Grand Cru

Domaine Bruno Desaunay – Bissey: Burgundy’s Quiet Overachiever…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

As prices for Burgundy’s marquee names climb beyond the reach of all but the deepest pocketed cellars, discerning collectors are looking beyond the overtly famous labels for estates that deliver the same terroir pedigree without the accompanying pricing frenzy. Few fit that brief better than Domaine Bruno Desaunay-Bissey’s wines. Based in Flagey-Echézeaux, the heart of Burgundy’s Grand Cru country, Bruno built his domaine through a patchwork of purchases and family successions, most notably with his father-in-law, Daniel Bissey. The result is a compact estate of around six hectares spread across five communes of the Côte de Nuits – a domaine that is small, personal and entirely hands-on.

The portfolio reads like a roll call of the appellations collectors prize, including Chambolle-Musigny Combe d’Orveaux, Vosne-Romanée Premiers Crus such as Les Beaux-Monts and Les Rouges, Vieilles Vignes Echezeaux Grand Cru, and at the summit, a Vieilles Vignes Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru. Several parcels are old vines rooted in clay-limestone soils, farmed without pesticides or herbicides since 2007. So why does the estate remain a bit of a secret? Predictably, the production is tiny, there is no marketing machine, and Bruno, in his lifetime, never courted the spotlight. His wines are now discovered by word of mouth, passed between growers, merchants and devoted Burgundy lovers who make their pilgrimage to their cellar door.

For the collector, within that relative obscurity lies the true opportunity. These are wines from some of the world’s most coveted vineyard sites, made with incredible care that are still very reasonably priced, sitting well below their more fashionable neighbours. In a market increasingly defined by hype, Desaunay-Bissey offers true authenticity and, for the time being, amazing relative value, quality considered. 

I recently got the opportunity to revisit two of Desaunay-Bissey’s great cuvées, one Premier Cru and one Grand Cru. Both exceptional, youthful and utterly spellbinding Burgundies.

Domaine Bruno Desaunay-Bissey Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux-Monts 2018, 14% Abv. 

Sourced from an 80+ year old vines, this wine shows pure class and allows its pedigree to shine through in this serious expression of Vosne Romanee. One of the most respected 1er Cru vineyards delivers quality in bucket loads in 2018 with even more perfume, lift and intricacy than the village wine. The aromatics display a splendid array of crunchy wild strawberries, red and black cherries, subtle dried herbs and alluring Vosne spice. The palate reveals incredible depth and breath with piercing mouth-watering concentration, fine-grained tannins like polished marble and a tart, bright maritime salinity on the finish that retains a seductive kiss of pink rock candy. This is a very serious effort indeed. An utterly seductive Pinot. Drink now to 2038+.

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

Domaine Bruno Desaunay-Bissey Echezeaux Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2014, 13.5% Abv. 

Made from old vines planted in 1902, 1940 and 1945, this Grand Cru red shows a classically broody demeanour to begin with before opening up to reveal a complex array of red and black berry fruits on the nose, seamlessly integrated oak and a subtle freshly tilled earth savoury note. Broad, suave and texturally plush, this is a wine to savour, to lose yourself in and to allow the more intricate finery to reveal itself slowly over time in the glass. The texture is dense, compact, almost creamy, with fine maturing tannins, layers of bright blueberry, cassis and Fraises des Bois notes that linger for an age on the finish. Grand Cru Burgundy is not just about more dialled up volume, it’s about intricacy and complexity of rhythm, more drum, more base and an altogether more melodic crescendo. Drink now to 2038+.

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

The wines of Domaine Bruno Desaunay-Bissey are imported exclusively into the UK by Musigny Wines. Contact Andrew to request the current availability.

Andrew@musigny.wine

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand’s Stunning New 2024 Burgundies Tasted in London…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Over the past few years, Jérôme Galeyrand has emerged as one of Burgundy’s most quietly compelling winemakers, crafting fine wines in Gevrey-Chambertin that have quickly gained a devoted following far beyond what his modest production would suggest. Originally from the Loire, Jérôme does not come from a winemaking family, working for eight years in the food industry before turning his hand to winemaking, bringing a new sensibility to his craft, one with an instinct for balance, transparency, and drinkability that runs through every cuvée he produces.

Working with parcels across the Côte de Nuits, Jérôme favours a light touch in the cellar: whole-bunch fermentation, minimal extraction, gentle use of oak, and an unwavering focus on freshness over power. This philosophy has made his red Pinot Noir wines extraordinarily expressive of site and vintage, with a purity of fruit and a silky, energetic texture that has drawn comparisons to some of the region’s most revered producers… or part of a new group of vignerons that I personally like to call “the New Burgundy.”

His village and Premier Cru bottlings from Gevrey-Chambertin in particular have become highly sought after, prized for their perfumed elegance, textural precision, fine-grained tannins, and a remarkable sense of place, all qualities that belie their relatively accessible origins. As allocations have tightened and word has spread among collectors and sommeliers ‘in the know’, Jérôme’s reds have taken on somewhat of a cult status, personifying what many critics consider the new guard of Burgundian winemaking: precise, honest, and deeply terroir driven.

But nothing announces cult status quite like the production of a Grand Cru Burgundy. With the 2023 vintage, Jérôme produced four barrels of the revered Grand Cru red from the Clos de Vougeot vineyard as well as his first Meursault village white. Visiting Jérôme at his new cellar in Gevrey in November 2025, I got to taste the follow up vintages of both the Meursault and his Clos de Vougeot from the tiny 2024 harvest. Indeed, Jérôme only managed to produce two barrels of Clos de Vougeot in this vintage but boy what an incredible wine it has proved to be.

While Jérôme was over in London for En-primeur tastings in March 2026, trade and press were treated to another tasting of a tank sample of his fabled Clos de Vougeot 2024 Grand Cru at an event organised by his exclusive UK importer, Andrew Pavli of Musigny Wines. With all the 2024 Galeyrand wines having recently arrived into UK bonded storage, Musigny Wines took this opportunity to arrange another exceptional tasting of a selection of Jérôme’s 2024 releases at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Chez Bruce. The wines are now available, and remaining stocks are currently being allocated by Musigny Wines.

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Meursault Au 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 super impressive, with a full throttle tangy acidity, green apple cordial notes, white peach and a leesy, biscuity depth. Phenomenal concentration, precision and harmonious balance. This is another step up in quality on the maiden 2023 vintage. 

(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 in awe. Massive concentration, effortless power, and undoubtedly one of the finest Retraits expressions I have tasted from Jérôme yet. Truly iconic!

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

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes 2024

The 2024 Nuits Saint Georges from Jerome announces itself from the glass with aromas of dark 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 precise tannins and an elegant persistence. This fourth vintage could be Jerome’s best yet and is already drinking beautifully. Effortlessly classy.

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

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2024 

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 breadth with plenty of perfumed violet fragrance, earthy black berry fruit notes, wood spice and a smoky graphite complexity. The palate shows weight and power, a sleek mineral limestone depth with chalky tannins and ample pithy black cherry and bramble berry fruit intensity of the finish. A very taut, chiselled, seriously impressive Grand Cru wine.

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

The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are exclusively imported into the UK by Musigny Wines. To request a trade allocation, contact:

andrew@musigny.wine

The famous lobster raviolo at Chez Bruce.
Venison and Pinot Noir – the perfect pairing.
The famous Mullineux Straw Wine from the Swartland served with dessert.
Grower Champagne Petit & Bajan to kick off proceedings at Chez Bruce. Imported exclusively into the UK by Musigny Wines.

Bordeaux En-primeur 2024 Highlights – Part 3: Tasting the Wines of Chateau Tour Baladoz Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It is certainly no secret that 2024 was yet another very complicated viticultural vintage. A very wet year, especially during the autumn and winter months, this wasn’t however the whole story as appellations like Pauillac, for example, actually experienced less rain than its 10-year average. After the drought affected vintages of 2018, 2020 and 2022, the 2024 growing season got off to a promising start before the onset of spring brought hail and the early signs of what was to become a season-long battle with mildew disease pressures. 2024 represents the lowest yields across Bordeaux since the forsaken 1991 vintage. 

A grey and gloomy May saw cool temperatures that slowed vine growth and resulted in uneven flowering, especially for the Merlot vines. But as summer finally arrived in late June, the mood shifted. Drier, sunnier conditions settled in through August and into September, bringing with them a welcome window for ripening, particularly beneficial for Cabernet Sauvignon, which was harvested in improved conditions right up into mid-October.

Speaking to various vignerons about the vintage, many are quick to avoid generalisations, explaining that the conditions in their own vineyards could, in many instances, be vastly different from conditions in their near neighbour’s. Success in 2024 was about timing – timing of spraying, strict fruit selection and of course down to one’s very own terroir and soil types in the vineyards. In general, gravel and certain types of clay were well-equipped to deal with over-saturation – gravel soils naturally having excellent drainage, whilst some types of clay can retain more water, preventing it being returned to, and diluting, the fruit. Limestone soils, like those found on the cote at Chateau La Croizille and neighbouring Chateau Tour Baladoz, also worked well producing wines with freshness, classical restraint, and structure.

It is almost certainly this willingness to talk up the vintage as well as emphasize the individuality of various Chateaux terroirs, that has led to the 2024 vintage being coined a “micro-climate vintage”. As always, quality will be varied and surprises will be plentiful, but there is no denying that the conditions favoured premium Chateaux in the Medoc, Saint Emilion and Pomerol, where strict selection for Merlot was essential, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc often flourished in the drier, later ripening conditions, often yielding wines with great promise.

Chateau Tour Baladoz 2024, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux

This youthful Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé displays a gracefully classy aromatic profile with a vivid perfumed fragrance of dried violets, rose petals, and sweet white blossom over compact dark black berry fruits, damson plum, blueberry, and black currant confit nuances. There is a pronounced dusty, limestone minerality neatly intertwined with the dark berry fruits before slowly yielding once again to a stern graphite mineral vein. The palate is lip-smackingly bright and vibrant, the acids mouth-wateringly crunchy and crisp, underpinned by sleek tart blue and blackberry fruits, hints of black cherry and drying mineral limestone tannins. A well-managed, thoughtfully extracted expression of Saint Emilion Merlot that is undoubtedly moulded in a cooler, more elegant acid driven style than even the 2021. This juicy mouthful should flesh out further with more time in barrel and offer plenty of accessible medium-term drinking. Drink from 2026 to 2036+.

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

The Chateau Tour Baladoz wines are available to ship direct from the Chateau to merchant. Please contact Anthony Crameri for current vintage list and prices:

anthony_crameri@orange.fr

Chateau Pontet Canet Four Vintage Vertical Unpicked – Comparing and Contrasting Their 2020 to 2023 Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In the early 18th century, the north of the Médoc peninsular offered exciting investment opportunities for the high society of the time, and Jean-François de Pontet figured prominently among the aristocrats of the day and among the high-ranking magistrates that shaped the vast horizons of the new Médoc vineyards. The Pontet-Canet vineyard, located in the commune of Pauillac right next door to famous neighbour Chateau Mouton Rothschild, covers 81 hectares (200 acres). It is made up of around one hundred plots and 800,000 vines looking out over the Gironde estuary. At the heart of the Pontet-Canet terroir known as the “plateau”, a gentle broad outcrop of Garonne gravel soil dating from the Günz era that sits on a bedrock of limestone – prime terroir for producing elegant yet robust Bordeaux reds.

Pontet Canet is located on prime Pauillac terroir next to some illustrious neighbours.

At Pontet Canet their biodynamic approach has, in the Tesseron’s view – the current owners – brought a new dimension to their wines. It has given them “greater depth while producing more precise and silky tannins. The length of flavour on the palate has also gained in minerality. Our wines are purer and more vibrant.”

So, as one of the top cult Cru Classe wines of the moment, I thought I’d compare and contrast four current vintages customers might be tempted to buy.

Vintage Highlights:

2020 Vintage

The winter was mild, continuing into spring, which was also very wet. There was dry and warm weather for the early flowering in the second half of May. This was followed by very warm and, importantly, arid conditions from 18th June to 11th August. There were then heavy, rapid thunderstorms, often overnight, which dropped huge volumes of water on the Left Bank, but less on the Right Bank. Harvest was dry and very warm, with only intermittent rain after 20th September. From early October, it turned very wet again. Now firmly remembered as an “années solaires.”

2021 Vintage

Bordeaux 2021 will be remembered as an extremely mixed vintage. The challenges faced by producers were very localised and much depended on each individual vigneron’s decisions at key moments. These challenges were: a warm spring; a very rainy spring and early summer; mildew; a cool July and early August; hail; rain in September; and, finally, rot. Yet, despite this litany of problems, many producers were much more positive than they had dared hope during the season. Of course, 2021 is not a warm and sunny (or hot) vintage in the vein of 2018, 2019 and 2020. The harvest was only possible towards the end of September and into October for the Cabernet Sauvignon. But the best wines seem to have captured a natural and classic freshness, elegance, and weightless finesse – for some palates, a welcome contrast to the power of the preceding years. However, the wines were probably still over priced at En-primeur.

2022 Vintage

The word was out early that the Bordelais felt they had something special in 2022, long before the world’s wine merchants arrived to make their own assessments at En-primeur. Heatwaves and drought are not usually parents to high-quality wines. However, the wines in barrel confounded merchants’ expectations, with most agreeing that the 2022 vintage was indeed a special one across Bordeaux. Despite the lack of water, the vines did not seem to suffer terribly, remaining in leaf and in good health right up to the harvest. The berries were small and so yields were restricted. All varieties were beautifully ripe, so much so that some properties felt no need to produce any second wines, many opting rather to increase the proportion of press wine in the final blend, such was its quality. Predictably, release prices were very high!

2023 Vintage

In Bordeaux as in many top wine producing regions of the world, it’s a recurring curse to be the vintage that follows a truly exceptional year like 2022. Consider 2001 and how it was overshadowed by 2000; or 2006 by 2005; or more recently, 2021 by 2020. Overlooked they may have been, but these vintages have since proven themselves to offer years of joyful drinking. It would be a great shame if 2023 sat undiscovered in the shadow of the superb 2022s, with early tastings at various top châteaux revealing it to be indeed a delightful, opulent, fruit laden vintage. While the vintage doesn’t quite have the density and power of the 2022’s, there are many examples of superb Cabernet Sauvignon on the Left Bank and wonderful Merlot, particularly from St Emilion’s limestone. The wines have purity and transparency, beautiful freshness, and a charming immediacy with more intensity than the 2021’s. Prices were more modest but were of course coming down from previous highs in 2022, which somewhat mitigated the markets enthusiasm to buy this charming vintage.

Chateau Pontet Canet 2020, Pauillac, 13.5% Abv.

Dense dark and plush, packed full of blue and black berry fruits, hints of cherry kirsch liquor and brown breakfast toast on the nose. Texture is plush and creamy, with a medium weight and a fine-grained tannin, finishing with a melange of black berry fruits, vanilla spice and delicate soft acids. Undoubtedly rich, opulent and ripe without being hedonistic. Drink now to 2040+.

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

Chateau Pontet Canet 2021, Pauillac, 13% Abv.

A much tighter broodier aromatics with graphite and iodine, pithy black cherry and saline creme de cassis and a dusting of Pauillac gravel minerality. The texture is light, silky and delicate with dry sultry tannins and a very elegant, stony, black fruited finish with a kiss of cedar spice. Light touch, polished but still very seductive. Drink now until 2036+.

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

Chateau Pontet Canet 2022, Pauillac, 14.5% Abv.

From 2022 in a new bespoke branded lighter bottle that still looks the part. The nose shows plush blueberry crumble, black plum and black cherry confit with a kiss of vanilla pod spice. Sweet fruited with a fine powdery chalky tannin texture, the concentration is notable, the finish long, dry and mouth coating but certainly lacking no freshness. This is undoubtably a very impressive wine but priced accordingly! Drink now to 2045+.

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

Chateau Pontet Canet 2023, Pauillac, 13.5% Abv. (Barrel Sample)

A budding fresh barrel sample, interestingly, this bottle is a little further on its journey from examples tasted at En-primeur week. The fruits are dense and ripe, the aromatics unctuous, beautifully layered with black berry compote, salted caramel, warm blueberry crumble and hints of mocha and warm brown toast. The savoury, brûléed hint follows to the plush, dense, opulent palate that shows fine grained tannins, a weightless concentration and a pinpoint fine tannin structure. A bold, ripe Pauillac style expressing the opulence and hedonist nature of the 2023 vintage. Drink now to 2045+.

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

Christmas Arrives Early in London as Domaine Bizot Previews Their New 100 Point Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022 at a Bespoke Michelin Star Dinner…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

A recent November 2024 visit to the cellars of Jean-Yves Bizot was undoubtedly the highlight of a week of 2023 En-primeur barrel tastings in Burgundy ahead of the new release campaign starting in January 2025. Domaine Bizot will not offer their 2023s for many more months, preferring to release their exceptional red and white wines after longer élévages and after the wines have already been bottled, as is becoming the trend with most top end producers in Burgundy. 

So, there was of course a lot of excitement when it was announced that Victor Mignardot, the Assistant Commercial at Domaine Bizot, would be coming to London in late December to host an exclusive private client tasting with their UK importer Musigny. The wines of Domaine Bizot are widely regarded as the pinnacle of premium quality red Burgundy with global collectors and connoisseurs chasing the meagre allocations of Jean-Yves’s wines that are released annually.

Tasting with Jean-Yves in Vosne Romanee November 2024.

With wines as collectable and sought-after as Domaine Bizot, Jean-Yves and his numerous global agents must work very fastidiously to make sure the wines reach the cellars of the most deserving collectors rather than letting the wines merely disappear into the black hole of wine investment portfolios. Part of this process naturally involves tasting new and archive releases in person with as many loyal collectors of the wines as possible, and I was very fortunate to be invited to join one such gathering at the exceptional London Michelin Star restaurant, Chez Bruce, to sample a selection of back vintages of Domaine Bizot’s wines but also to retaste the first ever public showing of Jean-Yves’s maiden release Charlemagne 2022 that is now bottled and scheduled to be offered in global markets in early 2025.

After several bottles of delicious Bollinger RD 2002 to clear the palate, the first flight of whites was poured, namely the Domaine Bizot Bourgogne Blanc Les Violettes 2019 and the Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022. The Les Violettes is made from a small 0.16-hectare parcel of Chardonnay just near the Bizot winery in Vosne Romanée, but which can only be classified as humble Bourgogne Blanc within this red appellation. Fabulously taut and linear, the Les Violettes displayed a taut structure and steely power way above any Bourgogne level wine, and the 2019 was incredibly youthful and crystalline with a pronounced limestone minerality, crisp bracing acids together with a seamless pear and pithy white citrus concentration. Really very special, but sadly only made in incredibly small quantities, so a real privilege to taste. (96/100 GSMW)

The second white was the highly anticipated Domaine Bizot Charlemagne 2022 that I last tasted and reviewed from barrel in January 2024. This was, at the time, a wine that redefined premium white Burgundy wine quality for me, coming from two small plots of 0.14 hectares in the famed Le Charlemagne vineyard. As Victor mentioned, when Jean-Yves bought the two plots, the vines were fortunately in very good health, allowing for a wine of exceptional quality to be made without the need for extensive regenerative vineyard work. Tasting this incredible wine once again, I was so pleased to see all the complex traits I described in my original barrel note, (see here…https://gregsherwoodmw.com/2024/03/04/domaine-jean-yves-bizot-prepares-to-release-its-maiden-corton-charlemagne-grand-cru-2022-from-le-charlemagne/) but now all just a little more polished and integrated as a finished bottled wine. The clients tasting this wine were literally speechless, the complexity on the nose and palate simply astonishing, the power, poise, and concentration unlike anything anyone had ever tasted from Burgundy, let alone Corton-Charlemagne. The closest we could get to a fair comparison from elsewhere in Burgundy was perhaps identifying several similarities with a top-notch vintage of Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, as both wines share an incredible limestone minerality. I am very happy to elevate my barrel score from a potential 99-100/100 to a solid, unequivocal 100/100 GSMW. 

After the mind-blowing Charlemagne, the first of the reds was poured to transition to the Pinot Noirs with main courses. Once again, another exceptional new wine, a joint venture between Jean-Yves Bizot and Le Clos des Fées called Domaine du Clos des Fées ‘100 Phrases Pour Eventails’ Pinot Noir 2022, the third release from this IGP Cotes Catalanes project. This was my first tasting encounter with this wine that I have been hearing about for the past two years: Seductive opulence with a ripeness and density of black berry fruits offering aromas that are incredibly pristine, pure, and fragrant showing notes of lavender, black currant, black cherry, damson plum, cured meats and savoury black fruits with a subtle tilled earth complexity. The texture resonates true class, being creamy and plush with delightful hints of garrigue, black plums, and raisined black cherry framed by silky creamy tannins with gun smoke, graphite, and peppercorn spice on the finish. You can taste the sunshine and ripeness, but the fruit purity and precision are exceptional. A real beauty. (96/100 GSMW)

The final flight was another impressive selection of benchmark Pinot Noirs, two beautiful back vintages from Domaine Bizot accompanied by a Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2007. With the collectability of Domaine Bizot’s wines reaching fever pitch globally, any opportunity to taste slightly more mature back vintages is an enticing proposition. The Domaine Bizot Vosne Romanée Village 2014 was initially tight and a little broody, offering up earthy forest floor aromatics, Christmas spices, and bramble berry fruits. But before long, the wine really started to fan its peacock tail, boasting delicately perfumed notes of pink musk, violets, and wild strawberries, beautifully balanced and seductively complex with a real translucent terroir quality. At 10 years old, there is still plenty of life ahead of this classy village wine. (95/100 GSMW)

The Vosne Romanée served as the perfect introduction to the next wine, Jean-Yves’s famed Domaine Bizot Echezeaux 2018, selected for its accessibility, generosity, and seductive depth of fruit. 2018, like 2023, was another one of the rare vintages that offered both quality and quantity. On the face of it, 2018 was a relatively straightforward vintage with a wet winter and spring topping up the vineyard water reserves, and a warm, sunny summer that ensured all the grapes reached optimal ripeness without difficulty. This Echezeaux 2018 was incredibly fresh and youthful with aromatics of saline crème de cassis, black cherry, nori seaweed, and strawberry compote. The palate was dense, broad, and fleshy, generously open and forthcoming, with creamy sweet tannins, a subtle underlying limestone minerality and a long, sleek, finish with a notable ripeness and concentration. While you can feel the ripeness of the warmer vintage, the purity of perfume and palate fruit is pinpoint and precise, with grapes picked just at the optimal time so as to be able to convey Jean-Yves’s style that is both terroir driven but incredible pure and precise with all the requisite wound spring tension you’d expect on a Grand Cru red of this pedigree. This was an utter joy to drink already. (97/100 GSMW)

The Domaine Bizot cellar in Vosne Romanee.

To request a Domaine Bizot allocation from their UK importer, contact: http://www.musigny.wine

Email: andrew@musigny.wine

Tasting the Iconic Grand Cru 2021 Burgundy Releases from Pierre Millemann Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Pierre Millemann grew up between Anjou and Alsace where his grandparents lived and where he spent all his holidays. His father and grandfather, both wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs, quickly started transmitting their passion to him. Pierre started studying in Paris. During his first internship, he met René Renou, an important figure in the wine industry, soon becoming his mentor. Fascinated by the development of the vine, Pierre understood very quickly that the concept of “terroir” was the key. This is why he went to work in the vineyards and cellars, first in Germany, and then at Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan, and finally at Champagne Charles Heidsieck.

He went back to university to perfect his knowledge, obtaining a Diploma in Oenology and then a National Diploma of Oenology from Dijon. Pierre continued to gain experience, occupying several winemaking positions around France, but it was in the Jura, where he worked as a cellar master, that he met his wife Stephanie, and the mother of his daughter, Charlotte. 

Tasting with Charlotte Millemann

In 2003, thanks to their joint experiences and the very positive results obtained at the estates where they collaborated, Pierre and Stéphanie founded their own oenology consultancy. In constant search for new techniques, Pierre completed his training with a master’s degree in Oenology Research in Dijon, and then started training future oenologists at the University of Burgundy, as a part-time lecturer. The family now works together with the best estates in Burgundy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the United States, and recently, Charlotte joined the family business and started training with her father.

After nearly two decades of consulting, Pierre started his own eponymous label in 2017, dedicated to making single barrels of the greatest Grand Cru Burgundies. While his portfolio has grown slowly over the years, his iconic Millemann signature wines represent not only incredible rarity but also encapsulate a unique set of winemaking skills that guarantees the utmost quality which is manifest in every single bottle of wine released. The choice of the parcels is made with the greatest of care from specially selected grapes, which Pierre has designed, defined and structured an oenological approach that is the most faithful to the terroir and his own biodynamic principles and winemaking vision.

Pierre Millemann Corton Renardes Grand Cru 2021, 13.5%

Lifted perfumed aromatics with hints of dried herbs, thyme, dried mint leaf and notes of red cherry, raspberry herbal tea and a stony limestone minerality. Incredible tension and frame, the structure is bold and linear with seamless mineral tannins with a warming, spicy undertone of cherry and cranberry purity. Incredible power, elegance and precision. A very substantial expression of Corton Grand Cru.

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

Pierre Millemann Latricieres-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv.

This Grand Cru reveals a deep, dense, dark broody nose with a smoky allure and hints of sweet sappy sandalwood, red plum, red currant jelly and spicy red apple with a pronounced mineral limestone foundation. Beautifully tangy and rich fruited with a sweet and sour red plummy depth, incredible tension and focus with polished marble tannins and cool, fresh crystalline acids. Wonderful focus, power and intensity with a substantial depth and frame.

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

Pierre Millemann Clos de La Roche Grand Cru 2021, 14% Abv. 

A beautifully expressive wine full of perfumed aromatics with hints of violets, rose petals, cherry, black currant and exotic hints of musk. The palate is super polished and seamless, with firm but velvety tannins, creamy black saline fruits and a laser-like precision. Deliciously stony, mineral and classical with a regal black fruited balance and finesse. A truly astonishing wine.

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

Pierre Millemann Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv. 

A big wine that is now beautifully settled in bottle, exhibiting a dark broody expression with earthy notes of red and black plum, with brûléed hints of black currant compote, warm brown toast and raspberry nuances. Full bodied, there is big power and intensity on the palate with saline blue and black fruits, an energetic invigorating freshness, and a delicately earthy, savoury finish. Impressive concentration and intensity with the trademark Millemann seamless textural precision and focus.

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

Tasting in Nuits Saint Georges with Charlotte Millemann in November 2023.

Pierre Millemann Chambertin Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv. 

This Rolls Royce of a wine displays a delicate perfumed nose with subtle earthy hints, pressed violets, blood orange and pomegranate hints over a dusty crushed limestone mineral prominence. The palate shows notes of salinity and black currant earthiness, subtle leafy sappy spice complexity, silky fine-grained tannins and an elegant, sumptuous persistence. Delightfully earthy, intense but also very softly spoken. True class.

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

Pierre Millemann Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021, 13.5% Abv. 

A crystalline lemon-yellow colour leads you to a seductive aromatics of lemon oil, lime pith, lemon grass and a delicately smoky struck flint intensity underpinning a sleek, saline intense mouthfeel that shows a keen juxtaposition between minerality and piercing fruit concentration. The texture is silky, fresh and simply dreamy, seductive and incredibly alluring. Such brilliance, invigorating purity with true fine wine classicism.

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

(Wines tasted in November 2023 at Pierre Millemann Wines in Nuits Saint Georges and again in bottle in London on the 15th May 2024.)

The Pierre Millemann Wines are imported into the UK exclusively by Musigny.Wine

Contact: Andrew@musigny.wine

Creating Sparkling Magic in the Montagne de Reims – Tasting the Grand Cru Grower Champagnes of Petit & Bajan…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

The greatest traditional method sparkling wines from around the world have always held a special place close to my heart, and there are simply none better than the incredible method champenoise creations of Champagne. Since 2006, when I wrote my Master of Wine dissertation on sparkling wine, much has changed in the world of Champagne, with the era of premium “grower Champagnes” finally becoming a mainstream category around the world.

Not to be scoffed at, the great Grandes Marques of Champagne have done a wonderful job of building a strong regional brand message around the world over the past 150 years. But the moment for grower Champagnes has well and truly arrived with their intense terroir focus, attention to detail, and all-round unrivalled quality … and all at eminently affordable price points where most of the cost of the bottle is focused on the contents and not branded marketing. 

I was first introduced to the exceptional wines of Petit & Bajan by London wine merchant Andrew Pavli several years ago, and in November 2024, I paid my first visit to the winery located in Avize, to explore the magic of their wider Champagne range. These are undoubtedly some of the most characterful and chiselled terroir driven Champagnes I have tasted in a very long time. So forget the Veuve Cliquots and Moet et Chandons, top boutique grower Champagne is where it’s all happening for connoisseurs and collectors alike.

Richard and Véronique Petit’s son Brice leading our tasting.

Champagne Petit & Bajan is the chiselled jewel of Richard and Véronique Petit. Together, they cultivate two of the greatest terroirs of Champagne: Avize and Verzenay, classified Grand Cru vineyards. After many tastings and deep reflection, at the end of 2008, the high potential of their own terroirs was turned into the reality that is now the Petit & Bajan brand. The richness of their heritage has shaped the entire range’s development. Every little detail counts … and that is how Richard and Véronique manage to access the pure, precise, and stylish quality that is to be found in the Champagnes of Petit & Bajan.

Champagne Petit & Bajan Nuit Blanche Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, 12% Abv.

This 100% Chardonnay cuvee was disgorged in October 2024 and is based on the 2019 vintage. The aromatics are intense and lifted full of saline sea breeze, preserved lemons, lime peel zest, lees and savoury biscuit notes. Full and focused with a chalky minerality, a racy freshy lemon and herb complexity and a compact creamy mousse on the finish. This is really quite superb.

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

Champagne Petit & Bajan Ambrosie Grand Cru, 12% Abv.

A 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir blend disgorged in September 2024 based on the 2019 vintage. The wine offers up a rich creamy aromatics with notes of crystallised citrus fruits, custard cream, dried herbs on freshly baked ciabatta, and subtle condensed milk nuances. The palate shows a solid core of lemon citrus and savoury yellow orchard fruits, a chalky spicy vinous depth, with a pithy fresh lemon pastille length and power and a long, salted brioche persistence on the finish. 

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

Champagne Petit & Bajan Obsidienne Brut Grand Cru, 12% Abv.

This cuvee with 3g/l RS is 100% Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru vineyards of Verzenay and Verzy, that was disgorged in October 2024. For the Obsidienne, the Pinot Noir is vinified like a Chardonnay, to reveal aromatics that are spicy and savoury, with apple blossom, struck limestone, flint and gunsmoke, before hints of lemon grass and savoury cured meat notions. Medium to full-bodied and generously plush with a beautifully creamy mid-palate mousse, great breadth and depth, tangy lemony acids, and a long red fruited savoury length. A very complete Champagne that is really quite impressive.

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

Champagne Petit & Bajan Promise Brut Grand Cru, 12% Abv.

The seductive Promise cuvee is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir with a 4g/l RS dosage based around the 2019 vintage. Showing a beautifully floral white blossom nose with leafy waxy hints, lemon grass, savoury leesy hints with an earthy brioche undertone. Fabulously vibrant fresh acids on the palate combine with an elegant creamy mousse, notions of sherbet dusted lemon bon bons and an incredibly long, tangy finish. Impressive harmony and finesse. 

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

Champagne Petit & Bajan Nymphea Brut Rose Grand Cru, 12% Abv.

A bold Rosé Brut offering from 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir vinified as a still red wine from the warm 2020 vintage. The complex lifted aromatics show raspberry coulis, pithy wild strawberry, and subtle bramble berry hints. Beautifully full and plush on the palate, there is impressive fruit purity, elegance and incredible drinkability, nothing overblown or forced, making for a delightfully charming Rosé that’s seriously accessible. A real standout cuvee in the Petit & Bajan range.

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

Petit & Bajan Cueillètte Privée 2022 Grand Cru Pinot Noir, Côteaux Champenois, 12.5% Abv.

An accomplished 100% Pinot Noir Coteaux Champenoise Grand Cru made from Verzenay & Verzy fruit. Wild and savoury on the nose, the aromatics are packed with ripe bramble berries, damson plum, and wild strawberry with subtle hints of freshly tilled loamy soils, Italian mixed herbs, oregano and thyme, with just a faint complimentary wood spice. Plush, full, and opulent on the palate, there are red forest fruits and bramble berry notes dusted with cinnamon, clove and Xmas spices. Silky tannins, a cool creamy texture with lovely purity and length make for another serious offering.

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

The Petit & Bajan wines are imported into the UK by Andrew Pavli at: http://www.Musigny.wine

Contact: Andrew@musigny.wine

A Brace of New Iconic Burgundies Released By the Maestro Jerome Galeyrand – Tasting His Riveting New Meursault and Clos de Vougeot 2023 Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It is always a great pleasure to travel to Burgundy to taste with the vignerons themselves in their own cellars. But the privilege is amplified when you visit a producer like Jérôme Galeyrand who is currently being lauded as one of the most talented vignerons in Burgundy at the moment and a domaine “at the top of its game.” Jérôme Galeyrand is a discreet, soft spoken and incredibly thoughtful winemaker whose wines are personified by perfumed precision, refinement, purity, and elegance – wines that are not only serious, but seriously delicious to drink.

Jérôme Galeyrand produces a little over 2,000 cases per year depending on the vintage, but the highlights of his exceptional range are undoubtedly his four famous reds: Gevrey Chambertin La Justice, Billard, Croisette and his Les Retraits Red from the Cotes de Nuits-Village appellation, which will now be joined by two new scintillating heavy hitting wines… a white from Meursault and a new Grand Cru red from Clos de Vougeot in the Cotes de Nuits.

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Meursault 2023, Burgundy

When news started to leak out that Jerome Galeyrand had produced a tiny amount of Meursault, merchants worldwide instantly started the desperate scramble to secure a treasured allocation. Jerome’s winemaking style has been intricately developed and cultured over the years, seducing drinkers with his phenomenal Aligoté expressions and his pristinely complete reds. This new Grand Vin Blanc from Meursault represents yet another new pinnacle for Jerome’s fast evolving winemaking career. The aromatics on this embryonic white are icy cool, pure, and fine, showing elegant notes of white citrus, freshly sliced fennel, white pear, yellow apple, and dusty crushed limestone. But its on the palate where you see the complete synergy of Jerome’s precise winemaking style come to the fore, slowly opening to reveal a medium-bodied Chardonnay with a satiny bright sheen, elegantly fleshy and soft textured yet simultaneously crystalline, pure, and bright, seductively offering up concentrated layers of hazelnuts, yellow citrus, ripe white pear, and a subtle, mouth-wateringly fresh dry chalky finish.

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

Domaine Jerome Galeyrand Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2023, Burgundy

As if a new Meursault from Jerome was not enough to get the international wine trade into a complete frenzy, this new white wine will be joined by a couple of barrels of Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru red, produced from vines situated near to the water tower centre left in the Clos when looking down from the castle. Frustratingly, I walked the vineyard with Jerome in January 2024 but was sadly not able to taste the wine in barrel back then. Thankfully, my patience has been rewarded and a “work-in-progress” sample made its way to me in July 2024, and this exciting new wine is everything one could have hoped for. This Grand Cru is built around two barrels of Clos de Vougeot Pinot Noir, one a new French oak barrel and one aged in a multiple passage French oak barrel, blended together to reveal a fabulously multidimensional wine loaded with aromatics of sweet red and black berries, rose petals, sweet Asian spices, and subtle blood orange nuances. The palate is broad and creamy, tight knit, expertly balancing optimally ripe sweet berry fruit concentration with chalky fine-grained tannins and deliciously tangy bright acids. But it’s the final elegantly muscular assembly and the pristine purity of the wine that really resonates. I feel privileged to have tasted this phenomenal wine in its youth as the queue to try and secure merely a bottle or two of Jerome’s masterpiece will no doubt be a challenge given the worldwide demand for his wines.

(Wine Safari Score: 95-96+ Greg Sherwood MW)

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2023 barrel sample.

The wines are available from the Burgundy specialist merchant http://www.Musigny.wine in the UK. The Meursault 2023 was released for £550 IB per 6. Price not yet available for the Clos de Vougeot 2023.

Andrew@wimbledonwinecellar.com

Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot Prepares to Release Its Maiden Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022 from Le Charlemagne…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

The spectacular wines of Jean-Yves Bizot represent the pinnacle of wine quality in a region graced with some of the most sought-after labels in the world of fine wine. Jean-Yves’s strict and uncompromising standards in the vineyards and his enviable old vine parcels in Vosne-Romanée combine to offer a stellar line-up of miniscule production red Burgundies built for ageing. Jean-Yves is a respected professor of viticulture and oenology in Beaune and lives in Vosne across the road from Henri Jayer’s old residence.

Sunrise in January 2024 over Gevrey-Chambertin.

Indeed, the two vignerons had neighbouring parcels in Vosne-Romanée and often discussed vinification techniques while working their vines. As a result, Jean-Yves decided to adapt some of Jayer’s techniques in his own cellar (in particular, whole cluster fermentation at cool temperatures in conical wooden vats) and is now making exceptional Vosne-Romanée wines that defy quality comparisons.

The epic new Corton Charlemagne 2022

Jean-Yves has undoubtedly forged his own unique winemaking path and today is recognized as producing some of the most iconic wines in Burgundy, following his own distinct and rigorous philosophy in the vineyards and in the cellar. Unsurprisingly, the wines of Domaine Bizot are now regarded as the pinnacle of Pinot Noir perfection and are coveted by the greatest Burgundy collectors and connoisseurs around the world, joining the ranks of other iconic names such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

Tasting the Corton-Charlemagne 2022 from barrel with Jean-Yves in January 2024.

Jean-Yves Bizot recently made some exciting new purchases in Burgundy, including 0.14 hectares of prime Le Charlemagne Chardonnay vines as well as further north in the Côtes-de-Nuits, terroirs that he believes are still under-appreciated by the current generation but which were very well known and highly regarded centuries ago – both of his Côtes-de-Nuits vineyards are just south of Dijon: Bourgogne “Le Chapitre” and Marsannay “Clos du Roy”, both of which are old vine parcels.  His range is completed by his magnificent Bourgogne Blanc that comes from an old parcel of sélection massale Chardonnay right next to Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot. Bizot’s wines are bottled by hand, barrel by barrel, without filtration, and are serious Burgundies for the patient connoisseur, emphasizing purity, subtlety, power and elegance.

Some Bizot vineyards next to his Vosne-Romanee winery.

Domaine Jean Yves Bizot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022

The two specific single vineyards of En Charlemagne and Le Charlemagne make up half of this famous appellation, while white grapes grown in seven other vineyards may also be sold as Corton-Charlemagne. As a result there can be a wide divergence in styles between earlier picked south-facing locations and cooler, later picked western slopes around Pernand-Vergelesses. Jean-Yves’s 0.14 hectares of vines are located in the prestigious Le Charlemagne vineyard and produce a meagre two new French oak barrels, or 600 bottles, of this golden Grand Cru nectar. A wonderfully sophisticated first showing of this wine reveals a rich vinous tapestry tightly packed with savoury aromatics of leesy yellow citrus, fresh rain on limestone, wet straw, baking herbs and glacé lemon rind. The concentration on the palate is astonishing – glycerol, piercing, fresh and beautifully crystalline and saline with intense layers of lemon and lime cordial, green apple pastille over an electric laser-like acidity with just a subtle kiss of lemon butter and vanilla pod spice on the finish. An astounding wine of incredible power, focus and precision, the likes of which you rarely see from Corton-Charlemagne. A wine that is sure to be legendary even before its official release.

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

The wines of Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot are imported and distributed exclusively in the UK by Wimbledon Wine Cellar. Contact: andrew@wimbledonwinecellar.com to enquire about available allocations and up coming new releases like the Corton-Charlemagne.

The Wines of Kei Shiogai – One of the Most Exciting Talents to Come Out of Burgundy in More Than a Decade…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Burgundy is full of talented wine makers, but every now and then, a new name comes along almost out of the blue, with incredible flair – this is Kei Shiogai – a superstar in the making. Originally from Japan, Kei left Tokyo to travel to New Zealand as he was so interested in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. After a short spell there, he was strongly encouraged by locals to pursue his passion in the true home of these varieties – Burgundy – where studied viticulture and vinification in Beaune and Dijon.

Kei arrived in Burgundy and proceeded to work with several top producers including Philippe Pacalet, Domaine Rousseau and Domaine Roulot. Indeed, his earlier vintages in Beaune were produced while he was still working at Domaine Roulot. Even with his 2020 vintage, Kei started to turn heads and draw attention to his wines with their incredible elegance and purity of fruit produced from modest “village level” sites.

Kei is hard working, especially when it comes to taking care of the vineyards. The purposely low yielding vines ensure that he harvests only the best quality of grapes which he vinifies using whole clusters, without sulphites. He has a very precise vision of what he wants to achieve and is undoubtedly a perfectionist when it comes to wine making. His roots are subtly integrated into his passion and the knowledge and inspiration he gained from his various work experiences in Burgundy, can be seen in his own wines. This natural fusion combines with respect to the soils, while targeting the finest characteristics from each of his terroirs.

My first encounter with Kei’s wines was here in London, sadly not in Burgundy, where he operates out of a small but spotless cellar. 2021 was of course an incredibly small but high quality, concentrated vintage in Burgundy and Kei’s wines are simply astounding, explaining why he has acquired a cult following around the world in such a short period of time. From all accounts, his 2022s are even more impressive than his phenomenal 2021s, suggesting there is going to be a massive scrap to get hold of precious allocations. With wines of this quality, Kei Shiogai definitely deserves to take his place in the Burgundy hall of fame even at his tender young age.

Kei Shiogai Gevrey Chambertin 2021

A beautifully lifted, dusty, sapppy mineral led aromatics underpinned by pink flowers, wet chalk, crushed red cherries, wild strawberries and subtle petrichor notes. The palate purity is pinpoint, focused and intense, the saline red and black berry fruited concentration piercing, almost overwhelmingly so. Simply stunning for a village level wine.

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

Kei Shiogai Pommard 2021

Very classy effort shows beautiful aromatics of purple flowers, cherry blossom, violets and purple rock candy with subtle undertones of sweet sappy oak spice following to a taut, elegant palate with the texture of polished marble, a black berry intensity, hints of bramble berry and a sweet, pure, concentrated finish. A wine that really grows and puts on weight in the glass. Very impressive with all traces of Pommard rusticity banished.

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

Kei Shiogai Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Cherbaudes 2021

Majestically perfumed and lifted with hints of crystallised cherries, strawberry compote, wet chalk and a sappy, black bon bon fruited candied exoticism. Silky and soft textured, beautifully precise and pure with incredible focus, seamless harmonious balance and a long, lingering mineral finish. Positively regal and very, very impressive indeed.

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

Kei Shiogai Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2021

After tasting this incredible wine, you can only conclude that the Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru vineyard can no longer be considered the poor cousin of the likes of Ruchottes, Mazy and Clos St Jacques. The perfume on this wine is simply intoxicating, overwhelming the senses such is the supreme intensity and florality on display. Seductive layers of sweet kirsch cherry, salty black currant, blue berry pastille and chalky liquid minerality tease the palate. Full, plush and elegantly fleshy, the mouth-coating intensity floors you with its sheer concentration, breadth and harmonious depth. Simply mind blowing in terms of young, pure, vibrant red Burgundy. A paradigm shifting wine.

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

The 2022 releases will be available in the UK from Wimbledon Wine Cellar.