Beaufort (Amaury) 2015 Bourgogne Tonnerre Côte de Junay

Amaury Beaufort, with help from his brothers, is making superb natural wines in Tonnerre on steep hillsides with Kimmeridgian soils near the village of Junay. (Northwest of the city of Tonnerre) Cête de Junay is a steep  parcel requiring all vineyard work by hand. Yields are about 15 hl/ha, at 11.5% in 2015. The wine shows delicate but complex aromas of lime-flower, dried white fruits, almond and stone with hints of chamomile and dried herbs. The palate is crystalline and bone dry with citrus, stone and dried pear - light, but with great density and length and finishing with stone, anise, pear and lemon peel over saline minerals. No added SO2. Congratualtions to the Beauforts for this unique and scintillating wine! Serve with oysters, sushi, fresh goat cheeses, grilled sole or cod.

Beaufort (Amaury) 2015 Bourgogne Tonnerre Vaumorillon

Billaud-Simon 2014 Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu

Bize, Simon 2013 Savigny Les Beaune Blanc Les Vergelesses

Bize, Simon 2015 Bourgogne Blanc Les Champlains

Bize, Simon 2015 Bourgogne Blanc Les Perrières

Boillot, Henri 2005 Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Moucheres 1.5L

Champs de l'Abbaye 2016 Rully Les Cailloux

Chazelles (Domaine des) 2016 Vire-Clesse Vieilles Vignes

Viré Classé is a privileged location in the Macon that enjoys a fantastic exposure to the sun on a slight slope. This yields wines that have an added weight and complexity compared to your run-of-the-mill Macon-Villages. At Chazelles organic vines with over 50 years of age broadcast dense flavors of golden apple and stone fruit with an invigorating touch of acid. This is a great Chardonnay with concentration and freshness that could age beautifully for years. 

Collet, Romain 2014 Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux

Sea spray, green apple, white flowers, fine stony detail on palate; cool lifted, slightly herbal finish. Plenty of flint in the tank still. Drink and hold. John McIlwain

Collet, Romain 2015 Chablis Les Pargues

d'Angerville 2015 Meursault 1er Cru Santenots

De Moor (Vendangeur Masqué) 2016 VDF Compagnie Meridionale

De Moor 2015 Vin de France D'Autres Vallees

Domaine d'Edouard 2015 Côtes d'Auxerre Chardonnay

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains

The Montmains vineyard lies on the left bank of the Serein River a bit south of Vaillons. The 2015 has a ripe nose redolent of white flowers, orchard fruit, and citrus oil. The palate offers ripe golden apple, and Meyer lemon flavors underlain with subtle notes of sea spray and dusty minerality on a persistent finish. John McIlwain

Duplessis, Gérard 2013 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 1.5L

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

Located on the right bank of the Serein, Montée de Tonnerre is one of the more structured premier crus, distinctly mineral and long-lived. The 2015 Duplessis Montée de Tonnerre is a classic expression from the site. Crushed herbs, lime zest, flint, and sea spray on the effusive nose. The palate shows incisive minerality with pungently saline character offset by cool-toned apple and citus notes. this is deeply stony with driving energy on an impressively long and palate-staining finish. Excellent now with a quick decant, better still in 3-5 years. John McIlwain

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

Duplessis, Gérard 2015 Chablis Vaugiraut

Located on the left bank of the Serein, the name Vaugiraut derives from “Vaul Girault,” which means Girault's valley, likely the name of a local owner. Aged entirely in cuve (stainless steel tank), Duplessis' 2015 Vaugiraut offers pretty aromas of white flowers, honeysuckle, white peach, and crushed herbs. The palate displays flavors of white peach, citrus, and salt with hints of green tea and quinine on the stony, precise finish. John McIlwain

Jobard, Claudie 2016 Rully Montagne La Folie

Jobard, Claudie 2015 Rully En Villerange

The Jobard Rully "En Villerange" is from a 2 hectare parcel facng south-south-east with old vines in clay/limestone soils. This is an elegant and well-priced white Burgundy showing aromas of ripe pear, lemon confit, lime-flower and almond framed in a bit of oak. The palate is supple and ripe with white fruit, herbal and mineral flavors framed in firm acidity and nicely rounded by the fermentation and elevage in barrel. Quite ripe and nicely balanced, it's delicious now and over the next 5 to 8 years.

Lafarge 2013 Bourgogne Aligoté Raisins Dorés

Lafarge 2014 Bourgogne Aligoté Raisins Dorés

Lafouge 2015 Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers

"Les Boutonniers" is contiguous with Meursault "Meix Chavaux" on shallow soils of clay, high in iron, over the limestone bedrock, usually giving a somewhat lean and very "mineral" white Burgundy. The 2015 shows very floral aromas with pear, citrus and stone. The palate is crystalline and dense with subtle white fruits leading to a long finish with citrus peel, spice and mineral flavors. This is a lovely, very refreshing Burgundy to enjoy with grilled fish, roast chicken and goat cheeses. It's delicious now and will cellar nicely for eight to ten years. DL

Lafouge 2015 Auxey-Duresses Les Hautés Blanc

From a north-facing parcel fairly high on the slope next to Meursault Les Vireuils. Subtle, rather delicate aromas of lime-flower and citrus, with white fruits, stone and honeysuckle. The palate is fresh and bright with mineral flavors predominating, with pear, lemon peel and herbal notes, quite pure and refreshing. The opposite of an oaky fruit-bomb, this is a light and lovely Chardonnay of terroir that will accompany shellfish, sole, flounder, cod and young goat cheeses. 

Moreau, Bernard 2015 St. Aubin 1er Cru Remilly

Moreau, Bernard 2015 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Champgains

Moreau, Bernard 2015 Chassagne-Montrachet

Moreau, Bernard 2015 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Chenevottes

Moreau-Naudet 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Forêts

Moreau-Naudet 2015 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

While the 2014 vintage resulted in a number of stellar white Burgundies graced with energy and complexity, some of the most striking have come from Chablis. Moreau-Naudet was especially successful and the wines show class from the basic villages thru the premier and grand crus. The 2014 Vaillons is a radiant example of the terroir, with airy aromas of stone fruit, citrus peel, honeysuckle, and wet stone. The palate is vibrant with minerality and punchy acidity, with smoky flint vying with cool-toned citrus, and spice flavors on a concentrated, tactile finish, which is just a shade broader than that of the Forêts. Lovely now, but there's plenty of dimension which bodes well for aging (if you can resist drinking your bottles in the near term). John McIlwain

Morey, Pierre 2014 Aligoté

Niellon 2014 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Champs Gain

Pernot 2014 Bâtard-Montrachet

Pernot, Paul 2008 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Rateau 2016 Beaune 1er Cru Les Coucherias

Beaune 1er Cru "Les Coucherias" is high on the slope on the site of an old quarry and much of the sub-soil is limestone tailings, permitting root penetration and drainage, with a topsoil of mixed clay and limestone "marnes blanches." In biodynamic agriculture since 1979, the vineyard is a south-facing semi-circle—a very warm spot giving a full, ripe wine. The 2016 "Coucherias" is an extraordinary wine showing elegant aromas of almond, lemon confit and pear with subtle spice and mineral notes. The palate is deep and concentrated but beautifully balanced by firm acidity, very sapid and pure with a perfect finish of stone, pear, lemon and herbal flavors.  This is a beautiful white Burgundy that is superb now but will be even better after a few years in the cellar, probably best 2021 - 2030. Highly recommended. David Lillie

Rontets 2014 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Birbettes (Arrives 4/10)

From vines dating from the 1920s and 1940s. Organically farmed, and vinified in used oak barrels. The 2014 is a beautiful expression of Pouilly-Fuissé fusing the bright minerality of the old vines with the sunny richness of the appellation. The robe is a green gold hue. The nose is redolent of stone fruit and citrus peel. The palate is racy on the attack, with a pungent stony character giving way to a supple ripeness building on a long, lingering finish. This is lovely and a great candidate for cellaring in the mid-term, say 8-10 years, though one could certainly tuck into a bottle earlier. John McIlwain

Rontets 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Varambon

The 2015 Cos Varambon is a beautiful Pouilly-Fuissé to drink over the next five to eight years. The aromas show lovely pear, peach, honeyed lime-flower and citrus. The palate is round and ripe with dense pear and citrus fruit, very calcaire and supported by firm acidity despite the ripeness of the vintage.  Serve with fish in sauce, white meats and mild cheeses or sip happily by itself, delicious wine!

Rontets 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé Pierrefolle (April 30)

The Pouilly-Fuissé cuvée Pierrefolle is made from the only vineyard situated outside the Clos at Rontets: this plot is set only 500 meters south and is warmer because of its plain East exposure and the sheltered position from the North wind. This climat has older geological origins, preceding the Jurassic era: it sits on a granitic bedrock and its soil has no clay or limestone. This is why at the beginning of the 1970s it was planted using the Riparia rootstock, which has low vigor and guarantees limited yields and very good quality grapes. All these characteristics produce wines with lower acid, compared to those produced within our Clos. Although larger and somehow more generous, Pierrefolle is always sustained by a precise mineral expression and citrus aromatic note. In the warm 2015 vintage, the Pierrefolle shows ripe aomas of white and exotic fruits with a bit of spice and earth. The palate, however, remains very mineral with firm saline acidity underlying the pear and citrus fruit. The finish is long with mineral flavors lingering on the palate. This is a beautiful Burgundy and a great food pairing - drinking well now, but five to ten years of aging will be very interesting. Highly recommended. David Lillie

Rontets 2016 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Varambon (April 30)

This beautiful Pouily-Fuissé is from old vines in the Clos on hard limestone with very thin silty clay topsoil. Certified organic farming, long slow fermentations with wild yeasts and aging in large oak barrels, none new.  The wine shows bright aromas of pear, lemon confit, herbs and stone. The palate shows creamy white fruits and citrus flavors with firm very chalky acidity and a hint of oak. The wine is beautifully balanced and refreshing, drinking wonderfully now,  but it will improve with 5 to 8 years of aging. This is a lovely White Burgundy, comparing favorable at the price with wines from the Cote d'Or.

Rouges-Queues 2013 Maranges Blanc

Sainte Barbe 2015 Viré-Clessé La Perriére

Vignes du Maynes 2015 Mâcon-Cruzille Les Chassagnes 1.5L

This is a superb, subtle and very mineral Chardonnay from a replanted parcel at the very top of the Clos, abandoned since 1896, with thin clay soils rich in iron over limestone. A great terroir, never chemically treated and worked in biodynamic farming by Alain and Julien Guillot.  The 2015 "les Chassagnes" is a beautiful wine, a bit fuller than the 2014 but still quite racy and stony with hints of white fruits, spice and honey. The palate is silky and crystalline - all minerals with subtle citrus and white fruits, very long and elegant. Highly recommended! David Lillie