energy and intensity, a soft under belly of fine-grained mineral tannins bolstering the elegant, finessed texture. Really very, very pretty indeed. Drink 2026 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 90-92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Morey Saint Denis Tres Girard 2024

A low yielding vintage at around 7 or 8 hl/ha, this is another beautiful wine displaying layers of blue and black berry fruits, and black cherry notes that intermingle with fragrant violets and a delicate sapidity. The palate is rich and concentrated, weightlessly intense with sweet black currants, savoury black cherry with a delicately minty nuance on the finish. With an earthy savoury undertone, this wine packs a lot of depth and complexity with a beautifully spicy finish. A truly enticing offering. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.

(Wine Safar Score: 92-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee Vieilles Vignes 2024 

Made from grapes sourced from the Aux Commune and Les Jacquines lieu dits sites, this 2024 displays an incredibly intense perfumed aromatics brimming with violets and white blossoms over savoury dark black berry fruits, damson plum, black currant, and blue berries with subtle hints of earthy loam and subtle Asian spices. The palate depth is impressive, creamy, and almost lactic in texture, the tannins sweet and chocolatey with a picante cocoa spicy finish. Full and chalky, this wine is deceptively broad with notable extract and a real understated power. Drink 2027 to 2044+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes 2024

The aromatics are intense and striking, piercingly fragrance and intensity, with layers of saline black berry and oyster shell intertwined with violets, red currants, wild strawberry and a hint of tart plum. Beautifully elegant in the mouth, this wine shows a tenderness, a seductive elegance and an understated weightless intensity, finishing with a gently brûléed, velvety oak kissed finish. Impressive intensity and candied, musk-laden complexity. A beautiful expression. Drink 2027 to 2044+.

(Fine Wine Safari: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Rouges 2024

Always a fresher cooler site facing northeast, this 2024 shows a bright, lifted, extroverted perfumed aromatics full of pink flowers, violets, musk, and delicately sappy notes over pronounced chalky limestone minerality and peppery spice. The fruit sits on the palate with a gentle glycerol weight, coating the mouth with a weightless intensity, more waves of spice and stony minerality, finishing with delicately tart, bright, savoury red and black berry fruits. Texturally linear and incredibly polished and precise, this wine harbours some real understated power and pedigree. Drink 2027 to 2044+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Rouges 2023

When we finished the 2024 En-primeur barrel tasting, Cécile very kindly opened a ‘bottled’ 2023 Les Rouges for comparison. The aromatics are delightfully youthful, complex and broody recalling small, dark, saline black berried fruits, wild strawberry, and savoury bramble berry notes. The tannins are firm yet incredibly polished and precise, framing this elegantly pure cuvee handsomely, the mouthfeel beautifully harmonious and the fruit concentration supple, crystalline and intensely pure. Not the most common 1er Cru vineyard in Vosne Romanee but fast becoming one of my favourites!  Drink from 2026 to 2042+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Later in the evening, I shared a phenomenal dinner with importer Musigny Wines’ owner Andrew Pavli at La Lune restaurant in Beaune with another Burgundy sensation, Kei Shiogai, who Musigny Wines import exclusively into the UK, and who also happens to be a massive fan of Cécile’s delicious fine wines. With a short but well-chosen selection of wines on the La Lune list, we sniffed out another two delightful 2021 wines from the Domaine Tremblay lineup which we enjoyed over dinner and who’s notes are included below.

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Chambolle Musigny Les Cabottes 2021, 13% Abv. 

This crisp fresh low yielding vintage shares a lot in common with the 2024 styling at many domaines. The delicious Cabottes 2021 is beautifully complex showing cardamom, red currant, wild strawberry and earthy brambly fruits. This wine is all about freshness, precision and energy which really shines on the palate with a bristling acidity, tart nervy red and black berry fruits and taut polished linear tannins. But don’t be fooled, despite the tension, there is plenty of flesh on the bone. Stunning purity, focus and intensity. Drink 2026 to 2042+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Cecile Tremblay Morey Saint Denis Tres Gerard 2021, 13% Abv. 

This is a thoroughly classic Morey with intense notes of blue and black berry fruits, violets, black cherry and subtle lactic nuances. On the palate, the tension and acidity slightly mask the fruit depth, but given time in the glass, the power, weightless concentration and fruit power really shine without defeating Cecile’s philosophical mission of finesse and elegance with terroir character. A really impressive wine showing beautifully already. Drink now to 2044+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Many thanks to Andrew Pavli at Musigny Wines for unlocking the cellar doors of some of Burgundy’s most sought-after producers for me to review. Contact Musigny Wines to learn about new release allocations from some of Burgundies most iconic growers.

Andrew@musigny.wine

Ten Years On – Tasting the Iconic Wines from the 2016 Bordeaux Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

The 2016 Bordeaux vintage was nothing short of dramatic. For those tending the vines, it was a growing season shaped by an extraordinary mix of weather patterns which produced wines of remarkable balance and complexity. At the time, the oenologists echoed what many were feeling: “Bordeaux, by some miracle compared to many French wine regions, is preparing for an exceptional vintage.” Within the context of this historical pronouncement, and a surfeit of high critical scores dished out at En-primeur time, the only thing that can settle the status of this vintage once and for all is a “10 years on” tasting of bottled wines. Many thanks to Bordeaux Index for the opportunity to assess a phenomenal selection of top Chateaux wines.

A wet and cold winter set the stage for the 2016 vintage, with rainfall in the first six months of the growing season matching that of the entire previous year. Then, from mid-June to mid-August, the weather shifted dramatically, bringing a long, hot, and dry summer, followed by just 20mm of rain in early September. For many winemakers, that combination was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the dry heat during July and August was a worry – especially on gravelly soils or younger vines which struggled with water stress.

On the other hand, the soils that had stored the winter’s water, especially clay and limestone plots, proved their worth and sustained the vines throughout the drought. Then came a timely and gentle revival: light rains in mid-September, followed by a long Indian-summer stretch – warm days, cool nights, and slowed-down ripening.

Christian Seely from Pichon Baron and Veronique Sanders from Haut Bailly.

As a result, many of the top estates found themselves harvesting remarkably late, often stretching far into October, allowing grapes the time they needed for full phenolic maturity: deep colour, rich tannins, well concentrated flavours, but without excess alcohol or overripe jammy fruit. As Jacques Thienpont of Le Pin noted, it was the first time in the estate’s history that harvest didn’t begin until October. Overall, the vintage was characterised by a balance of fruit and high (but supremely ripe) tannins with fresh acidity and pleasingly moderate alcohol levels.

Many thanks to Bordeaux Index for the opportunity to assess a phenomenal selection of top Chateaux wines.

The 2016 Bordeaux Selection:

Chateau Cheval Blanc 2016, Saint Emilion 

Lifted and perfumed. Silky and utterly sophisticated.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Ausone 2016, St Emilion 

Dark tight and broody. More black berry intensity.  Chiselled and fresh. Precise.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Red fruit, cedar, black berry. Earthy, Xmas spice. Class.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Haut Brion 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Rich, broad expansive aromatics. Black currant and graphite. Incredible depth. Very impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 99+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Margaux 2016, Margaux

Fragrant cassis and saline black fruits. Silky, precise and fine grained.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 2016, Pauillac

More savoury and brûléed. Dense and powerful with beautifully chalky tannins. A classic Mouton.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 2016, Pauillac

Red and black berry fruits, exotic lifted perfume. Silky soft, pristine and very persistent.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Latour 2016, Pauillac

Complex salty cassis, oyster shell, graphite with a dense seamless palate, impressive power with phenomenal finesse. Bold wine. As close to perfection as possible.

(Wine Safari Score: 100/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Le Pin 2016, Pomerol

Mint chocolate chip, black berry and damson plum. Sweet fruited, generous palate and beautifully exotic.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Lafleur 2016, Pomerol

Beautifully exotic and complex, but also intricate. Brûléed, dark berries, salted cassis with a long luxurious creamy finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Petrus 2016, Pomerol

Dense, creamy and delicately lactic with chocolate praline notes, pithy graphite tannins and a cool finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Angelus 2016, Saint Emilion

Deep dense ripe black fruits, cassis, sapidity, full and powerful. Opulent and accessible.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Belair Monange 2016, Saint Emilion

Smoky chalky nose, graphite and black currant compote. Dense and compact power. Very smart.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Canon 2016, Saint Emilion

Graphite, black currant, sleek, silky, sophisticated. Superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Canon La Gafaliere 2016, Saint Emilion

Dark, spicy, picante intense fruit, raisined cherries and a chalky finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Figeac 2016, Saint Emilion

Fabulous oak – fruit integration. Complex and classy. Very silky and complete. Sensational.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Clos Fourtet 2016, Saint Emilion

Deep, dark and broody. Spicy mineral tannins, graphite hints and plenty of limestone grip.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau L’IF 2016, Saint Emilion

Touch stewed, raisined black berries. Fleshy, ripe expression. Exuberant.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Gaffeliere 2016, Saint Emilion

Rich and textured. Plenty of ripeness and power. Black fruits are slightly raisined on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Mondotte 2016, Saint Emilion

Warm toasty aromatics, plush and creamy, full throttle but beautifully fresh. A great success.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pavie 2016, Saint Emilion

Dense and dark, packed with blue and black berry fruits. Chewy tannins, dry grippy limestone length. Serious.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pavie Macquin 2016, Saint Emilion

Dusty limestone, liquor and creme de cassis. Cool and supple, elegant and vibrant. This is classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Quintus 2016, Saint Emilion

Earthy savoury black fruits. Polished but slightly baked black berry compote style on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint Emilion, 15.5% Abv.

Broody black fruited nose, the palate silky, tangy and super vibrant. Very seductive.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Valandraud 2016, Saint Emilion

Earthy savoury black fruits. Dense, mineral grip. Slightly austere on the finish. But classical power.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Conseillante 2016, Pomerol

Brûléed, exotic enticing nose. Creamy and cool, packed with blue and purple fruits. Simply sensational.

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau L’Evangile 2016, Pomerol

Silky, opulent and utterly seductive! Very polished example.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Lafleur-Gazin 2016, Pomerol

Ripe savoury black berry fruits, pithy, ripe. Chiselled tannins.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Hosanna 2016, Pomerol

Salty, picante black berry fruits. Oyster shell, cassis and a long creamy finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Fleur-Petrus 2016, Pomerol

Graphite, wood smoke and creasote on the nose. Broad creamy palate with polished tannins, silky drying finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Trotanoy 2016, Pomerol

Broody black currant fruits, creamy and mineral. Power packed. Wow.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Violette 2016, Pomerol

Blue black fruits, effortless concentration, light and airy but still substantial.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Clinet 2016, Pomerol

Silky, complex, very complete wine. Cool and mineral. Textured but such class!

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vieux Chateau Certan, Pomerol, 14.5% Abv.

Juicy red and black berry fruits, graphite, limestone and mineral lift. Dense, creamy and very classy.

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Haut-Bailly 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Lovely melange of savoury earth and black berry. Compact, dense, silky but plenty of power.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Intricate, perfumed and exotic, very enticing. Compact but sleek. Silky tannins, fresh and elegant. True class.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Savoury, truffle, exotic and complex. Creamy and intense. 

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Domaine de Chevalier 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Ripe red berry fruits, graphite and limestone, densely textured, compact and true class. Wow.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion 2016, Pessac-Leognan

Earth, truffle, savoury black fruits. Fabulous creamy depth, intricate acids, and true class.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Clarence de Chateau Haut Brion, 13.5% Abv.

Supple, silky and soft, plenty of earthy minerality, with a taut grippy finish. Punches way above its price point.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau D’Issan 2016, Margaux

Plenty of brûléed black fruit, creamy tannins and earthy black currant compote finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Palmer 2016, Margaux

Cool, pure black fruits, impressive intensity and length. Very elegant with underlying power.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Leoville Barton 2016, Saint Julien

A dense, compact wine with impressive depth and power, tantalisingly structured for the long haul. Yes please!

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pontet-Canet 2016, Pauillac

This is super juicy, vibrant and textured with a tangy acidity, fabulous saline crème de cassis depth. Really lovely opulence.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Les Forts de Latour 2016, Pauillac

Complex layered wine with tilled earth, black berries and wet tobacco. Super serious.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Carruades de Lafite 2016, Pauillac

Medium weight, elegant and silky with black currant, damson plum and black cherry depth.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Le Petit Mouton 2016, Pauillac

Creamy black fruited depth, graphite, tilled earth with delicate mint and milk chocolate nuances.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pichon Comtesse Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac, 13.32% Abv.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. This 2016 offers a subtle power with elegance, floral and lifted showing violets, bramble berry fruits, wild black currants and raspberry. A very pure, complete expression, definitely Pauillac at its best. 

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Pichon Baron 2016, Pauillac

Dense, compact, powerful expression full of earthy black berry fruit, sweet tannins. graphite and cedar spice. Plenty of stuffing for the long haul.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

FOR MORE INFORMATION… contact Bordeaux Index Private Client Sales: Ellie.Roberts@bordeauxindex.com

Reviewing One of the Most Coveted New Producers in Burgundy – Tasting Through the Full Kei Shiogai 2023 Range of Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Travelling to Burgundy to taste the previous vintage’s creations can be a somewhat tricky affair especially when producers across the region, in the Cotes de Nuits, Cotes de Beaune and the Maconnais all experienced such incredibly difficult vintage conditions in 2024. So, perhaps tasting through their more plentiful 2023 range serves as a timely distraction for a producer. I was very fortunate to be introduced to Japanese young gun Kei Shiogai several years ago and have gratefully been granted access to taste his wines every year from barrel and bottle since his maiden 2020 commercial releases. A relative newcomer to the Burgundy region, Kei is understandably quite protective about his winemaking philosophy, his pristine cellar and his overall privacy. Quite rightly, he prefers to let his wines do the talking.

In complete contrast to 2024, the 2023 harvest will be remembered for a plentiful, abundant harvest with generous yields, ample ripeness, and notable concentration usually commensurate with the quality of the wines’ individual terroir and level of appellation classification. While 2022 saw easy conditions for vignerons across the board, the weather circumstances in 2023 perhaps posed a few more questions, but ultimately yielding energetic, crystalline Chardonnays with a notable minerality and freshness alongside the fruit ripeness, and Pinot Noirs with delightfully sweet strawberry and red cherry-laced berry fruits that display plenty of clarity, a bright translucent purity together with linear fresh acids. Overall, the across-the-board vintage quality for red and white wines was incredibly consistent across villages with excellent balance, moderate alcohols, and elegant fruit purity.

While the 2023 vintage was neither cool and wet like 2021 or hot and dry like 2022, the season was marked by an initial warm, dry winter with a meagre amount of sunshine. The rains returned in March while the months of April and May were bright and sunny but relatively cool. Excellent flowering in May and June with perfect conditions, sealed the requirements for a potentially very generous crop. If June was warm, unseasonally cooler conditions in July and August prolonged the ripening somewhat before several heat spikes arrived in late August and early September to bring the fruit to full ripeness. Some are calling 2023 another solar vintage, or années solaires, but this description perhaps simplifies conditions unnecessarily. 

The Charmots 1er Cru has been in new oak barrels for 25 months when I tasted it again in December 2025. This wine will be bottled and released in 2026. Not to be missed. Could possibly be one of the most exciting red Burgundy releases of 2026?

The general wine merchant consensus is that 2023 is a very generous, fruit forward vintage with joyfully fresh whites that will even appeal to the classicists, and reds that range from lighter-bodied, fresh, and remarkably drinkable examples already through to more structured, riper, denser wines where producers clearly made a conscious effort to coax a little more structure and tension from their wines in light of the potential dangers of dilution from higher yields. 

Being one of the most sought after and collectable producers in Burgundy at the moment undoubtedly carries with it a few added headaches for Kei – from endless new requests for primary first release allocations in new and historical markets to highly inflated secondary market prices that always seem to benefit speculators rather than the producers themself. Nevertheless, fame at this level understandably always comes at a price, but so far, Kei is keeping his head down and focusing (or more like obsessing!) over the purity, precision and focus of his incredibly ethereal, elegant “new style” Burgundies that have captivated the global market.

Kei Shiogai Gevrey-Chambertin Village 2023

An enticingly perfumed aromatics bursting with violets and lilac, luscious red berry fruits, red plum, red cherry, pink musk and sweet strawberry confit. Silky, wonderfully fine boned and supple with incredible purity and precision with soft powdery tannins and a crystalline red berry purity, this is signature Kei Shiogai that finishes with a hint of sapidity and spice.  A very pretty wine indeed. Drink from 2025 to 2035.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Gevrey-Chambertin “Baraques” 2023

The Baraques cuvee shows a deeper, darker, bolder black plum colour in the glass with a broodier aromatics of black cherry, ripe strawberry, and black plum. Inviting notes of saline creme cassis and pink musk follow to the palate that shows a regal finesse and clarity as well as all Kei’s hallmark purity and pinpoint precision. Spectacular translucent fruit purity, weightless silky tannins and a long, intense brambly finish. Quite sublime. Drink from 2025 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Pommard Poisot 2023

A sleeping giant of a wine packed with dark broody purple and black berry fruits, black cherry, strawberry and saline creme de cassis. Taut and stony on the palate, this shows the power and tension of Pommard with a vein of graphite and limestone minerality, yielding tight grained polished marble tannins, pithy black berry fruits and a chalky dry extract grip on the finish.  A classic “iron fist in a velvet glove” expression. Youthful but already magnificent. Drink from 2026 to 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cherbaudes 2023

An intricate floral aromatics with fabulous poise and precision, boasting violets and cherry blossom, creme de cassis, wild strawberry, graphite and piquant mineral spices. The clarity and purity are mesmerising, the light touch intensity and focus simply astounding. No shortage of piercing red and black berry 1er Cru power here, with notable concentration and creamy mouth coating tannins. True Gevrey class on display. Drink from 2026 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Echezeaux Grand Cru 2023

A broody beast of a wine offering an aromatic depth of Asian spices, graphite, violets, wild strawberry, earthy cured meats and savoury Christmas spices. Full, broad and fully loaded in the mouth, the concentration is rich, glycerol and intricately textural but supremely powerful, distinguished, yet beautifully precise. The Kei Shiogai signature style applied with classical winemaking. Surely a true unicorn wine of the future. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Bourgogne Blanc “Les Famelottes” 2023, 13% Abv.

Located in the commune of Puligny Montrachet, the Les Famelottes shows a beautiful melange of wet limestone, yellow stone fruits, pear and green apple, roasted nuts with delicate dried herb nuances. So supple, soft, and fleshy in the mouth with a generous depth and subtle balance. Really very impressive and also truly delicious making this a good introduction to Kei’s precise winemaking style. Drink from 2025 to 2032+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes 2023

Cool, taut mineral aromatics reveal the true class and majesty of this great appellation. The aromatics are full of pithy lemon peel, pear, waxy green apples and a pronounced limestone mineral vein. The balance and textural precision are second to none, crystalline and beautifully focused, showing purity with immeasurable intensity and effortless elegance. Truly sublime. A great expression of this 1er Cru terroir. Drink from 2025 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Puligny Montrachet Village 2023

Taut and broody, this is 100% new oak expression shows no overt oak characters on the nose but merely the faintest complexing hints of dried herbs, lemon grass and lemon herbal tea before more classical notes of grilled nuts, salted pistachios, and dusty limestone minerality. Power packed and pithy, but also quite a taut, classical Puligny expression. Drink from 2025 to 2035.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeux 2023

Fabulously cool, pure, and crystalline, this barrel sample reveals incredible wound spring tension, a stony limestone core, lemon rind, lemon grass, and toasted almonds. Precision personified on the palate, the concentration is weightless and harmonious, the finish long, glycerol and delicately savoury and nutty. Wow! Another stunner from Kei. Drink from 2025 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Chassagne Montrachet Village 2023

This Chassagne shows beautifully attractive aromatics of lemon cordial, wild herbs, pithy wet limestone, and yellow stone fruits. Plenty of “gras” or weight on the mid-palate but still deliciously fresh, creamy, and harmonious. This is another delicious addition to the repertoire of great Chassagne whites! Drink from 2025 to 2035.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Puligny Montrachet Les Petit Grands Champs 2023

This lieu dit Puligny shows an intense, lemon and lime saline intensity with tangy bright acids. Beautiful balance and harmonious mouthfeel. Also great length with just a kiss of white toast and freshly baked brioche on the long, persistent finish. Drink from 2025 to 2035+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kei Shiogai Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2023

This fabulous terroir really shines in Kei’s hands, showing liquid minerals, wet limestone, lemon grass, sweet baking herbs, and warm buttered white toast. Plush textured and densely layered with notable dry extract but also a seamlessly creamy texture and an incredibly harmonious, balanced equilibrium on the palate. A decidedly more terroir driven, linear, minerally infused expression of Corton-Charlemagne than some of the more unctuous, buttery examples produced. Undeniably a profound wine and simply drop dead gorgeous. Drink from 2025 to 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The wines of Kei Shiogai are imported into the UK exclusively by Musigny Wines. Contact Andrew Pavli to request an allocation.

andrew@musigny.wine