Pinot Noir

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

Another Eye-Catching Burgundy Producer to Watch – Tasting the New Domaine Marc Soyard 2022 Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Marc Soyard is a tall, imposing figure making some of the most exciting wines in the Cotes de Nuits at the moment. Having worked in Vosne Romanée as Jean-Yves Bizot’s right hand man for seven years, Marc was selected by the municipality of Dijon to take over the Domaine de la Cras, a property situated in the hills outside of the city which primarily encompasses vineyards that were largely abandoned to viticulture in the aftermath of phylloxera. 

Like the iconic Jean-Yves Bizot, Marc follows a very pure and precise winemaking style that is very much in a non-interventionist mould, with minimal sulphur use up until bottling. With several colleagues, Marc farms several plots from 90-year-old and 45-year-old vines, producing remarkable wines with incredible fruit purity, seductively perfumed aromatics and captivating, polished textural tannins. 

Tasting the 2022s with Marc Soyard

The past three vintages have been phenomenally successful for Marc Soyard’s wines as international Burgundy collectors and connoisseurs alike have realised what exquisite wines are being produced. The stunning new 2022 releases bring together improved yields with incredible quality once again, all offered at affordably accessible pricing. Another true rising star of Burgundy to follow closely.

Domaine Marc Soyard Bourgogne Blanc 2022

A serious Bourgogne Blanc that shows a big, rich opulence, bold and expressive on the nose but with a classically taut palate, a restrained stony minerality and delicious layers of crunchy pear fruit, apple purée and sweet caramelised lemons. A whole lot of wine for a Bourgogne. Drink from 2024 to 2028.

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

Marc Soyard Domaine de La Cras “Monopole” 2022

Straight out the blocks, this shows a rich plush nose with a steely brightness, hints of sour plum, tart lemony acids and a spellbinding minerality, finishing with a pithy, crystalline tangerine citrus purity. Very classy.

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

Domaine Marc Soyard Marsannay Blanc Tercet 2022

Another of Marc Soyard’s classic wines, this 2022 reveals honied, exotic, peachy aromatics before a broad, textured palate loaded with lemon pastille, honey on white toast, quince, and tart plum, finishing super bright, taut and linear with a complex stony undertone. A majestic offering.

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

Domaine Marc Soyard Marsannay Rouge Tercet 2022

Always one of the most sought-after wines, the 2022 Marsannay Tercet is deliciously intense, packed with pithy red and black berry fruits, savoury blueberry and hints of black plum. Fabulously plush and fully rounded mid-palate, with soft supple finessed tannins and an impressively mineral, savoury concentration on the finish. 

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

Domaine Marc Soyard Pommard 2022

This bold Pommard is packed full of dark earthy black fruits, plum and mulberry hints. Broad and intense, super vibrant with a notable freshness and zippy energy at its core. Wonderfully rounded and cool, layered with pithy black berry fruits and a stony limestone minerality. Really great focus and precision on display here!

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

Marc Soyard Domaine de La Cras Bourgogne Rouge 2022

The aromatics are rich and expressive with earthy, plummy, savoury black fruits. Cool, perfumed and focused, there’s a fine palate tension with a sweet blue / black fruit core, seamless textural harmony and an attractive vanilla pod kiss on the finish. Delicious.

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

Marc Soyard Bourgogne ‘Hermaion’ Rouge 2022

Made from 70-year-old vines, the expressive nose on this special cuvee boasts exotic hints of cherry liquor and black plum with an impressively concentrated palate of black cherry, saline black currant and ripe mulberry. Massive depth, majestically sweet fruited, and a long, pitch perfect, harmonious fleshy length. Very impressive old vine intensity.

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

Marc Soyard Domaine de La Cras Haut Cotes de Nuits Rouge 2022

A very pretty wine with bright aromatics and hints of sour red cherry, black plum and earthy autumnal leafy hints. Medium bodied and rounded, packed full of saline cassis fruit, boiled purple rock candy, black cherry and a hint of back liquorice. Supple, dense and very generous! 

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

The Wines of Marc Soyard are imported into the UK by Burgundy specialist Musigny.Wine.

Contact: 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

Jean Smit’s Boutique Wine Expressions Championing The Cape’s Finest Terroirs – Tasting The Damascene 2023 New Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Damascene is a partnership between winemaker Jean Smit and David Curl, the former owner of Bordeaux’s Chateau Gaby. I first met Jean Smit back in his Boekenhoutskloof winemaking days when it became immediately apparent that he was going to be a winemaking talent of note. When he asked if he could send me his first official releases to review, I felt very honoured indeed. After sharing the opened samples subsequently with a fellow wine trade colleague, the stars aligned and the company we suggested as a possible UK importer, Lea & Sandeman, signed him up in a flash, and the rest as they say, is history.

I caught up with Jean in London in early November 2024 to taste his impressive new 2023 releases which will arrive in the UK in early 2025.

Damascene New 2023 Releases:

Damascene Swartland Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

Made from Chenin Blanc grown on the Paardeberg by Adi Badenhorst and from two vineyards next to Eben Sadie, planted 1971 and 1979. Vinified with whole clusters separately, followed by oxidative must handling. Fermented warm at 20-22c in 1000 litre foudre with malo prevented by chilling. Aged on its gross lees with no racking and without stirring at 6c for 10 to 11 months before going into concrete prior to bottling. 

It shows lifted aromatics of wet hay, orange peel, peach and apricot, notes of melon and bruised yellow orchard fruits with hints of tropicality under a veil of granitic minerality. The palate shows punchy concentration and a fleshy intensity, a fine savoury depth together with a glycerol mouthfeel and a classic, flinty wet stone minerality on the finish.

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

Damascene Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.

Made from a 1981 vineyard planted on decomposed granite soils on the Mooiplaas farm as well as another block on the neighbouring farm grown on Greywacke soils planted in 1972. Lastly, some fruit from a plot on the Sonop farm grown on pure shale, facing towards Jonkershoek and the Swartland in direction. 

Reveals quite a taut, steely, crystalline style with white citrus, stone fruits, lemon and lime peel with green melon, musk, and a pineapple bon bon lift. The palate is fleshy and rounded with beautiful depth and opulence interwoven with granitic wet stone notes, hints of crushed gravel, and a bright crystalline succulence. Impressive concentration, a wonderfully creamy, harmonious mouthfeel and a long, yellow and green fruited length. So pure and pristine. This is a masterclass in finessed winemaking.

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

Damascene Semillon 2023, WO Franschhoek, 13% Abv.

Fruit from the Goederust farm from a plot planted in 1962 and from a second plot planted in 1942 from a nearby farm on decomposed granite and sandstone soils. 100% Austrian foudre of 1000 litres used with both blocks containing some Semillon Gris. Same production method as the Chenin Blanc, with 11 months on its lees being careful to avoid too much reduction. “Getting the picking window right is crucial based more on the pH than acidity” according to Jean.

The aromatics are dusty and floral with white blossom, lemon peel, lemon grass, hints of dried herbs, buttered white toast, delicate wood spice and a cashew nut complexity. Supremely cool, creamy and seamless, with lemon butter, a soft fleshy mouthfeel, tangerine peel, honied peaches, and a crystalline purity on the finish with a tangy kiss of citrus. Really excellent as always.

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

Moya Meaker Riesling 2023, WO Elgin, 12% Abv.

Planted in 2006 on Bokkeveld shale soils, estate fruit that was previously used by Fledge and Co, but utilised by Jean since 2021. Working carefully with canopies to avoid Kerosene flavours, being fermented and matured in concrete conical styled containers, normally aiming for a 7 g/l RS and a 7g/l TA. Destemmed with 6 hours skin contact in a sealed off press before going into concrete for 11 months, then bottled in September.

The purity and crystalline characters are clear, beautifully fresh, vibrant and expressive boasting notes of green apple, green pear, citrus blossom, and tangy yellow grapefruit and white peach notes. Texturally, this is a masterful wine with a fleshy harmony, balance and seamlessly integrated acids, finishing with a delicately pithy, lime peel and elderflower cordial note on the finish.

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

Moya Meaker Pinot Noir 2023, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

The farm boasts 110 hectares of apples and pears and 8 hectares of grapes. Currently planting some Chardonnay alongside the Riesling and Pinot Noir already established on mostly Glenrosa soils that are less ideal for apples. Pinot Noir 667 and 777 Burgundian clones utilised. All fruit destalked and destemmed with no carbonic maceration. 20% new Burgundian 300 litre French oak used.

The wine offers a very pure and elegant expression with a delicate tune of minerality and orange rind, pomegranate, pink grapefruit and a subtle dusty minerality. The tannins are incredible fine, the texture fresh and vibrant with rose petal perfume, blood orange and a tangy ruby grapefruit finish. Amazing subtlety, class and clarity.

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

Damascene Syrah (Polkadraai Hills) Stellenbosch 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.

Taut, broody and spicy, the peppery red savoury nature of the fruit speaks of Karibib’s class and stature. 75% whole cluster, with the rest whole berry. Kept on the stems for 3 weeks max before being pressed into 2000 litre Stockinger foudre vats for 10 to 11 months. Planted 300m above sea level in 1996, 14kms from the False Bay.

A complex melange of sultry red peppercorns, Asian five spice, star anis, and sweet savoury potpourri notes. The palate is pure, taut, and tightly wound with the most incredibly fine grained tannins, silky mouthfeel and savoury, mineral weightless fruit concentration on the finish. Intensity over concentration of weight. Really very classy and grown up.

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

Damascene Swartland Syrah 2023, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

Dry land farmed from an east facing plot next to Goldmine and Roundstone with soils that are a mixture of brown shale and schist. Another 20% of fruit added from a granitic site on the Jakkalsfontein farm with a 75% whole cluster portion.

The aromatics show a lofty, piercing perfume, intensity and florality with violets, rose petals, waxy crayons, incense, potpourri, and vibrant red berries, cranberry, wild strawberry and pithy red currant fruits. The minerality is beautifully chalky with a graphite vein and a pithy, wet river pebble complexity. Seamless balance, harmonious and incredibly well made, finishing with a seductive black olive and red bramble berry intensity. Superb!

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

Damascene Ceres Plateau Syrah, WO Ceres Plateau, 13% Abv.

Vines planted on Bokkeveld shale at 1,050 metres altitude. 60% whole bunch with full submerged cap for 10 days. 2000 litre conical vats for 10 to 11 months ageing.

The aromatics are earthy and brambly, full of wild flowers, lilac, red apple, wet loam, and damson plum with delicate sweet orange peel and black cherry nuances. The palate is sleek and silky, beautifully polished and fine with intense fine grained tannins, weightless zero gravity fruit concentration and a chalky, gravelly, dusty, minerality on the finish. A unique expression of Syrah.

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

Damascene Cabernet Franc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

From a plot sourced from the Mooiplaas Farm. Shows complex aromatics of mint leaf, sweet leaf spice and a delicate herbaceousness, with an underlying tilled earth note, earthy red currant fruit, dusty minerality and subtle minty chocolate peppermint crisp nuances. The palate is cool and sleek, intense yet beautifully seductive and elegant, with velvety creamy tannins and a tangy, delicately fresh acidity. An atypical Cabernet Franc but utterly delicious!

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

Damascene Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Made from 75% of Vlottenburg fruit on the edge of the Polkadraai Hills, grown on granite over koffieklip, and the remainder from a plot in the Helderberg on decomposed granite, only 5 Kms from the ocean facing north east. One year in barrique, this is the only wine they rack into 2000 litre conical vats for a second year so as not to dry out the wines. Beautifully silky and fresh in the mouth, weightless, vibrant and intense with blue and purple fruits, a delicate salinity, and lifted violet notes. The tannins are dreamy, the mouthfeel silky, intense but so controlled, tempered and considered. Such class and pedigree on display with this youthful wine.

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

The Damascene wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Lea & Sandeman wines.

Tasting Burgundian Rising Star Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet 2022 Releases – A Celebration of Terroir and Passionate Artisanal Winemaking…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The force of gravity is more intense in Burgundy. Why else would time move so slowly there? Occasionally, a domaine will pass from father to daughter, or from mother to son. Sometimes a few rows of vines may be sold from one grower to another. But as the sun sets over the top of the region’s south-east facing slopes, it sets on the same patchwork of Grand Crus, Premier Crus and Village wines generation after generation.

Romanée-Conti is Romanée Conti, and Chambertin is Chambertin. Yet spend enough time amongst the vines and occasionally you’ll spot an anomaly. In Gevrey-Chambertin, the anomaly is a young man with a look that’s more Santa Barbara County than Hospices de Beaune: hipster beard, possibly a sleeve tattoo under his plaid shirt, an easy, laid-back personality. It’s Michael Le Guellec who is definitely not part of the old guard, but scratch below Michael’s surface and you’ll find that his vineyard land has been in his family since 1920, with some of his oldest vines planted just ten years later. You’ll find a respect for tradition – for Michael’s winemaking grandfather of course, but also for the terroir, for the environment, and for the style of wines typical of Gevrey-Chambertin: rich, flavoursome, powerful, and muscular, yet with incredible finesse. Pinot Noir that can only come from one place on earth. 


Michael Le Guellec in November 2023.

For now, the domaine is still relatively unknown. Since Michael’s grandfather retired in 1990, winemaking has been on the backburner, and it’s only since Michael took over with his friend Arnaud Ducouet in 2018 that the renaissance has begun. That the domaine is already producing such exquisite wines is no accident. With winemaking overseen by Pierre Millemann, it is no surprise that the wines are luscious and elegant. This is a grower destined to become one of the must-haves of Gevrey-Chambertin. For the time being, just a few thousand bottles are being produced each vintage – from Clos Champ, the only walled vineyard in the lieu dit (planted in 1930) and from Les Jeunes Rois (planted in 1965). Other vineyards are being reworked before they’ll be considered worthy to produce wines under the domaine’s label. Eventually around 15,000 bottles could be made – and the whole world will want them. These are fabulous wines being made by imaginative, energetic, and passionate young people who want to carry their region forward, while remaining true to its history. They’re also an absolute steal… for now.

The total Pernand-Vergelesses production.

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Pernand-Vergelesses Les Belles Filles Blanc 2023, 13% Abv.

Another new wine and a rather pleasant surprise to taste it for the first time in the Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet cellars especially seeing as their consulting oenologist is Pierre Millemann, who’s own top Corton-Charlemagne white 2022 made from grapes just down the road, was recently rated 99/100 in Decanter Magazine. This new Pernand Blanc is still embryonic but already shows a certain ripeness and aromatic complexity for a warmer year, with notes of honeysuckle, waxy citrus rind, lemon pastille, white peach and warm white toast wafting out the glass. The palate is taut and crystalline with a chiselled acidity, hints of freshly baked buttered pastries and a pronounced stony, liquid limestone minerality on the finish. All components tasted from new large oak barrels but already this wine shows a wonderful core of fruit with vibrant acids and a certain linearity on the finish. An utter delight.

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

Looking up to the home of Michael Le Guellec.

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Bourgogne Cotes de Nuits Village 2022

Produced from grapes sourced from vineyards lying between Brochon and Fixin, the 2022 reveals a rich, intense aromatic tapestry of violets, purple rock candy, blueberry and vanilla spice. Creamy and cool, the wine shows a fabulous balance and purity with saline black currant and pithy black cherry hints. Full and compact with a sleek mid palate density and a vibrant, energetic finish. Really quite superb.

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

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois 2022

This famous lieu dit is blended from a mixture of new and used oak barrels and displays a smoky, intense aromatics of piercing black fruits, cassis, black cherry, and black berry oyster shell reduction. Full and very fine with notable intensity, weightless concentration, supple sweet tannins, tangy mouthwatering acids, and a soft, seamless, harmonious finish. 

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

Looking into Clos Champ… the walled monopole.

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Champ 2022

Produced from a wonderful old 0.8 hectare walled vineyard planted in 1930, like its sibling Les Jeunes Rois, it is a majestic blend of new and older oak portions that show a multi-layered elegance with great minerality and limestone linearity, freshness, and focus. Subtle oaking lends an added presence to the perfumed aromatics of Parma violets, black cherry, blueberry, and bramble berry fruit notes tempered on the palate by a cool glassy freshness, sweet tangy acids with purity but also great focus. A vibrant, concentrated wine that’s beautifully balanced and shows plenty of promise.

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

‘Clos Champ’ Mini Vertical Tasting: 2019 to 2021

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Champ 2021, 13% Abv.

This small, concentrated vintage exhibits a spicy complexity of crushed limestone, gun smoke, and sappy spice with delicate notes of frais de bois, red plum and earthy red currant confit. The palate is incredibly compact, cool and concentrated with superb purity and precision, a beautifully harmonious creamy mouthfeel and a long, blood orange and pomegranate-tinged fleshy finish. Cool and very classy.

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

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Champ 2020, 13.5% Abv.

The 2020 vintage consisted of six barrels with a 30% whole bunch portion included in the fermentation. The aromatics are wonderfully vibrant, with a lifted exotic perfumed expression and the exoticism of a warm dry vintage. The nose shows strawberry and raspberry notes over dusty crushed limestone minerality before a sleek, fine grained polished texture with savoury red fruits, spicy blood orange, strawberry compote, and a creamy, sappy savoury finish. 

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

Domaine Le Guellec-Ducouet Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Champ 2019, 14% Abv. 

Another rich, savoury expression that opens with perfumed aromatics and lifted exotic red fruit nuances, strawberry compote, kirsch cherry and earthy red currant. The texture is soft and fleshy, quite gentle, silky, and harmonious with a supple, elegant spicy finish. 

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

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

Contact: andrew@musigny.wine

Exploring the Exciting New Elgin Releases from Iona Vineyards with Rob Macdonald…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Andrew Gunn’s middle daughter has been living with her partner Rob Macdonald in Brixton for the past 9 years, but they are both heading back to the Cape to take up positions within the family business. Rob looks set to take care of a portion of sales and marketing duties in the Cape, but before he headed off down south, I caught up with him in London to take a look at some of their new 2024 releases. 

The 2022 vintage experienced a typical cold Elgin winter, with snow on the high mountain peaks and above average rainfall, which enabled good vine dormancy. Spring was characterised by cold and wet conditions, resulting in later bud break. The cold, wet and windy conditions continued into October and November causing uneven flowering resulting in smaller berries that have good concentrated flavours. From January to April Elgin experienced exceptional weather for the ripening of quality grapes.

Iona Monopole Pinot Noir 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 13.8% Abv.

An incredibly pure and perfumed aromatics greet you with a fragrant embrace, showing lifted notes of cranberry and bramble berries, cracked red peppercorns, wild strawberry and red currant fruits. Wonderfully delicate and intricate on the palate, the purity and precision of fruit is once again front and foremost in the mind with a pithy bramble berry spice, silky black raspberry and cherry fruits before stony, mineral, fine-grained tannins coat the palate. The mouthfeel and textural harmony on the wine are next level, enlivened by bright tangy acids and a long, mouthwatering, juicy fruited finish with just the faintest of savoury, earthy nuances. A wine that tastes slightly riper than previous vintages but also more complete in many ways. Very classy indeed. Drink now to 2030+. 

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

Iona Monopole Fynbos Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 12.5% Abv.

A blend of CY95 and CY 96 clones planted in 2003 on gravel beds with underlying clay. One sniff of this wine reveals something quite distinguished and complex indeed, with teasing aromatics that carry off a showy interplay between bright yellow citrus, lemon lime notes and a vibrant stone fruit complexity that hides intricate Burgundian nutty, vanilla pod and cinnamon wood spice hints. Indeed, the nose is so seductive its hard to move past it to the palate! The first sip is fresh and vibrant, deeply seeded with a stony limestone’esque minerality and a bright grapefruit and lemon citrus fruit intensity. Texturally near perfect in the mouth, the balance and harmony simply exquisite. An incredibly fresh, complex, and seductive Chardonnay with fruit purity that trumpets the very finest terroir notes of Elgin. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years. 

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

Iona Monopole Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 12.9% Abv.

A blend of the four single Chardonnay vineyards on the estate including large portions of Kloof, Kraal, F4 and Fynbos, from vines planted in 2003 and 2009. On the nose, the aromatics are seductively picante and spicy, dusty, and mineral, laden with top notes of crushed gravel, subtle struck flint reduction, lemon cordial, grated limes, and subtle white pear pastille nuances. The palate shows a deliciously tangy acidity over a subtle savoury, leesy, phenolic lemon peel pithiness. This is a very grown up, mineral driven Chardonnay that trades on a nutty, stony, pithy citrus intensity rather than overt fruit and oak spice notes. Tense, lean and linear in frame, this is a very sophisticated offering that Old World Burgundian Chardonnay lovers will savour. Drink on release an over 4 to 5+ years.

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

Iona Monopole Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 13.1% Abv.

Made from Sauvignon Blanc fermented with indigenous wild yeasts in large oak barrels results in an incredibly complex expression of this cultivar. Cool climate Elgin is indeed a true home for this variety and this 2022 expression is a rich, bold interpretation with aromatics packed with ripe heady, savoury aromatics of lemon biscuits and savoury lees, delicate black currant leaf, mint leaf and mojito syrup before rock salt, fresh fennel root and bruised green mango nuances. The palate is intense, focused, and incredibly vibrant, simply brimming with a delicious sweet and sour acidity, sweet gooseberry, stem ginger and finishing with a delicately grassy, fig preserve complexity. The richness and glycerol, textured mouthfeel is to die for and the finish, so long you lose sight of it crossing the finishing line. Savoury and slightly wild, this wine opens up a proverbial pandora’s box of exoticism, intrigue and excitement for the Sauvignon Blanc cultivar. Drink now on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.

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

Iona Solace Syrah 2021, WO Elgin, 13.6% Abv.

Sourced from Syrah vineyards planted in 2003 on Rosie Gunn’s Brocha farm just down the road from the main Iona winery, this 2.5-hectare site planted on fertile Tukulu soils with a rich vein of gravel, clay and sand, make for a wine with power and depth but also elegance, freshness and pure varietal character. True to form, the aromatics on this fabulous 2021 red are vibrant and pure, with pristine notes of black raspberries, black currants and bramble berries that gently melt into more spicy, peppery, red berry hints showing strawberry compote, melted tar, and salty red liquorice. The 2021 vintage was an exceptional year and the fresh, energetic palate on this wine personifies the tension, pristine purity, and intensity a winemaker simply dreams about achieving in a truly great Cape vintage. Drink on release to enjoy this wine’s youthful Syrah electricity, or cellar for 10 to 15 years.

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

The wines of Iona are imported into the UK by Alliance Wines.

Masters Of Their Craft – Tasting a Selection of the Cape Winemakers Guild 2024 Auction Selection… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Established in 1982, the Cape Winemakers Guild is a collective of some of South Africa’s greatest winemakers. These 41 winemakers have been recognised as excelling at their craft by their peers within the Guild. Membership of the Guild is by invitation only and is extended to winemakers who have been responsible for the production of wines of excellence for a minimum of five years and who show promise of not only consistently exceeding industry standards, but also promoting the values of the Guild.

Over the last 42 years, the Guild’s winemakers have demonstrated a commitment to developing the local wine industry, through innovative practices and the sharing of knowledge. The Guild and its members are investing in the future of winemaking by nurturing young winemaking talent through the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust and the CWG Protégé Programme.

JD Pretorius, Gary Jordan and Samantha O’Keefe at the London CWG presentation.

The CWG meets regularly as a technical tasting group, providing its members with an opportunity to evaluate wines from around the world and to share their knowledge and ideas – ensuring that CWG members remain leaders in the art and science of winemaking.

Graham Beck CWG Extra Brut 2019 Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cap Classique (Pieter Ferreira)

Beautiful tension, precision and aromatic complexity with a very smart underlying structure, purity and freshness. Top drawer Cap Classique.

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

Silverthorn Big Dog Ten Cap Classique 2019 (John Loubser)

Sweet apple blossom, lemon cordial and delicate savoury red fruit aromatics. Beautiful creamy mousse, pin point structure and a dreamy finessed length. Stunning! Chapeaux John!!

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

Bartho Eksteen Wine Estate Vloekskoot Wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2020 (Bartho Eksteen)

Pungent gooseberry, vibrant green fruits, hints of leafy green herbs, fennel, green peas and capsicum hints. Rich, savoury style full of texture and fleshy yellow and green fruits.

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

Saskia-Jo White Blend 2022 (Miles Mossop)

An 85% Chenin Blanc / 15% Clairette Blanche blend, the nose is packed with bruised yellow orchard fruits, honey suckle and savoury oatmeal biscuit nuances. Full yet fresh, fleshy yet deliciously tangy, with a leesy oak spice complexity.

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

Beaumont Family Wines GG’s Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2023 (Sebastian Beaumont)

A fine stony mineral expression of Chenin Blanc with a dusty gravel minerality, fynbos, white peach and dried herbs. Lovely precision and tension harmonising with a seductive taut line of acidity. Super classy and classical.

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

Mullineux Wines Swartland “The Gris” Old Vines Semillon 2023 (Andrea Mullineux)

Pink musk, dusty talc, sherbet Bon Bons, crunchy white peaches and green apple hints. Fabulous balance and depth with freshness, purity and pristine precision. A truly impressive fine wine with a seductively complex finish. Wow!

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

Warwick Auction Chardonnay 2022 (JD Pretorius)

Honeysuckle, lemon cordial, savoury lees and lemon biscuits. Plush, fleshy and round with a deliciously tangy acidity and a long green apple creamy finish.

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

Ataraxia Under the Gavel Chardonnay 2023 (Kevin Grant)

Aromatics of salted butter on warm popcorn with hints of lemon biscuit. Full, cool, fleshy and pure with a seductively premium kiss of oak, delicate toffee apple hints and a cool, restrained white citrus and herbal spice finish.

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

Gottfried Mocke Wine Projects Chardonnay 2023 (Gottfried Mocke)

Dusty and mineral with pithy lemon and herbs, dry bush veld and fynbos hints. Cool, spicy and picante with a delicately savoury lemon & herb butter finish.

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

Kershaw Wines Vertiginous Pinot Noir 2022 (Richard Kershaw MW)

Wild brambly, earthy, wild strawberry, red berry fruits nuances on a savoury nose. Beautifully elegant texture, fine boned and sleek with very impressive attention to detail, silky sappy tannins and an earthy focused finish.

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

Lismore The Sheltering Sky Syrah 2022 (Samantha O’Keefe)

Sweet savoury black berry fruits loaded with perfume, musk and violets. Very detailed and seductive with a meaty red berry fruited finish. Super impressive texture and focus.

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

Savage Wines Auction Syrah 2022 (Duncan Savage)

Deep, seductive and alluring aromatics packed full of red and black berry fruits, red currant confit, and a wonderfully perfumed creamy depth. Silky tannins, incredibly fine grained texture with a fabulous balance and length. Wow!

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

Boschkloof CWG Epilogue Syrah 2022 (Reenen Borman)

A fleshy, perfumed, lifted expression with red and black fruits, fleshy savoury meaty notes, sweet cherry confit and a strawberry compote finish. Silky tannins and weightless concentration combine with beautiful purity. An accomplished wine by anyones standards!

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

Erika Obermeyer Wines Silver Linings 2022 (Erika Obermeyer)

Savoury, dark fruited and alluring with exotic Christmas spices, incense and potpourri notes. Dreamy, seductive and elegantly textured with an understated power and intensity.

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

Luddite Tonto 2012 (Neil’s Verburg)

Sweet and spicy with savoury black berries, wild garrigue and fynbos hints. Powerful and assertive but also shows a tender, elegant textural underbelly with a weightless concentration.

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

Raats Family Wines Stella Noval Cabernet Franc 2020 (Bruwer Raats)

Intensely perfumed and lifted with capsicum, sweet cedar, shaved pencil spice, with a crushed grey slate dusty lift. Fabulously sweet fruited, sappy and intense revealing a creamy, alluring textural harmony. Top effort.

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

Strydom Family Wines The Game Changer Cabernet Franc – Merlot 2020

A plush dark fruited palate with blue and black berry fruits, sweet cherry tobacco and hints of graphite and tannery leather. A super elegant expression.

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

Jordan Wine Estate CWG Sophia 2022 Red Blend

Sweet blackberry and herbs, fynbos and spice. A textural masterclass. Really seductive with an enticing cool leafy complexity and a long finish. 

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

Le Riche CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (Christo le Riche)

Made from a 26 year old vineyard which shows a deep, dark and broody aromatics packed with sweet plum and cassis, perfumed violets, cinnamon stick and vanilla pod spice with a kiss of dried mint leaf. The palate is plush and creamy, weightlessly concentrated yet vibrant, tangy and deliciously fresh. Class act! Stunning!

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

Rock of Eye CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (Coenie Snyman)

Sweet Red and black berry fruits, brown toast and a stewed black tea complexity. An incredibly fine textured creamy elegance, with chalky silky tannins and a weightless concentration on the finish. A textural dream wine!

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

Kanonkop Estate CWG Pinotage 2021 (Abrie Beeslaar)

A complex aromatics of roasted coffee beans, brûléed oak, brown toast with black currant confit. The acids are fresh, the fruit intensity tangy and bright, with an underlying salinity, a sweet and sour acidity and the most silky, seductive tannin texture with a minty, herby, chocolatey kiss of oak.

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

Also tasted: (snapshot tasting…)

De Grendel Wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Charles Hopkins) – 93/100 GSMW

Bartho Eksteen Wine Estate Vloekskoot Sauvignon Blanc – Wooded 2023 (Bartho Eksteen) – 92/100 GSMW

Spier Frans K. Smit Heritage Reserve White 2023 (Frans Smit) – 92+/100 GSMW

David & Nadia Veiling Chenin Blanc 2023 (David Sadie) – 96/100 GSMW

Cederberg CWG Auction Chenin Blanc 2023 (David Nieuwoudt) – 92+/100 GSMW

Survivor CWG Chenin Blanc 2023 (Pierre Wahl) – 93+/100 GSMW

Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Sandford Chardonnay 2022 (Gordon Newton Johnson) – 95/100 GSMW

Paul Clüver The Wagon Trail Chardonnay 2023 (Andries Burger) – 95+/100 GSMW

Lismore Valkyrie Chardonnay 2023 (Samantha O’Keefe) – 92/100 GSMW

Kershaw Wines Ziggurat Chardonnay 2023 (Richard Kershaw MW) – 95+/100 GSMW

David Finlayson Wines “Naja Nivea” Chardonnay 2023 (David Finlayson) – 93/100 GSMW

De Grendel Op Die Berg Pinot Noir 2022 (Charles Hopkins) – 93/100 GSMW

Luddite Hands Off Mourvedre 2023 (Niels Verburg) – 94/100 GSMW

Dewaldt Heyns Family Wines CWG Shiraz Reserve 2021 (Dewaldt Heyns) – 94+/100 GSMW

Leeu Passant Franschhoek Hillside Cabernet Franc 2022 (Andrea Mullineux) – 95+/100 GSMW

Hartenberg CWG Aution Amphora Merlot 2021 (Car Schutz) – 96/100 GSMW

Neil Ellis Wines Abel 2020 (Warren Ellis) – 94/100 GSMW

De Trafford CWG Perspective 2022 (750ml & 1.5L) (David Trafford) – 94/100 GSMW

Neil Ellis Wines Cain 2020 (Warren Ellis) – 93+/100 GSMW

Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2021 (Abrie Beeslaar) – 97/100 GSMW

Spier Frans K. Smit Heritage Reserve Red 2021 (Frans Smit) – 94/100 GSMW

Ernie Els CWG 2021 (Louis Strydom) – 94/100 GSMW

Miles Mossop Wines Maximilian 2021 (Miles Mossop) – 97/100 GSMW

Erika Obermeyer Wines Fields of Gold 2021 (Erika Obermeyer) – 93/100 GSMW

Delaire Graff Estate Banghoek Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (Morné Vrey) – 96+/100 GSMW

Hartenberg CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Carl Schultz) – 95/100 GSMW

Survivor CWG Pinotage 2022 (Pierre Wahl) – 94+/100 GSMW

The annual Cape Winemakers Guild auction takes place on the 4th and 5th of October with the Protégé Programme Auction also officially underway, with bidding taking place virtually from 6pm the 7th Oct on the @StraussFineWine website. Coveted auction lots include unique collections, rare verticals & tasting experiences with Guild members.

Please contact: kate@capewinemakersguild.com for more details on how to obtain some of these world-class, ultra rare wines!

Jerome Galeyrand – One of the Hottest New Burgundy Talents in the Cote d’Or: Tasting the Sensational 2022 Releases…

~ 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.

Originally from the Loire Valley, Jérôme came into winemaking after working for over eight years in the French food industry. After several harvests working for Domaine Alain Burguet in Gevrey-Chambertin from 1996, Jérôme embarked on his own project culminating in the purchase of his own first tiny vineyard plot of 0.05 hectares in Les Retraits in Comblanchien. Since then, Jérôme has grown his domaine to its current 5.25 hectares of vines. His viticulture is largely organic for 70% of his vineyards and sustainable for the remaining 30% of vines. No pesticides are used, and all vineyard rows are ploughed. Some wines include whole-clusters, and the vinification is carried out as delicately as possible with limited use of SO2, which helps contribute to his wines’ refinement and purity. After being manually basket pressed and fermented with natural yeasts, all wines are aged in oak barrels, 12 months for whites and between 18 to 24 months for reds.

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: La Justice, Billard, Croisette and Les Retraits, which renowned Burgundy critics like William Kelley and Jasper Morris MW consider to be in a class of their own. As with all Burgundies of this quality and refined elegance, these are undoubtedly wines for the connoisseur. But don’t miss out on Jérôme’s superb white wines and especially his characterful Aligoté cuvées that exemplify the newfound quality this cultivar is capable of producing. 

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Antonin Bourgogne Rouge 2022

Crisp, fresh and beautifully bright. This perennial over performer is lively, vibrant and fresh with layers of red cherry, raspberry and bramble berry fruits, powdery mineral tannins, great linearity and a long finish. 

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Marsannay Le Village 2022

 Dark, black fruited and attractively plummy with an earthy bramble berry and damson aromatics. Tantalisingly tangy and racy, the palate is fresh and fleshy with ample tension, tart cherry and cranberry fruit concentration, soft supple tannins and a long linear finish. Wonderful focus.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Cotes de Nuits Village Rouge 2022

Already shows a deep, complex, earthy, savoury red berry plummy aromatics with subtle smoky, sappy, leafy hints, and an attractive, sweet berry fruited intensity on a long savoury saline finish. 

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Fixin Village 2022

This is a complex and impressively expressive wine already showing a smoky, saline reductive nose boasting salty black currant, oyster shell and damson plum. Really impressive breadth and depth from the outset, a harmonious balance and cool, compact racy acids that hold a lot of charm and energy. A very classy effort indeed.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin ‘La Justice’ 2022

 This is always a wine with stature and presence, and the 2022 is stony and saline with crushed oyster shell nuances, salty cassis, pithy black currant and a cool, broad, plush elegance with real balance and purity but also classically racy acids and a long, harmonious length. Really impressive craftmanship on display here from this famous lieu dit.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin Billard 2022

Another one of Jerome’s most famous cuvees, this 2022 reveals an exotic melange of rose petals, savoury black berry, wild brambly fruits and subtle stony limestone nuances. Plush, full, and fleshy on the palate with impressive depth and balance, Galeyrand fans are going to be seduced by the generous weight of fruit and a voluptuous breadth. 

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes En Croisette 2022

Made from beautiful old vines planted in 1900, this 2022 is succulent, deep, dark and broody packed with aromatic layers of blackberry fruits on the expressive nose. Everything just falls seamlessly into place on the palate with exotic purple fruits, black berries and a damson plum intensity. A compact, chalky, and incredibly complete expression of old vine Pinot Noir majesty at its finest.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Fixin Champs des Charmes 2022

Another of Jerome’s flagship cuvees made from old vines planted in 1960s. Reveals a piercing aromatics of black currants, pithy black cherry, oyster shell, and saline nori seaweed hints. Full and dense, plush and generous in the mouth with incredible texture, fleshy opulence and a savoury plummy, earthy depth. Another very complete, harmonious wine. Simply gorgeous.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Marsannay Clos du Roy 2022

The 2021 cuvee caught the eye of many serious Burgundy collectors and impressively, the 2022 vintage is another super impressive wine showing an incredibly lifted and perfumed personality on the nose with pressed violets, spring blossoms and pink flowers together with red currants and delicate musk notes. Superb balance and a harmonious structure with a compact, saline, sumptuous mouthfeel. Very impressive indeed and probably one of the stars of the vintage for Jerome.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Cotes de Nuits-Villages Les Retraits 2022

While this is not made from one of Jerome’s most famous appellations, the Les Retraits has fast become one of his most sought-after wines. The 2022 is incredibly complete, fabulously silky and round with notable balance and harmonious depth, finely balancing a creamy concentrated structure with soft, elegant, silky tannins while never losing its bright, mouth-watering, brambly fruited energy. A beautiful wine that punches well above its weight.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Aligoté 2022

Medium to full bodied, this deliciously fleshy Aligoté boasts evocative aromatics of Glacé orange peel, lemon rind and citrus oil with tangy vibrant acids, a salty briney freshness and a fabulously cool, classy finish with a subtle stony liquid mineral kiss on the finish.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Aligoté Chaumant Blanc 2022

A real stand out wine for me while tasting with Jerome, it possesses a delightfully bright, tangy, vibrant aromatics of orange peel, citrus oil, and ripe tangerine with a chalky talc minerality that simply seduces the palate! In the mouth, the wine is jam packed full of salty, briney Jura’esque picante oyster shell salinity, a stony limestone minerality, massive extract concentration and a long, understated dry mineral finish.  I absolutely loved it. Top drawer Aligoté!

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Aligoté Bouzeron 2022

Another impressive Aligoté expression from this unique terroir, boasting juicy aromatics of glacé apples, white citrus, smoky lemon peel, freshly baked apple strudel, and mineral limestone hints. The palate shows impressive depth and balance but with an understated, restrained intensity, finishing with a simply delicious, tangy, dry grippy persistence.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Bourgogne Chardonnay Orane 2022

Made from Chardonnay grapes sourced from 0.42 hectares located in Brochon and Flagey-Echezeaux, the aromatics show succulent melon and white peach nuances, white citrus and an earthy, savoury, leesy depth. Charming elegance, a notable fruit acid harmony and a pithy, vibrant finish. Simply spot on!

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Cotes de Nuits Villages Blanc 2022

The aromatics on this Cotes de Nuits Villages Blanc made from a massale selection of old Chardonnay vines boast complex layers of sweet citrus, lemon oil, wet chalk and a dusty, cedary wood spice hint. The balance and harmony is very impressive, seamlessly interwoven with a smoky limestone minerality before a truly energetic, zippy finish. A delightful white Burgundy.

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

Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand Marsannay Les Champs Perdrix Blanc 2022

Made from seven-year-old vines, the 2022 Les Champs Perdrix reveals a seductively rich, mineral, smoky nose, with tangy orange citrus, pear drop, orange cordial, and a smoky limestone minerality. The palate is fabulously cool and genteel with layers of tangy acidity, orange peel zest and a plush, fleshy saline depth. Truly delicious!

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

The wines of Jerome Galeyrand are imported exclusively into the UK by http://www.musigny.wine and are available on allocation. Contact: andrew@musigny.wine

The Age of Bourgogne Aligote: Part 9 – Marc Soyard Tercet Bourgogne Aligote 2023…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a little while since I’ve added to my ‘Age of Bourgogne Aligote’ series, but after tasting another incredible wine from Burgundy wunderkind, Marc Soyard, the excitement of drinking top Aligote was well and truly reignited again. But who is this incredible new talent that is taking Burgundy drinkers by storm? To find out, you have to step off Burgundy’s well-trodden paths and head up a less promising gravel track north-west of Dijon to where you’ll find the home of Marc Soyard – possibly one of the region’s newest and most sought-after winemaking talents. Away from Burgundy’s golden slopes there are places never visited by tourists, where one can also discover winemaking geniuses like Marc.

If you head the wrong way out of Dijon (north-west instead of south) and turn up a dusty track at just the right place, you might just find yourself at Domaine de la Cras – the winemaking home of Marc Soyard. Even though his front door also has a small plaque announcing the name of his winery, you won’t be sure that you’ve come to the right place until this big, friendly, gregarious winemaker opens the front door and welcomes you into one of the newest sources of great Burgundy wine.

Marc spent seven vintages working with the famous Jean-Yves Bizot, and you can see that the pupil too has become a master of his trade. While his most noted wine is his Pinot Noir from Pommard, his intelligent handling of Aligote show just how fresh, delicious and energetic this cultivar can really be. This is a superb wine made with emotion, feeling and precision. These are definitely wines worth seeking out.

Marc Soyard Tercet Bourgogne Aligoté 2023, 11% Abv.

A dulled bronze yellow in the glass, this opulent 2023 expression from Marc Soyard captures the true essence of premium Aligoté beautifully. The aromatics are packed full of lemon and lime zest, honeysuckle, white flowers, lemon oil, Pink Lady dessert apples, and warm buttered white toast drizzled with melted honey. Medium to full-bodied in the mouth, the wine displays a generous tart apple and pear fruit concentration and a fleshy ripeness, all wonderfully underpinned by deliciously mouthwatering tangy lemony acids. The genius and talent of Marc Soyard to elevate a relatively modest grape like Aligoté to such heights of fruit texture, concentration and harmony speak of his brilliance as a winemaker. Drink now and over the next 3 to 6+ years.

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

The Domaine Marc Soyard wines are available exclusively to UK trade and private clients from http://www.Musigny.wine