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Producers · 57

Essential references

Château Ausone

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  • Cabernet Franc above the limestone cellars: Ausone’s vineyard is planted mainly with Cabernet Franc and overlooks cellars cut into limestone, used for ageing since the eighteenth century. Young vines go into Chapelle d’Ausone; the grand vin carries the château’s name.
  • Château Ausone: Power and round, precise fruit lead into a long sensation of freshness. The wine retains a fine, elegant touch.
  • A name adopted in the sixteenth century: At the end of the sixteenth century, the estate took the name of Ausone, the Latin poet from Bordeaux who celebrated the vine. The tribute still accompanies its Saint-Émilion grand vin.
Essential references

Château Climens

Bordeaux · Barsac

  • Balance before richness: In 2009, the Climens grapes concentrated so quickly that the team brought together different stages of noble-rot ripeness to preserve balance. The episode reminds us that a great sweet wine is not judged by its sugar richness alone.
  • Barsac in pure Sémillon: ‘Château Climens’, classified Premier Cru in 1855, is made entirely from Sémillon grown on Barsac’s limestone. Harvest waits for noble rot, a fungus that causes the berries to lose water and concentrates their juice.
  • A sweet wine carried by freshness: ‘Château Climens’ 2023 shows a clear, elegant, balanced profile, with brilliant freshness.
Essential references

Château Figeac

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  • He came for one year: In 1947, agricultural engineer Thierry Manoncourt arrived at Figeac to help his parents for a year. He would devote his life to it, notably choosing the distinctive mix of grape varieties that shapes the château’s style.
  • Saint-Émilion’s two Cabernets: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc together occupy around two-thirds of the vineyard, alongside Merlot. Planted on three gravel rises, these three varieties form the signature of Figeac’s grand vin.
  • The velvet of a mature wine: ‘Château-Figeac’ 1995: jammy black fruit, roasted coffee and truffle, with velvety tannins and freshness that balances the wine’s depth.
Essential references

Château Haut-Brion

Bordeaux · Pessac-Léognan

  • Protecting the fruit in 2020: During the heat and dry weather of 2020, Haut-Brion reduced leaf removal to shade the bunches and preserve aromatic freshness. The red blend brought together 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc.
  • Château Haut-Brion red 2020: Ripe fruit and spice accompany a focused, precise attack, followed by full, juicy tannins that extend the wine’s presence.
  • A Graves name known in London: Samuel Pepys recorded the distinctive flavour of “Ho Bryan” in 1663, long before the 1855 classification. In 1666, the de Pontac family opened the Pontack’s Head tavern in London to serve its wine and extend its reputation. This historic Graves red now carries the Pessac-Léognan appellation.
Essential references

Château Lafite Rothschild

Bordeaux · Pauillac

  • Selecting the grand vin: Lafite’s Pauillac grand vin is usually led by Cabernet Sauvignon. Only vines older than ten years enter the selection, and each barrel is tasted before the final blend is decided. The wine is defined by precision, delicacy and finesse as well as presence on the palate.
  • Lafite and the Rothschilds: Lafite was classified Premier Cru in 1855 and entered the Rothschild family in 1868. The grand vin has carried both names ever since.
  • A prized gift in 1788: The Bordeaux chamber of commerce thanked Abbé Morellet with a barrel of Lafite 1784 in 1788, a sign of the wine’s established reputation before either the classification or the Rothschild era.
Essential references

Château Latour

Bordeaux · Pauillac

  • The old vines of the Enclos: The ‘Grand Vin de Château Latour’ comes exclusively from the old vines of the Enclos, the historic vineyard around the château. Selection takes place within its 47 hectares: this heart of the estate gives the grand vin its identity.
  • Ageing before release: From the 2012 vintage onwards, Latour has kept its wines at the château for longer before release. The estate describes eight to ten years for the grand vin, aiming to offer a wine beginning to be ready to drink while retaining further ageing potential.
  • Depth and a long evolution: Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Grand Vin de Château Latour. Depth, concentration and powerful structure support development over several decades in great vintages; the tannins gradually integrate as the bouquet becomes more complex.
Essential references

Château Léoville Las Cases

Bordeaux · Saint-Julien

  • Heir to the great Léoville estate: When the former Léoville estate was divided between 1826 and 1840, Las Cases retained three-fifths and its historic heart. This origin explains the extent of the clos behind its famous gate.
  • A clos at the gates of Pauillac: The clos covers around 55 hectares up to the boundary with Château Latour. The ‘Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases’ comes mainly from this Saint-Julien core.
  • Power, flesh and freshness: ‘Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases’ 2018: power, flesh and solid tannins, with freshness that maintains balance and finesse already perceptible.
Essential references

Château Lynch-Bages

Bordeaux · Pauillac

  • The baker who waited for the grapes: A former Pauillac baker, Jean-Charles Cazes took the reins of Lynch-Bages in 1934. He became known for his patience: waiting for full ripeness, even if it meant being among the last to harvest.
  • Volume and silky tannins: ‘Château Lynch-Bages’ 2015: blackcurrant and black fruit, a voluminous yet supple palate, present tannins with a silky touch and a persistent finish.
Essential references

Château Margaux

Bordeaux · Margaux

  • The rebirth of 1977: André Mentzelopoulos bought Château Margaux in 1977, as Bordeaux emerged from crisis, and set about restoring its lustre. His daughter Corinne continued his work from 1980.
  • Stricter selection for the grand vin: With oenologist Émile Peynaud, André Mentzelopoulos relaunched ‘Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux’. The return of this second wine accompanied stricter selection of the lots destined for the ‘Grand Vin du Château Margaux’.
  • Power and a silky touch: The ‘Grand Vin du Château Margaux’ offers depth and freshness, with dense tannins and a silky touch. Finesse and power continue into a long finish.
Essential references

Château Montrose

Bordeaux · Saint-Estèphe

  • Cabernet Sauvignon at the heart of Montrose: Montrose’s Saint-Estèphe grand vin is built around Cabernet Sauvignon. Structured, tannic substance carries finesse, while cellaring allows the bouquet to become more delicate and complex.
  • The 2022 cellar choices: The 2022 blend is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Small vineyard lots were handled separately with gentle extraction and nine distinct grades of press wine. Ageing lasted eighteen months in French oak, 60% new: selection continues in the cellar as well as in the vineyard.
  • From heathland to second growth: Étienne Théodore Dumoulin planted the land in 1815. Forty years later, Montrose attained second-growth status in the 1855 classification.
Essential references

Château Pavie

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  • Saint-Émilion on three levels: Pavie extends from the limestone plateau to the sandier foot of the slope, via the south-facing clay-limestone hillside. These three terrains come together in the grand vin blend.
  • The varieties follow the soils: Merlot dominates higher up, Cabernet Franc occupies the hillside and Cabernet Sauvignon sits lower down. ‘Château Pavie’ thus brings together several expressions of the same slope.
  • A dense, fleshy red: ‘Château Pavie’ 2020: candied black fruit, crème de cassis and smoky notes. The palate is dense and fleshy, with tight tannins and freshness that balances the richness.
Essential references

Petrus

Bordeaux · Pomerol

  • Pomerol’s island of clay: Petrus rests on a thick layer of blue clay that rises close to the surface in the heart of the Pomerol plateau. The wine is made entirely from Merlot: this meeting of a distinctive soil and a single variety forms its signature.
  • Restraint in the cellar: Olivier Berrouet continues his father Jean-Claude’s work. He describes gentle pumping-over, avoiding excessive extraction and limiting oxygen exposure as ways to preserve Merlot’s balance and capacity to develop. The aim is a wine that evolves in bottle, rather than maximum impact in its youth.
  • Petrus 2020: Wild blueberry, raspberry and redcurrant accompany dense, creamy substance, very fine tannins and well-integrated acidity.
Essential references

Vieux Château Certan

Bordeaux · Pomerol

  • The Thienponts arrive in Pomerol: In 1924, Flemish wine merchant Georges Thienpont bought Vieux Château Certan. This acquisition began the family’s winegrowing history in Bordeaux.
  • Cabernet Franc matters too: Vieux Château Certan gives the Cabernets a significant place in its Pomerol. The 2015 combines 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon: the freshness of Cabernet Franc answers the silky Merlot.
  • Powerful and silky: ‘Vieux Château Certan’ 2015: a powerful yet silky palate, carried by freshness and a long aromatic presence.
Essential references

Billecart-Salmon

Champagne

  • The wager on a very pale rosé: In the 1970s, Jean Roland-Billecart reworked the rosé to achieve a very pale colour, freshness and subtle red fruit. This approach became one of the house’s signatures.
  • ‘Le Rosé’, a blended wine: This cuvée, now named ‘Le Rosé’, combines white wines with a portion of Pinot Noir vinified as red wine. This blended rosé allows the desired colour, aroma and texture to be composed together.
  • Red fruit and creamy texture: ‘Le Rosé’: small red berries and citrus zest; a creamy texture recalling wild strawberry, with a raspberry finish.
Essential references

Champagne Pierre Péters

Champagne · Côte des Blancs

  • Three plots, one site: In Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Pierre Péters owns three old-vine plots in the lieu-dit Les Chétillons. They are vinified separately before being brought together in ‘Les Chétillons’.
  • Chardonnay from a single harvest: ‘Les Chétillons’ is a vintage blanc de blancs: Chardonnay only, harvested in the same year. The cuvée offers a taste of a specific site’s expression within Le Mesnil.
  • Roundness, then tension: ‘Les Chétillons’: white flowers, orange zest, pear and fresh almond; a palate both round and powerful, followed by a taut, persistent finish.
Essential references

Charles Heidsieck

Champagne

  • The 1983 vintage leads the way: In 1993, Charles Heidsieck introduced ‘Blanc des Millénaires’ with the 1983 vintage. This launch illustrates the role given to cellar time in building this Chardonnay cuvée.
  • Five villages for a rare cuvée: ‘Blanc des Millénaires’ blends five villages of the Côte des Blancs, then matures in the house’s chalk cellars. The 2017 is only the tenth edition since the cuvée was created.
  • Pastry meets freshness: ‘Blanc des Millénaires’ 2017: toasted brioche, shortcrust pastry and hazelnut; a fresh, airy attack, followed by a long, slightly saline finish.
Essential references

Dom Pérignon

Champagne

  • Choosing a year, or passing it over: Launched at Moët & Chandon in 1936, ‘Dom Pérignon’ is a prestige cuvée that became a brand in its own right. Each wine comes from just one harvest: the house may forgo a vintage when the year is unsuitable.
  • Eight years to take shape: ‘Dom Pérignon Vintage’ requires at least eight years to develop. Long maturation on the lees, in contact with the yeast deposited in the bottle, contributes to its texture and complexity.
  • Full, floral and finely bitter: ‘Dom Pérignon Vintage’ 2015: cocoa, jasmine and orange zest; a full palate of stone fruit, extended by a fine citrus bitterness.
Essential references

Drappier

Champagne · Côte des Bar

  • The nickname ‘Père Pinot’: In the 1930s, Georges Collot replanted Pinot Noir in Urville despite local scepticism. He earned the nickname ‘Père Pinot’ (‘Father Pinot’): his choice still shapes Drappier’s wines.
  • Pinot Noir provides the framework: ‘Carte d’Or Brut’ contains 80% Pinot Noir. This high proportion continues Georges Collot’s wager in the house’s emblematic cuvée.
  • Full and energetic: ‘Carte d’Or Brut’, 2020 base: kirsch and fruit-stone notes, with a full, energetic palate and lively bubbles.
Essential references

Laurent-Perrier

Champagne

  • Inventing the ideal year: With ‘Grand Siècle’, Laurent-Perrier seeks to recreate an ideal year by blending three complementary great harvests. This Chardonnay-majority prestige cuvée is therefore identified by a version of the blend, called an iteration.
  • Three harvests in No. 27: ‘Grand Siècle’, iteration No. 27, brings together 2015, 2013 and 2012. The number distinguishes this blend from those before and after it.
  • Citrus, hazelnut and length: ‘Grand Siècle’, iteration No. 27: candied lemon, hazelnut and viennoiserie; a lively attack, followed by a long palate of ripe fruit and citrus.
Essential references

Louis Roederer

Champagne

  • Cristal: a selection of grand cru plots: White Cristal is made from grand cru vineyards in years selected by Louis Roederer. The 2016 drew on 32 plots, with 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay. No malolactic fermentation was carried out; dosage was 7 g/l.
  • Cristal 2016: Acacia flowers, lemon and ripe yellow fruit accompany a caressing texture, integrated bubbles and a long, saline finish.
  • The imperial commission of 1876: Tsar Alexander II asked Louis Roederer for a special cuvée in 1876. Cristal was born, and its clear, flat-bottomed bottle still retains the silhouette of that commission.
Defining estates and collectives

Mailly Grand Cru

Champagne · Montagne de Reims

  • Brut Réserve, a collective palette: Mailly’s Brut Réserve blends 75% pinot noir and 25% chardonnay. Wines from more than 600 plots provide the base, with 30–40% reserve wines drawn from ten vintages and matured in tanks and foudres. The breadth of that palette is central to the house’s approach to complexity in its non-vintage champagne.
  • Fruit, toast and a lively palate: Generous fruit, lightly toasted bread and fresh butter accompany a direct, lively palate. The wines ferment in temperature-controlled tanks and barrels, undergo malolactic fermentation, and mature on lees in traditional chalk cellars.
  • The growers built their own future: In 1929, 24 Mailly growers joined forces to sell their wines. When the houses refused to buy, they made their own champagne, beginning with a tirage of 3,600 bottles. From the winter of 1931–1932, members dug the galleries for thirty winters; their champagnes still mature there.
Essential references

Moët & Chandon

Champagne

  • The memory of Napoleon: Created in 1869, « Brut Impérial » takes its name from Napoleon Bonaparte, who had visited the house in Épernay. The cuvée became Moët & Chandon’s signature.
  • Recreating the style in every bottle: The blend brings together Champagne’s three grape varieties and several harvests. Reserve wines, kept from previous years, contribute maturity and complexity while helping to maintain a consistent style.
  • Crisp fruit in a seamless palate: « Brut Impérial »: apple, pear and lemon, followed by brioche and fresh walnut; a generous, integrated palate that retains crisp fruit.
Essential references

Pol Roger

Champagne

  • A champagne in Churchill’s image: Pol Roger created « Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill » in tribute to its famous admirer. The house seeks the qualities he enjoyed: a full-bodied, mature and robust champagne.
  • Pinot noir leads the blend: The cuvée brings together grands crus and is made only in years selected by the house. Pinot noir takes the leading role.
  • Structured, fresh and long: « Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill » 2018: citrus, dried apricot and sweet spices, followed by blood orange and pastry; a fresh, structured palate with a long finish.
Essential references

Ruinart

Champagne

  • Cork returns to the cellar: For « Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs » 2013, the chardonnay ages under a cork rather than the usual metal crown cap. This choice aims to preserve its aromatic freshness during its long maturation.
  • Removing the sediment by hand: This ageing under cork is accompanied by manual disgorgement: the bottle is opened to expel the yeast sediment. An old cellar practice thus accompanies this prestige cuvée.
  • Pastry, citrus and a smoky touch: « Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs » 2013: dried fruits and nuts, pastry notes and citrus, with a smoky touch; a fresh palate whose finish is extended by spice.
Essential references

Salon

Champagne

  • A champagne first made for personal pleasure: Eugène-Aimé Salon initially conceived his champagne for his own pleasure. He established a rule that became the house’s identity: one grape variety, chardonnay; one village, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; and a single harvest.
  • Only 37 vintages in a century: Salon produced only 37 vintages in the twentieth century. « Salon Blanc de Blancs » then spends an average of around ten years in the cellar before release.
  • Floral, generous and vibrant: « Salon Blanc de Blancs » 2015: white flowers, linden blossom and honeysuckle; a generous, vibrant palate carried by saline freshness.
Essential references

Taittinger

Champagne

  • Chardonnay in the spotlight since 1952: First made in the 1952 vintage, « Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs » gives chardonnay the entire stage. It brings together grapes from five grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs.
  • Ten years before release: The 2015 vintage spent ten years in the cellar. This long maturation contributes to its texture and the development of its aromas.
  • Gentle bubbles and citrus: « Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs » 2015: brioche, hazelnut, lemon and white flowers; gentle bubbles and a rich, fruity palate balanced by citrus.
Discoveries and alternatives

Tarlant

Champagne · Marne Valley

  • Letting time do its work: For Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant, long cellar ageing is central to a champagne’s balance. They rely on this maturation to refine the wine before offering it without a final addition of sugar.
  • What « Zéro » means: « Brut Zéro » is a brut nature: no sugar is added at dosage, the stage following the removal of the yeast sediment. The name therefore signals a specific choice made by the house.
  • A lively, incisive mousse: « Brut Zéro », base 2017, disgorged in June 2024: a lively, precise and incisive palate, with bubbles full of energy.
Essential references

Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Burgundy · Meursault

  • The clos beside the house: Clos de la Barre adjoins the Comtes Lafon estate in the heart of Meursault. These roughly two hectares are a monopole, meaning a vineyard owned entirely by the family.
  • A meursault with its own name: « Clos de la Barre » belongs to the village appellation Meursault. It retains its identity as a place alongside Charmes, Genevrières and Perrières, the premiers crus in the range.
  • Rich, citrus-led and supported by acidity: Meursault « Clos de la Barre » shows citrus aromas, a rich texture and clearly present acidity, with a mineral backbone.
Essential references

Domaine Faiveley

Burgundy · Nuits-Saint-Georges

  • Les Porêts Saint-Georges, the first family vineyard: Acquired in the 1870s, Les Porêts Saint-Georges was the Faiveleys’ first vineyard purchase. This Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru combines dark fruit with smoky and oaky touches; its fleshy palate builds in power and structure.
  • Clos des Cortons Faiveley, a separate grand cru: At Corton, Clos des Cortons Faiveley is the family’s emblematic red grand cru monopole, entirely under their ownership. A dispute in the 1930s led to the addition of the family name to avoid confusion. This wholly owned Corton clos is distinct from Les Porêts Saint-Georges, the founding purchase in Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Essential references

Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg

Burgundy · Vosne-Romanée

  • Gentle vinification for pinot noir: Mugneret-Gibourg describes its aim as preserving pinot noir’s fruit, freshness and finesse so that each terroir remains legible. Grapes are hand-picked, sorted and fully destemmed, followed by four to five days of cold maceration. The wines mature for eighteen months in oak and are bottled without fining or filtration.
  • Vosne-Romanée from several village parcels: The village Vosne-Romanée combines clay-limestone parcels including Les Chalandins, La Colombière and Les Croix Blanches. Blackberry, blueberry and mocha lead into a generous palate of cherry, strawberry and forest floor. The estate suggests enjoying its fruit young or keeping it for up to about ten years, with grilled or roast red meat.
  • The family keeps the vineyards together: After Georges Mugneret, ophthalmologist and grower, died in 1988, Marie-Christine left pharmacy to run the estate with her mother Jacqueline. Marie-Andrée joined after studying oenology, continuing the family’s work in Vosne-Romanée.
Essential references

Domaine Vincent Dauvissat

Burgundy · Chablis

  • « Les Clos » reveals itself in the glass: Vincent Dauvissat recommends following his grand cru Les Clos in the glass during the half-hour after opening. This allows the drinker to notice the wine changing rather than judging it on the first nose.
  • Two moments to discover it: For Les Clos, the grower recommends tasting before three years or after ten, when the wine gains in harmony. This serving preference helps in choosing between the brilliance of youth and cellar development.
  • Density and volume: Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is a dense, powerful and mineral white. Vincent Dauvissat highlights its volume and richness, which can accompany a creamy sauce.
Defining estates and collectives

Maison Louis Jadot

Burgundy · Beaune

  • The clos is older than the house: The Jadots bought Clos des Ursules in 1826, before establishing their négociant house. This walled parcel remains in the family holdings and bears the Héritiers Louis Jadot signature.
  • A clos within a premier cru: Clos des Ursules is part of Les Vignes Franches, a premier cru of Beaune. Its name on the bottle identifies this precise piece of vineyard and one of the house’s emblematic reds.
  • A generous, firm pinot: Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Ursules: a generous, firm and rich pinot noir, with red-fruit and earthy aromas, combining elegance and power.
Pioneers and renewal

Domaine Jean Foillard

Beaujolais · Morgon

  • Côte du Py, the Morgon signature: Morgon Côte du Py became Jean Foillard’s emblematic cuvée during the rise of Beaujolais’s natural-wine movement. The 2023 combines plum with earthy and stony notes, finely powdery tannins and prolonged development in the glass.
  • A shared change in winemaking: Importer Kermit Lynch called Foillard, Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton and Jean-Paul Thévenet Morgon’s “gang of four”. Inspired by Jules Chauvet, they championed natural fermentations and limited intervention, placing how the grapes became wine at the heart of their renewal of the region.
  • Whole bunches and used oak: Côte du Py undergoes whole-bunch fermentation and matures in used oak barrels. This is a structured, ageworthy Morgon with a supple texture, distinct from the estate’s concrete-aged Beaujolais-Villages.
Essential references

Domaine Albert Mann

Alsace · Wettolsheim

  • A fault, a clos and pinot noir: Between the Vosges and a small hill, Clos de la Faille sits on a geological fault. Albert Mann devotes one hectare there solely to pinot noir, in a monopole owned entirely by the estate.
  • A red alongside the white grands crus: Pinot Noir « Clos de la Faille » offers the house’s red-wine expression. Riesling Furstentum shows another side, from an Alsace grand cru.
  • Two wines, two textures: Pinot Noir « Clos de la Faille » 2023 combines tart cherry, liquorice and spice, with a structured, silky finish. Riesling Furstentum 2023 evokes fresh pineapple and orange zest, with a concentrated palate and a long, compact finish.
Essential references

Domaine Weinbach

Alsace · Kaysersberg

  • Schlossberg above the estate: Schlossberg rises above Weinbach’s walled clos and supplies most of its rieslings. The hillside is a defining reference for the Faller family; Riesling Schlossberg 2023 expresses it with fresh orchard fruit, flowers and beeswax.
  • Lightness carried by acidity: The 2023 is light and balanced on the palate, with lively acidity extending a long finish.
  • The stream and the Capuchin walls: Weinbach means “wine stream”, after the watercourse running through the former Capuchin estate. The convent walls still enclose the five-hectare clos below the hillside.
  • Schlossberg and Sainte Catherine: Weinbach’s classic Schlossberg Rieslings come from shallow soils high on the granite slope and emphasise vitality and elegance. The Sainte Catherine selections offer a broader, richer expression of the same Grand Cru.
Essential references

Famille Hugel

Alsace · Riquewihr

  • Estate 2020, the dry side of Hugel: Riesling Estate selects family parcels in Riquewihr, with a substantial share from Schoenenbourg. The 2020 is labelled Alsace and is dry, generous and saline, with ripe acidity extending a deep, balanced palate.
  • A different role for late harvesting: Jean “Johnny” Hugel also championed the demanding rules for Alsace’s vendanges tardives, recognised in 1984. Those wines use grapes left to ripen longer; Estate shows another register of the house, centred on dry riesling rather than the late-harvest speciality.
Pioneers and renewal

Domaine Labet

Jura · Rotalier

  • One harvest behind the Crémant: Labet’s white Crémant du Jura has a distinction its label may not reveal: even when no year is shown, the base wine comes from one harvest. Chardonnay leads this very dry sparkling wine.
  • Reading the dosage: The final sugar addition places the Crémant between extra-brut and brut nature according to the batch. Those terms describe the finish of the sparkling wine; the single-harvest base is a separate choice in its construction.
  • Parcel identity in the still wines: The family also makes vineyard identity central to its Rotalier wines, vinifying sites separately and putting the lieu-dit on the bottle. This is another strand of the range, alongside the single-harvest Crémant.
Essential references

Domaine Macle

Jura · Château-Chalon

  • Tasting without disturbing the yeast: At Macle, small taps on the sides of the barrels allow wine to be sampled without opening the cask from above. The veil of yeast covering its surface therefore stays in place.
  • Savagnin beneath its veil: This practice allows the Château-Chalon to be monitored throughout its years of ageing. This vin jaune, made entirely from savagnin, develops beneath that veil of yeast.
  • Lively and increasingly spicy: Macle’s Château-Chalon combines elegance and vibrant acidity. Ageing brings smoke, roasted coffee and spices such as cumin, cardamom and ginger.
Essential references

Domaine Rolet

Jura · Arbois

  • Old vintages to open: Rolet maintains a vinothèque, a collection of old vintages that the estate offers for tasting. It provides a direct opportunity to discover what time brings to Jura wines.
  • Vin jaune takes its time: The Arbois Vin Jaune 2018 is announced after more than seven years in cask. This savagnin develops beneath a veil of yeast on the wine’s surface, following the long ageing specific to vin jaune.
  • Walnut, spice and persistent acidity: Arbois Vin Jaune 2018: fresh walnut, spice and dried apricot, with a powerful, creamy palate supported by persistent acidity.
Discoveries and alternatives

Domaine Denis et Didier Berthollier

Savoie · Chignin

  • A goddess on a slope of fallen stones: « La Coulée de Proserpine » links the name of a Roman goddess of renewal to an actual scree slope. The cuvée comes from a single parcel at the top of the lieu-dit Les Toises, on the mountain of La Savoyarde.
  • Bergeron is the local name for roussanne: This Chignin-Bergeron is made from roussanne, called bergeron in Savoie. The cuvée presents the variety in the precise place that gives it its name.
  • Apricot, almond and freshness: « La Coulée de Proserpine » offers aromas of dried apricot, almond paste and candied citrus; the palate balances generous fruit and freshness.
Pioneers and renewal

Domaine Renardat-Fâche

Bugey · Mérignat

  • A family in the story of Cerdon: After the Second World War, Léon and Cécile Renardat-Fâche joined other growers in developing sparkling Cerdon. Their family has continued this Mérignat speciality ever since.
  • The bubbles come from fermentation: Cerdon is made by the ancestral method: the wine is bottled before fermentation has finished. Fermentation continues in the bottle and creates the bubbles, without added sugar or yeast.
  • The sweetness of red fruits: The estate’s rosé Cerdon is demi-sec, with red fruits and white flowers, fine bubbles and a balance between sweetness and acidity.
Essential references

Clos Rougeard

Loire · Saumur-Champigny and Saumur

  • The Foucault brothers’ patience: The Foucault brothers built Clos Rougeard’s identity around gentle vinification and long maturation. The wine spends more than two years in barrels, then several years in bottle in the tuffeau cellars.
  • Three cabernet francs and a chenin: In Saumur-Champigny, « Le Clos » blends fifteen parcels, while « Les Poyeux » and « Le Bourg » come from specific sites. « Brézé » is the estate’s white: a chenin in the Saumur appellation.
  • Fruit, finesse and depth: « Le Clos » shows crisp fruit, delicate flowers and spice. « Les Poyeux » emphasises finesse, while « Le Bourg » offers fleshier fruit and a dense body.
Essential references

Domaine Bernard Baudry

Loire · Chinon

  • A Chinon for each soil: Bernard, followed by Matthieu Baudry, reveals cabernet franc through Chinon’s different soils. They vinify the sites separately to preserve their individual characters.
  • The old vines of Les Grézeaux: « Les Grézeaux » comes from the estate’s oldest vines, around seventy years old and planted on gravel. The cuvée is aged in concrete, without spending time in barrels.
  • Dense and silky: « Les Grézeaux », a red Chinon, presents a dense, concentrated cabernet franc with a silky feel. In great years, it can age for ten years and longer.
Pioneers and renewal

Domaine de la Taille aux Loups

Loire · Montlouis-sur-Loire

  • The grapes supply all the sugar: With « Triple Zéro », Jacky Blot rejected all three possible additions of sugar: to enrich the must, create the bubbles or sweeten the wine. This sparkling chenin completes the fermentation of the grapes’ natural sugar in bottle.
  • Chenin as a dry white: Jacky and then Jean-Philippe Blot also made dry whites the signature of La Taille aux Loups. « Rémus » 2024 combines several Montlouis parcels, with vines aged fifty to eighty years, and ferments in barrels.
  • A delicate bubble: « Triple Zéro », tasted in 2024: delicate bubbles, a rounded mid-palate and precise expression, with a supple texture.
Essential references

Domaine Henri Bourgeois

Loire · Sancerre

  • Oysters beneath the vines: On the Côte de Chavignol, the marls, a mixture of clay and limestone, contain small fossilised oysters. These are the soils where the Bourgeois family grows the sauvignon for « Jadis ».
  • Time on the lees: The white « Jadis » undergoes long ageing in large, previously used casks. The lees, natural fermentation deposits, are stirred back into suspension to develop this sancerre’s roundness and complexity.
  • A generous, aromatic sancerre: The white « Jadis »: green mango, citrus, honey and minty nuances. The generous, rounded palate retains freshness and a long finish.
Essential references

Domaine Vacheron

Loire · Sancerre

  • Inspiration from Burgundy: Influenced by their experiences in Burgundy, the Vacherons chose to vinify the lieux-dits separately. After the pinot noir « Belle Dame », they created « Les Romains » in 1997.
  • Sauvignon on flint: « Les Romains » comes from a flinty site in Sancerre. This cuvée has become one of the signatures of the estate’s parcel-by-parcel approach.
  • Smoky, citrus-led and incisive: « Les Romains » shows smoky and stony notes, with delicate citrus reminiscent of grapefruit. Its freshness is incisive.
Essential references

Château de Saint Cosme

Southern Rhône · Gigondas

  • An old vineyard preserved: Louis Barruol’s father noticed the old vineyard behind « Hominis Fides » as early as the 1960s. Saint Cosme preserves its inherited diversity: aramon, alicante and carignan still grow alongside the grenache.
  • A deep gigondas with fine tannins: « Hominis Fides » 2018 shows rose, liquorice and pepper, with an iodine-like nuance. Its depth on the palate is accompanied by freshness and fine tannins.
Essential references

Château Rayas

Southern Rhône · Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  • Vines surrounded by woodland: At Rayas, around ten hectares of vines surrounded by woodland stand on very sandy soils. This secluded site gives the Reynaud family a distinctive expression of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
  • Everything rests on grenache: The red « Château Rayas » is made entirely from grenache. This choice of a single variety puts the vineyard’s character to the fore.
  • An ethereal grenache: The red « Château Rayas » shows delicate aromas and a fine texture. Its depth is accompanied by an ethereal feel and elegance.
Essential references

Domaine Alain Voge

Northern Rhône · Cornas

  • Les Vieilles Vignes, Cornas from several hillsides: Created in the 1970s to bottle Alain Voge’s old family vineyard, Les Vieilles Vignes brings together syrah averaging about sixty years old from Cornas hillsides including Combe, Patou, La Côte, Les Mazards and Chaillot.
  • Twenty months for the 2023: The 2023 spends twenty months in 228-litre barrels, with 10% new oak. The estate gives it a twenty-year ageing potential and suggests mature bottles with game, including hare à la royale.
  • Concentrated fruit with a lively finish: Rosemary, wood smoke and almond accompany concentrated fruit in the 2023. Lively acidity and a saline finish keep its substantial palate moving through a long finish.
Essential references

Domaine Combier

Northern Rhône · Crozes-Hermitage

  • The Combier family’s clos: At Pont-de-l’Isère, « Clos des Grives » comes from a single syrah parcel owned entirely by the estate. This site has become Combier’s signature in Crozes-Hermitage.
  • Another year before release: After barrel ageing, the red waits an additional year in bottle before release. This rest reflects the desire to offer a wine that can continue to develop.
  • Deep, then increasingly silky: The red « Clos des Grives » offers a generous, deep body held by fine structure. With the years, its texture becomes more delicate and silky.
Essential references

Domaine de La Chapelle

Northern Rhône · Hermitage

  • A great wine changes its signature: Long released under Paul Jaboulet Aîné, the hermitage « La Chapelle » gives its name to an estate created in 2023. It is joined there by the white « Le Chevalier de Sterimberg »; older vintages retain their Jaboulet signature.
  • Several sites in one hermitage: The red « La Chapelle » blends old syrah vines from, among other sites, Le Méal, Les Bessards, Les Rocoules and Les Greffieux. Its personality comes from bringing together these different parts of the hill.
  • A deep syrah made to age: The red « La Chapelle » presents a deep syrah, with an elegant tannic structure and genuine ageing potential.
Essential references

Domaine du Pegau

Southern Rhône · Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  • Laurence chooses a Provençal jug: In 1987, Laurence Féraud created an independent estate with her parents Paul and Odette. She named it after the pégau, a fourteenth-century Provençal jug, in memory of the region’s papal past.
  • Whole bunches and large foudres: « Cuvée Réservée » brings together thirteen varieties, led by grenache. The bunches are vinified with their stems, then the wine spends two years in large oak foudres: choices that continue a traditional approach to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
  • Generous, peppery and scented with garrigue: The red « Cuvée Réservée »: ripe cherry, raspberry, pepper and garrigue, followed by leather and forest floor with age. The palate is generous and powerful, with fine tannins.
Essential references

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

Southern Rhône · Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  • La Crau, the family’s stony plateau: Hippolyte Brunier planted the La Crau land his father gave him, although its rounded stones made it difficult to cultivate. Six generations later, the plateau remains central to the family’s red Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
  • Vieux Télégraphe 2021, fruit and persistence: The red Vieux Télégraphe 2021 combines redcurrant, dried cherry, pepper and forest floor. Fine, persistent tannins carry a long finish. Its name recalls the optical telegraph station once installed on the same plateau, linking the bottle to the landscape where the vineyard was established.
  • La Crau and Télégramme: Vieux Télégraphe red comes from old vines on La Crau and matures for around two years in large oak foudres. Télégramme draws on younger vines and older parcels outside La Crau and Piedlong; its more Grenache-led blend and shorter maturation offer an earlier-drinking expression.
Defining estates and collectives

E. Guigal

Northern Rhône · Côte-Rôtie

  • Three sites, three Côte-Rôtie wines: « La Mouline », « La Turque » and « La Landonne » are Guigal’s emblematic site-specific cuvées. They highlight different characters within the same appellation.
  • Syrah alone or with viognier: At « La Mouline », the old vines of the Côte Blonde combine syrah and viognier, a white variety. « La Landonne » is made entirely from syrah: the two cuvées reveal very different expressions of Côte-Rôtie.
  • The silk of one, the strength of the other: « La Mouline » combines small red fruits, violet and a silky texture. « La Landonne » is darker, with liquorice and roasted notes, massive tannins and considerable ageing potential.
Essential references

Domaine Cazes

Roussillon · Rivesaltes

  • Twenty-two years in century-old foudres: For « Cuvée Aimé Cazes » 1989, the house left the wine for twenty-two years in century-old oak foudres. Evaporation took more than two-thirds of the volume: the bottle conveys the patience devoted to this vin doux naturel.
  • Dried fruits and nuts, bitter orange and smoothness: « Cuvée Aimé Cazes » shows notes of green walnut, bitter orange, dried apricot and spice, with a rich, smooth palate.
Essential references

Clos Triguedina

South West France · Cahors

  • Probus, selected from the oldest malbec: Probus draws on Clos Triguedina’s oldest malbec vines, some a hundred years old. Jean Baldès created the cuvée in 1976 to express his ambitions for Cahors, naming it after a Roman emperor as a tribute to Quercy’s winegrowing history.
  • Structure with freshness: Probus Cuvée Prestige 2021 shows ripe dark fruit, smoke and spice. Its generous, structured palate retains tension through a fresh finish.
  • Selected plots and barrels: Probus selects old Malbec from the third terrace of the Lot, on clay-siliceous and clay-limestone subsoils. It matures for twelve months in new oak, after which the best barrels are selected.
Essential references

Domaine Cauhapé

South West France · Jurançon

  • Harvesting as winter approaches: For « Noblesse du Temps », Henri Ramonteu waits until late November to early December and harvests in several passes. Petit manseng’s thick skin allows the grapes to remain on the vine until this advanced stage of ripeness.
  • Petit manseng also takes its time in cask: After this late harvest, the wine spends eighteen months in casks. « Noblesse du Temps » is a sweet jurançon made from petit manseng.
  • Sweetness lifted by citrus: « Noblesse du Temps » 2020, a sweet Jurançon: candied fruit, honey and almond, with citrus and spice. A smooth palate lifted by appealing vigour.