A recent recipient of the ‘Winemaker of the Year’ award, Bruwer Raats has carved out a niche for high-quality wines from the decomposed Dolomitic Granite soils of the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch, in what he refers to as a focus on ‘terroir not trend’.
His collaboration with Mzo Mvemve has brought about the MR de Compostella, one of the most critically successful red wines produced in South Africa, the pinnacle of the Cape Bordeaux Blend category, which was recently joined by the MR Vesperi White Blend.
With both the MR de Compostella 2023 and second release Vesperi 2024 hitting the market soon, I took the opportunity to taste these two new releases with Bruwer Raats on his recent trip to London. I’ve now tasted the new MR 2023 red four times over the past 6 months and am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this 2023 is one of Bruwer and Mzo’s most serious creations to date… not to be missed!! 🍷
MR Vesperi 2024, WO Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
This second edition of the “white MR” is a similar blend to the maiden 2023 but possess a slightly higher Chenin Blanc portion at 41%, alongside 37% Sauvignon Blanc and 22% Semillon, that was matured for nine months in older oak barrels. While the oak and vanilla spice is perceptible, it’s also beautifully integrated with alluring aromatics of lime blossoms, lemon cordial, hints of waxy bergamot citrus, before more savoury, biscuity notes of nutty lees, wet straw and yellow orchard fruits. With the Sauvignon Blanc picked opulently ripe, its no surprise that the palate entry leads with more intense green fruit notes of greengage and orange citrus before the Chenin Blanc and Semillon slowly assert their presence. Broad and fleshy in the mouth, the balance is impressively harmonious and the fruit acid integration seductively seamless. Vibrant and noticeably chiselled on the finish, this is such a wonderfully accomplished addition to the lucrative Cape white blend category. Drink the Vesperi on release and over the next decade.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
MR de Compostella 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
The 2023 MR de Compostella, or Compilation of the Stars is another 5-way blend of 30% Cabernet Franc, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec, 17% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot. With all fruit picked in prime condition long before the late harvest rains descended, this 2023 stands as one of the most fascinating MRs Bruwer and Mzo have produced since the maiden 2004. Sharing many aromatic, flavour, and textural similarities with previous vintages like the 2013, 2018 and the 2021, this 2023 is beautifully fragrant with top note aromatics of violets, rose petals, sweet cedar, crushed cranberries, saline crème de cassis and black cherry fruits that melt away into hints of dried herbs, graphite, and sweet tobacco leaf. Medium to full bodied, the palate shows a sleek strictness, a polished, elegantly restrained silky texture over an incredibly taut, powerful, titanium skeletal frame. The tannins are fine grained, tight knit and tensile but never grippy or chunky. This wine possesses a different kind intensity and muscular power – one shaped by pedigree, classicism, and restrained wound spring tension. This could well be one of the most “serious” MRs assembled to date… and I absolutely love it. Pop this one in your cellar for a few years while you enjoy the MR 2020 or the 2022.
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Raats Family Wines and MR de Compostella wines are imported and distributed to the wine trade in the UK by Alliance Wines.
Few wine regions in the Cape Winelands are as climatically individual as the Elgin basin. Also home of the cash crop apples, the battle for economic supremacy is an on going battle for wine farmers. But there are producers that have doubled down and focused on producing high quality premium Grape cultivars.
Perched 420 meters above sea level on a mountain plateau that forms the coastal edge of the Elgin basin, sits the Iona winery, renowned as South Africa’s coolest vineyard site. Located in the Elgin Valley, this former apple farm benefits from a unique microclimate shaped by the icy Atlantic Ocean and frequent orographic cloud cover.
These conditions ensure a long, slow ripening period, allowing grapes to achieve physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels. The result is a portfolio of elegant, terroir-driven wines, most notably Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, producing wines characterised by bright acidities, mineral purity, and restrained alcohol levels, often drawing comparisons to the fine European styles owner Andrew Gunn is so fond of.
I recently caught up in London with Andrew Gunn’s son-in-law Rob Macdonald, to taste through Iona’s exciting new releases.
Iona Monopole Elgin Highlands Chardonnay 2024, WO Elgin, 13% Abv.
This shows a cool, pithy elegance on the nose with pristine aromatics of lemon and lime cordial tightly interwoven with a pronounced stony minerality. The purity and crystallinity continue to a wonderfully bright palate that is fleshy, concentrated and fully charged showing an electric brightness, tangy green apple and lemon confit notes with a slightly phenolic, herby grapefruit-tinged finish. Surprisingly, this 2024 has wonderful flesh and midpalate stuffing, plenty of concentrated yellow citrus fruits and a delightfully long tangy acidity. A really impressive cool climate Chardonnay. Drink now to 2040+.
A blend of 92% Sauvignon Blanc and 8% Semillon fermented and aged in older 300 and 500 litre French oak barrels. The first impression on nosing the wine is one of impressive complexity but also mouthwatering exoticism with the barrel ageing offering hints of quince and waxy orange peel, dried mango and subtle guava notes before a vein of more savoury, leesy white toast and biscuit kicks in. The palate is full and mouth filling, with the dried mango and papaya notes coming to the fore but certainly not in an obtrusive manner. The balance is simply spot on and the concentration and tangy acidity delicious, finishing with hints of dried herbs and lemon iced tea. This is serious Sauvignon Blanc kit for people who perhaps struggle with Sauvignon’s pungent character. Certainly, a benchmark style in the context of Elgin and the Cape. Drink now to 2038+.
This 2025 Sauvignon Blanc also features 8 to 10% Semillon which is all barrel fermented on top of around a 5% portion of the Sauvignon Blanc to add extra complexity and texture. This wine, from an admittedly superb Cape vintage, has intense, characterful aromatics of grassy gooseberry, yellow citrus and green apple pastille with delicate hints of guava and papaya. The palate is pitch perfect, striking a superb balance between tangy freshness, intense concentrated yellow and green citrus fruits and a subtle, slightly veiled minerality that lurks ever present. Harmonious, elegant and a true delight to drink without being too pungent or tropical. This is certainly a wine to go long on and enjoy over the next two to three summers! (Bottled under screwcap.)
This is an enticing Pinot Noir offering from Iona displaying an impressively classical, Old World Burgundian elegance and focus, with delicious black berry and strawberry fruit notes, damson plum, black currant and a delightful Cotes de Nuits limestone mineral nuance underpinning the wine. The palate fruits are pithy and incredibly restrained and stony, adding handsomely to the feel of tension and linearity in the wine, before a finish of gravelly, powdery tannins, bramble berry spice and a smoky granitic austerity. Really quite superb. One for the Burgundy lovers out there! Drink now to 2034+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Iona One Man Band Red Blend 2021, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.
An eclectic blend of Petit Verdot, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Mourvedre and Viognier. Normally led by Syrah at 35% to 45%, but in 2021, the Syrah from Rosie’s Elgin Brocha Farm performed so well that most of it went into the award-winning Solace Syrah 2021. Spicy and broody on initial sniff, the aromatics boast deep dark notes of dried violets, bramble berries, red currants and red plums. There is a hint of sapidity and stalky spice but also delicate herbal mineral nuances. The palate is a little more punchy and imposing, showing notable power and muscle, a dense core of damson plum, blue berries and bramble berry fruits, before a finish that is notably stony, mineral, and picante. Superbly dense, compact and tight knit with a harmonious mouthfeel, this is an accomplished red blend that shares many similarities with the finest reds of the Southern Rhone. Drinking on release but you can expect this to hit its straps at 8 to 10 years old and then go on further.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Iona Solace Syrah 2022, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.
Sourced purely from 100% Syrah fruit from Rosie Gunn’s Brocha farm, following on from the block buster, high scoring 2021, this 2022 is really quite a piece of work, with intensity, purity, and superb focus. The aromatics boast cool restrained black fruits, saline black currant, savoury bresaola cure meats, liquorice and a fresh pepper corn spice that follows on to the palate. Compact yet deliciously fresh, the palate displays a firm hand of structure and focus, supported by cool, sleek linear acids that are ever present yet notably integrated, balanced and subtle. This is another masterpiece for Syrah in the context of Elgin and the vintage, just perhaps a touch more restrained than the iconic 2021. Drink this on release to 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Iona wines are imported into the UK by Alliance Wines.
The Bellevue Estate in Stellenbosch is the oldest commercial producer of Pinotage in South Africa, having produced both South Africa’s first bottled and award winning Pinotage. Bellevue’s story is one of bold decisions and forward thinking. When Pieter Krige (P.K.) Morkel couldn’t find Gamay vines in 1953, he embraced a pioneering South African cultivar: Pinotage. This decision not only shaped Bellevue’s identity but also contributed to the global recognition of Pinotage as a uniquely South African wine. “We currently work with the oldest average vine age in Stellenbosch with our youngest block 25 years old and our oldest being 73 years old” explains long time winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger.
Among the Bellevue Estate red range is a very special wine with a profound sense of place from one of the oldest commercial Pinotage vineyards in the world, planted in 1953. When the maiden 1959 vintage won trophies galore, Pieter Krige Morkel was crowned South Africa’s new ‘king of wine’. His hands-off approach then is replicated today by winemaker Wilhelm to let the grace and wisdom of the old vine vineyards shine through.
Beyond their historic Pinotage, the estate also possesses one of the five oldest Cinsault vineyards in South Africa, planted in 1952, which now forms part of their illustrious Heritage range. But in 2026, the Heritage range will be joined by their newly branded 1976 Old Vine Chenin Blanc that used to go into their Eselsgraf Reserve Chenin Blanc. Another sublime highlight is undoubtedly their phenomenal Cabernet Franc, a wine that won the Red Wine Trophy at the Michelangelo Awards with the 2022 vintage, and again last year, with the 2023. In this tasting, I review the new release 2024, and predictably, it’s business as usual. Finally, there is a reason Stellenbosch is known as the “Kingdom of Cabernet” producing some of the most exciting examples of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Cape winelands.
Bright, juicy floral aromatics with green apple, green melon, rock candy and dried hay. Piercing concentration leads the charge on the palate, tangy, fleshy and delicious mouthfeel and weight supported by green apple pastille, pear and white peach. Beautiful typicity with punchy intensity.
Not since the release of the 2021s has there been a South African harvest that has created as much excitement among producers and consumers alike as the 2025 vintage. When you taste this stunning hand harvested bush vine Chenin Blanc you really see the vintage in all its glory, the aromatics deliciously pure, vibrant and lifted, bursting with complex layers of green apples, white peach rock candy, talcum powder, and a delicately sweet fynbos spice after its rained. The palate is pure, intense, and concentrated with a chiselled, tangy fresh acidity that coats the mouth, preparing your taste buds for bursts of Granny Smith green apple fruits with a splash of tart yellow grapefruit citrus. Crisp and pure yet crystalline and textural, this wine is like a very well-tuned orchestra with every instrument playing in perfect harmony. Drink this stunner before it sells out.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Heritage Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
This delightful new 2025 Chenin Blanc definitely sings the praises of this exceptional vintage in the Cape, boasting exotic aromatics of Muscat grape jelly, green honeydew melon, white peaches, and honeysuckle over complexing hints of wet straw and savoury leesy nuances. With such a ripe concentrated vintage such as 2025, you get to experience the full breadth and depth of this Old Vine Chenin Blanc that’s expertly balanced with tangy fresh acids, a delicate sweet and sour vibrancy together with a gently Granitic mineral salinity. Supremely harmonious and balanced with a majestic textural elegance, this youthful wine should develop a real personality with a few more years in bottle. This is another superb embryonic blockbuster from Bellevue. Drink from 2027 to 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Pinotage 2020, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
Classical aromatics of savoury earthy black berries, cured meats, tilled earth and sweet Christmas spices. Acids are bright and the red and black fruits crunchy and intense, the mid-palate sleek and savoury. Punchy, approachable, and easy drinking.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Malbec 2022, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
An exotic terroir driven aromatics laced with Buchu, fynbos and Eucalyptus complexity with black sappy berry fruits, chocolate peppermint crisp and dried herb spice. The acids are crisp and fresh, the black sappy berry fruits minty and attractive with brightness, a lifted black fruit energy and a sleek, mineral-tinged powdery tannin finish.
33/33/33 – new, second, 3rd fill oak barrels used for ageing the 40% Pinotage, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The aromatics show an attractive melange of creamy sappy black berry fruits, packed with earthy dried herbs, granitic minerality and savoury meaty hints. The acids are tangy and energetic, the red and black bramble berry fruits creamy, extracted and fine grained, finishing with serious power, minerality and length. Classy wine that punches above its weight.
The only thing possibly more exciting than a top Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch is a full throttle, five cultivar Cape Bordeaux Blend, and this 2023 is an assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The aromatics have many of the earthy, loamy, freshly tilled earth notes of the pure Cabernet Sauvignon but then reveals multiple extra layers of sweet violets, white blossoms, sweet black currants, black cherry and a delicate graphite minerality. The palate is plush, polished, and focused with a textural generosity consistent with the 2023 vintage, with all fruit brought in before the late season harvest rains. Once again, the mouthfeel is creamy, supple, and fine grained with sweet pliable tannins, soft well integrated tangy acids and a long, delicately toasty, brûléed finish. The oaking is expertly managed, marrying pure, plush fleshy fruits, leaving a sensation of hedonistic harmony and balance on the finish. A supremely well-constructed wine that also has legs for further beneficial ageing. Drink now and over the next 10 to 12+ years. Such a delight to drink.
Aged in 50/50 new and second fill French oak barrels for 22 to 24 months. The aromatics are deep and broody with layers of black berry, creme de cassis, damson plum, mulberry, tilled earth, vanilla pod and sweet Christmas spices. The palate breadth and balance is impressive, dense, tight grained, harmonious and intense without losing balance and elegance. This wine ticks a lot of boxes and shows a lot of commercial appeal.
Aged in 60% new and 40% second fill French oak barrels, the aromatics are pure and regal, a Cabernet Sauvignon expression that shows why Stellenbosch is truly world class. Deep, dark black fruited aromatics with creme de cassis, black cherry, and spicy mulberry with Christmas spices, hints of tannery leather, black chai tea and cigar box. The acids are fresh and crystalline but tightly interwoven with structured black fruits, subtle hints of leafy, earthy dried herb spices, finishing with length and intensity and a subtle mineral undertone. Very classy indeed with plenty of stuffing for a cooler, fresher vintage.
The Bottelary ward of Stellenbosch is prime Cabernet Sauvignon country and this delightful 2023 is a very classy expression, the aromatics deep, sumptuous and complex. There is an extra dimension of ripeness and density on the 2023 nose with deep, savoury tilled earth aromatics that melt into notes of wet tobacco leaf, earthy black currant and damson plum fruits with just a hint of pressed violet perfume. In the mouth, this wine is broad and creamy with the texture of velvet that is caressed by soft silky tannins, sweet fleshy black and blue berry fruits before a dusty, wet stone graphite-laden minerality on the finish. The extraction is expertly handled offering a plush, luxurious, fleshy depth of fruit with a genuinely accessible, generous opulence. So delicious already, why keep this too long in the cellar when you can enjoy its tangy, vibrant, fleshy opulence now. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Franc 2023, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
Aged in 100% New French oak for 20-21 months. Shows classic Cabernet Franc notes with great varietal typicity – cedar, spice, tree bark, dried herbs and perfumed black berry fruits. The palate is cool, crisp and distinguished with sweet baking herbs, earthy leafy spice, tea leaf, lead pencil and tangy fresh black berry fruits on the finish. Tight knit, grippy, densely fruited and quite complete for the vintage. Undoubtedly among the top expressions of Cabernet Franc in SA!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Franc 2024, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
The Bellevue Estate’s Cabernet Franc quality is synonymous with premium quality winning multiple awards year after year. This 2024 is another outstanding example that combines the vintage condition’s translucent fruit purity and freshness with the winemaker’s pinpoint precision to yield a wine of outstanding beauty. The aromatics are stand out, supremely plush, perfumed and layered with sweet violets, sappy cedar, and cinnamon spices over hints of tea leaf, red currants and blue berries. Cool, precise, and attractively chiselled, there is a real elegant classicism to the texture, with satin soft tannins, bright lemon-like tangy acids and a long, piercing red fruited persistence on the finish. What a truly magnificent wine. Get your hands on a bottle at all costs! Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bellevue Estate Heritage Range Cinsault 2024, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
Undoubtedly, one of the most famous premium Cinsault reds produced in South Africa, this 2024 shows intricate, complex aromatics laced with rose petal, potpourri, raspberry herbal tea, red cherries, fynbos, dried herbs, dusty stony minerals and intricate Turkish delight nuances. The palate is tight knit, compact and intense, deliciously sweet fruited, incredibly concentrated and intense with a sleek, harmonious mineral texture. A phenomenal expression of old vine Cinsault that combines power, intensity, precision and purity. Simply breathtaking. Drink now to 2050+.
Few Pinotage wines are as evocative as the Old Vine wines from Bellevue Estate. Incredibly deep, dense, dark black fruited aromatics reveal notes of violets, black berries, chocolate peppermint crisp, sweet raspberries, berry herbal tea and white pepper notes. On the palate there’s a pronounced menthol brightness and tart berry freshness together with delicious, sweet Christmas spices, delicate fynbos hints and exotic Asian spices. Beautifully powerful with immense drinkability and accessibility with an underlying seriousness. This is premium Pinotage… but not as you know it. Drink now to 2041+.
The 2023 Reserve Pinotage is an impressively complex expression of this grape from one of South Africa’s finest proponents. The aromatics are deep and broody, revealing layers of polished mahogany, bay leaf spice, vivid black and blue berry fruits, mulberries, and subtle caramelized vanilla oak spice nuances. The palate is full, fleshy, and noticeably broad and glycerol with a vivid acid frame that balances the sweet black fruit concentration with a beautiful freshness and supple, delicately creamy tannins. A bold, fleshy, opulent style of Pinotage with plenty of character and seductive charm. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Bellevue Estate will be available in the UK soon from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.
Celestina represents a deeply personal project by famous Cape Town wine personality Caroline Rillema, a legendary figure in the South African wine industry and the founder of the renowned Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar in Cape Town. Situated in the cool-climate Cape Agulhas region near Baardskeerdersbos, this little boutique estate is among the smallest and most intimate wine projects in the Western Cape.
For years, Caroline Rillema has served as a tastemaker and curator for the finest wines in the Cape and with Celestina, she brings that refined expertise and talent to the vineyard. Since its first vintage in 2009, Celestina has been celebrated as a noteworthy expression of its unique southern coastal terroir. This signature wine is an elegant white, being an equal parts blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, that perfectly captures the distinct grassiness, minerality and salinity of the cool, coastal maritime climate of the Agulhas Wine Triangle.
While the wine was historically crafted in collaboration with neighbouring cellars, a significant milestone was reached in 2023 when the first vintage was vinified entirely in Caroline’s own on-site cellar. Caroline kindly forwarded me a sample of both the 2023 and the 2024 to taste and review on my recent trip to Cape Town and this transition highlights the evolution of the Celestina brand from a passion project into a focused, small-scale production of exceptional artisanal quality. For Caroline, the Celestina project is more than just a bottle of ‘hobby project’ wine, it is a testament to a lifetime spent in the company of great South African winemakers and fine wine.
Celestina Agulhas White 2024, WO Cape Agulhas, 13.5% Abv.
A beautifully bright, crystalline pale canary yellow colour, the aromatics on this 2024 are stunningly pure, fresh and vibrant, bristling with all the maritime energy you would expect, or at least hope for, from a premium Cape Agulhas coastal white. Never prickly, simply zippy and spicy, the aromatics are seamlessly layered with gooseberry, greengage, lemon grass, lemon peel and delicately savoury, mineral nuances. The palate boasts an energy and fruit concentration that bursts out the glass – tangy, unctuous, and beautifully intense. This vintage is definitely more intense and decidedly punchier than the 2023 and is an admirable addition to the cool climate coastal repertoire of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon whites from the Agulhas region. If you are looking for more than primary Sauvignon Blanc, this is your medicine! Drink on release and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
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.
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
The first quarter of the year always sees the Liberty Wines Portfolio tasting at the Oval in Vauxhall, London, which features an incredible array of wines from around the world. This year I decided to focus on tasting the exciting crop of new and current release wines from South Africa in their range. Many in the UK will be aware that several key South African premium producers have recently moved over to the Liberty Wines portfolio, making it now one of the most exciting line-ups with any importer in the UK. As always, it was fantastic to catch up with the producers in person like John Seccombe, Marelise Niemann, Craig Wessels, Peter-Allan Finlayson, Chris Mullineux and others.
The Restless River New Releases from Craig Wessels will be featured in a separate write-up on A Fine Wine Safari coming very soon.
Dr Jamie Goode tasting with John Seccombe.
Thorne & Daughters:
Thorne & Daughters Paper Kite 2024, 13% Abv.
Semillon planted in 1963 on Granite soils. Rich leesy aromatics with lemon and herbs, lanoline and buttered white toast. Crisp, fleshy but beautifully saline and textured on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
John Seccombe
Thorne & Daughters Rocking Horse White Blend 2023, 13.5% Abv.
Rich and waxy with lemon and peaches, lactic leesy hints and some marzipan nuances. Fleshy, and pithy, packing a nice bit of power on the long finish. Impressive as always.
This Skurfberg vineyard delivers a pithy, waxy yellow orchard fruit characters that balance the slightly oily notes of the Sauvignon Blanc phenolics. The palate is chiselled and fresh with a vibrant saline acidity and a cool, pithy, mineral finish. Classy grown up Sauvignon!
A Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvedre blend. Shows exotic sweet spices, layers of red fruits and bramble berries. Acids are crisp and saline, the minerality adding extra crunch, definition and tension. Lovely textured red Rhone blend with weightless concentration.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Wines:
Momento Chenin Blanc / Verdelho 2022, 13% Abv.
Complex leesy, herby, savoury aromatics before a more fleshy palate packed with granitic minerality and a yellow orchard fruit complexity. Serious effort as usual.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Grenache Blanc 2023, 13.5% Abv.
Pithy, dusty aromatics with grated apple skins, pear drops and granitic minerality. Beautifully balanced, the palate shows freshness, citrus pithiness, dried herbs and a crystalline wet river pebble finish. Top class example.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Myself and Marelise Niemann
Momento Grenache Gris 2023, 13% Abv.
Waxy green apple cordial and wet grey slate aromatics. Lovely intensity on the palate, a pronounced salinity and a cool, crystalline, mineral finish. Impressive!
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Paardeberg Grenache Noir 2023, 13% Abv.
Distinct bramble berry fruit aromatics, delicately perfumed with potpourri and rose petals. Beautifully cool, mineral and restrained in the palate, taut, crystalline and pure with crunchy saline chalky red berry notes on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Peter-Allan Finlayson
Crystallum and Gabrielskloof Wines:
Crystallum The Agnes Chardonnay 2025, 13.5% Abv.
Embryonic, pithy and fresh with white citrus, green melon and delicate fruit salad and cream notes. Lovely concentration, flinty stony reductive hint with a wet river stone finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Crystallum Clay Shales Chardonnay 2025, 13% Abv.
A little more citrus, peaches and cream with leesy hints and buttered brioche nuances. Dense, compact and textured, the concentration is punchy, the toasty melon and citrus fruits intense and long.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Elodie Chenin Blanc 2024, 13% Abv.
From 40- and 45-year-old Swartland Chenin Blanc vineyards. Taut stony mineral expression with apple, peach and pear drop aromatics. There’s impressively delicate weightless green apple notes, with a cool, crystalline, easy drinking finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Crystallum Peter Max 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Beautifully aromatic nose laced with potpourri, violets, and bramble berry spice. Incredibly intense and vibrant with piercing red berry fruits, cherry and a salty finish. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Syrah Whole Bunch 2024, 13% Abv.
A deliciously brambly, earthy peppery aromatics ps led full of smoky black berries, tar and burnt wood embers. Palate is soft and supple, cool, elegant and vibrant with crunchy acids and a long finish full of Christmas spices.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Cabernet Franc Landscape Series 2022, 14% Abv.
Beautifully expressive aromatics of sweet cedar, liquorice, tar and salty black currant. The elegance and salinity follows to a juicy, vibrant palate, finishing with graphite minerality and herbal spice.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Wines:
Mullineux Old Vine White 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Still circa 70% Chenin Blanc with some Quartz vineyard but mostly low yielding Paardeberg Chenin Blanc. Aromatics are full of sweet herbs, crushed Granite and white peach with a weightless concentration, delicately pithy fruits and a yellow orchard fruit concentration on the finish. Punch and impressive for the vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Terroir Series Granite Chenin Blanc 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Lovely tangerine and white peach notes with hints of green apple, deep veins of liquid minerality and concentrated apple and white citrus on the finish. Layered, fleshy and intense, this packs a real punch.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chris Mullineux
Mullineux Syrah 2023, 13% Abv.
A very pretty fragrant aromatics with red and black berry fruits, violets, lavander and sweet herbs. The tannins are cool and stony, pithy and mineral with notes of saline black currant, black liquorice and Granitic spice. Tangy, fresh and beautifully intense.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Terroir Series Schist Syrah 2023, 13.5% Abv.
A beautifully fragrant and exotic aromatics showing violets, lavander, musk and stony minerality. The delicately perfumed nose gives way to a power packed palate, dense, savoury and spicy, packed full of black pepper, cured meats and smoky wood embers. A substantial wine indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Wines:
Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, 14% Abv.
Intricate aromatics of sweet cedar, lead pencil, graphite, sweet Chai tea over black currant fruits. Silky and sleek in the mouth, cool, mineral and classically framed, this is really elegant and restrained for old world wine lovers.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2023, 14% Abv.
Exotic aromatics of perfumed peach and apricot, honeydew melon, green apple and buttered white toast. Massive concentration on the palate with candied citrus, lime cordial and a fleshy green apple finish. Wow, this has a lot of stuffing.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Adi Badenhorst, a new agency for Liberty Wines.
Also on taste: Restless River from Craig Wessels, AA Badenhorst Family Wines who’s sample bottles were mostly finished before I could taste them due to popular demand, the Bosberaad Wines from Paul Jordaan and Pauline Roux which I recently reviewed on A Fine Wine Safari, as well as a selection of Fairview Wines and Spice Route Wines.
And just like that, Sassicaia 100 pointers seem to be like London buses, nothing for 31 years after the legendary 1985 and then finally, the monumental 2016 release which garnered a perfect score from almost every global critic who tasted it, with the 2021 and 2023 following closely behind. Attending the London-based global launch of the Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2023 release, I couldn’t help wondering out aloud if this phenomenon was a case of the market and critics finally catching up with the true Sassicaia style or had the wines really improved / changed markedly over the years?
Anyone who has drunk multiple back vintages of Sassicaia going back to the 1980s and 1990s will know that Tenuta San Guido has forged somewhat of a reputation for making memorable wines in less than memorable Tuscan vintages – a mind-blowing bottle of 1993 Sassicaia drunk a couple of years ago with friends a perfect case in point. I have very fortunately had the opportunity to taste the epic 1985 Sassicaia from bottle and magnum and it undoubtedly remains one of the great 100-point wines of perfection in modern winemaking history. Now, I just need to find a bottle of the infamous 1988 to taste, a wine that was fabled to be even better than the 1985!
Pricilla Incisa della Rocchetta, owner of Sassicaia.
The 2023 vintage in Bolgheri was marked by a cold winter and above-average rainfall followed by severe outbreaks of downy mildew that damaged leaves, forcing Tenuta San Guido into a brutal fruit selection regime that resulted in a -20% reduction in yields overall. Only wineries willing to make these ruthless viticultural sorting sacrifices succeeded in 2023. But they say it in Bordeaux and Burgundy almost every vintage now – that there are great wines produced in almost every vintage, good and bad, and that the best wines can often rank highly amongst the most compelling fine wines. This seems to be the case with Sassicaia in 2023, a vintage that will be remembered for “fruit, salinity and length,” said Tenuta San Guido’s General Manager Carlo Paoli.
As usual, the Sassicaia 2023 vintage was tasted alongside the new releases of Tenuta San Guido’s Le Difese and Guidalberto 2024.
Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2024, IGT Toscana, 13.5% Abv.
The 2024 Le Difese is a blend of 75% Sangiovese and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and reveals a cool, dark fruited, broody aromatics with a delicately seductive perfume of violets, cherry blossom, black currants, and damson plum with a subtle dusting of vanilla pod spice and aniseed root. The palate is crystalline and pure, fine boned, fresh, and supple with sleek sinewy red berry fruits, red cherry, cranberry and Victoria plum. The acids are linear and bright, the tannins silky soft and pinpoint with a delicate mineral grip on the finish. Once again, almost more Pinot Noir in character and elegance but incredibly seductive. Drink now to 2034+. (375,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto 2024, IGT Toscana, 13.5% Abv.
A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon and 48% Merlot, the Guidalberto 2024 shows a noticeably more lifted, perfumed, intense aromatics than its big brother Sassicaia, with fragrant rose petals, pressed violets, and wild jasmine overlayed with red and black berry fruits, black cherry and a br?l?ed savoury brown breakfast toast nuance. The palate is sleek, fresh, and piercing, deliciously bright and mouth-wateringly tart with red cherry rock candy, cranberry, dried herbs, mint leaf, and suave tight grained chalky tannins on the finish. A delightfully exotic, elegant, stylish Guidalberto with weightless concentration and a finessed intensity. Drink from 2027 to 2040+. (400,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2023, Sassicaia-Bolgheri DOC, 14% Abv.
This 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc blend is fabulous bright in the glass with translucent cherry ruby red. The aromatics are slightly subdued and broody with hints of lavender and violets, tobacco leaf, and tilled earth. There is a real melange of red and black berry fruits with a leafy musk undertone. The palate is brighter and more accessible than the nose – generous, vibrant, and forthcoming with deliciously fine-grained chalky tannins, layers of mineral limestone intertwined with tart red cherry, red currant and sour plum. Plenty of stuffing and dry extract but made all the more overt and mouthwatering by the cool, crisp crystalline acids. This is a very polished, harmonious Sassicaia, supremely balanced and substantial, harmonious yet majestically elegant. Drink from 2028 to 2045+. (280,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Tenuta San Guido wines are imported into the UK by Armit Wines. Sassicaia 2023 was released at £1,250 per 6 Underbond.
The Sonop farm in Koelenhof, Stellenbosch has been in the du Bois family since 1931 and of the 140 hectares under vine around 20 of those hectares are planted to Old Vine Chenin Blanc, some of which have in the past been bought by wineries such as Alheit Family Vineyards, where Gabriel worked with Chris Alheit from 2020 to 2024, as well as by Bellingham who use the fruit in their famous Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc.
Over the years, I have been persuaded by winemaker Ian Naude to do multiple wine lectures at the Elsenburg College in Stellenbosch and have built up a bit of a soft spot for the incredibly talented young students I have encountered there. Fourth-generation Gabriel du Bois also studied at Elsenburg, and this new wine is his first release under the du Bois family label, sourced from two Old Vine Chenin Blanc blocks planted in 1982 and 1986, which were whole bunch pressed, spontaneously fermented and then matured for 11 months on their fine lees in used 400 litre oak barrels. The wine was aged for an extra 6 months in bottle prior to release.
The two single vineyards behind this wine were planted on the northeastern slopes of Sonop hill in 1982 and 1986. These old heritage certified bush vines, rising above Koelenhof at 240 to 280 metres, lie on red and blue shale with fractured clay beneath, allowing deep root penetration, steady moisture uptake, and a natural fruit lift. The 2024 growing season brought heavy rain in early spring, followed by persistent, fierce False Bay breezes that dried out the topsoil and kept vigour in check. The resulting low yields delivered berries with concentration, brightness, and vivid flavour.
Du Bois Vineyards Sonop Chenin Blanc 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
This Old Vine Chenin Blanc offers up beautifully classical aromatics of warm rain on granite, dried straw, fynbos and lemon blossoms over more seductive white peach, fresh stem ginger and green apple fruit nuances. Initially very nervy, slightly reductive and tight fisted on opening as you would expect with a young 2024 wine, the perfume and fruit slowly unfurl, offering up something extra each time you nose the glass. The steely tension and linearity initially shape the palate but given a few hours to unwind, the wine shows the vintage’s archetypal effortless concentration and seamless glycerol texture with classical restraint. Deliciously saline with mouthwatering acids, the wine remains taut, racy and incredibly precise with a long, persistent honey and pear laden finish. Still embryonic, so lock this Chenin Blanc up in the cellar and revisit with interest in 2 to 3 years’ time. A phenomenal maiden release, Gabriel du Bois is definitely an exciting new young talent to watch very closely. Drink from 2027 to 2038+.
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+.
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.
Jerome Galeyrand has been listed as one of the most exiting producers in Burgundy over the past few years, topping many wine critics’ lists of “winemakers to watch” in Burgundy in the past 5 years. His winemaking style, that is all about purity, precision and focus, has elevated both his whites and reds into the highly collectable ranks. But 2025 saw yet more seismic change when Jerome moved into his newly built winery in Gevrey Chambertin, just next to Brochon.
Jerome has also been a well recognized and highly influential member of Les Aligoteurs, the local grouping promoting everything that’s great about this often under appreciated Burgundian white cultivar. With my long running “Age of Bourgogne Aligote” series running a bit dry lately, it was suddenly revived when I tasted one of the finest expressions of Aligote in a very long time… just unfortunately from, A) a tiny production 2024 vintage, and B) from a vineyard that has now been replanted to Chardonnay. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly exciting, noteworthy example worth seeking out in the up coming Burgundy En-primeur 2024 campaign.
Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Bourgogne Aligote Les Cailloux 2024
The 2024 Bourgogne Aligote Les Cailloux was actually sourced from an old vine vineyard in the Rully appellation that has since been uprooted and replanted with Chardonnay making this Jerome’s first and last creation. But boy, it’s as if that vineyard wanted to go out with a bang as this 2024 is one of the most profound Aligote offerings I’ve tasted in quite some time. Showing impressively intricate aromatics, the nose reveals complex layers of savoury leesy citrus, white blossoms, white peach, and a briney salinity before crushed limestone and lemon peel nuances. Super concentrated, this wine has a punchy, fleshy depth with a palate weight and power more akin to a top terroir driven mineral-laden Chardonnay. Wow, this really is phenomenal wine worth seeking out! Drink from 2026 to 2034+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are imported exclusively into the UK by Musigny Wines. Contact Andrew Pavli for an allocation.
