A Burgundy Intermezzo&nbsp;

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;JULY 17, 2024During
my numerous forays to Burgundy, I managed to fit in a couple of ad hoc visits
to producers. Instead of leaving tasting notes for major reports, I decided to
publish them without too much delay, a small intermezzo for Burgundy lovers.

Firstly,
a new producer, Maison Arnaud Boué, who you’ll find up the Hautes-Côtes
de Nuits. The 40-year-old winemaker worked in South Africa and Bordeaux before
returning to Burgundy and working for David Duband, amongst others. He always
sought his own winery, and once a couple of investors were on board, he renovated
a disused maison in the heart of Villers-la-Faye. It’s a bit cramped, to say
the least, with some renovation still to be completed, but it’s a functioning
winery that suits his needs, though I did worry when he almost seemed to fall
into a vat to extract some wine with his pipette! At present, Boué sources
fruit through contracted growers, those vines organically certified, and eventually,
he plans to acquire his own holdings. Tasting his 2021 and 2022s, this is
clearly the opening chapter for Boué, and not every cuvée hits the mark. But I
could see the potential with the Côte de Nuits-Villages and Nuits Saint-Georges
Village. This is a name to watch out for.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721223608466-lucie+coutoux.JPG">The momentum is when Lucie Coutoux extracts the Bâtard-Montrachet for the first time. 

That’s
the new, now for something that’s not so much old, but who’s not
familiar with Domaine Leflaive? Brice de la Morandière guided me through
the 2022s bottled between April and June this year. Usually, I taste these in
November during my barrel tastings and publish in January, but why wait? I
preferred tasting these bottled wines earlier when it is quieter. Discussing
the warmth of that season, de la Morandière told me: “We have learned a lot in terms of managing heat and
precocity since the 2011 and 2012 vintages. These 2022s have the same acidity
and alcohol as previous years, but there is no over-ripeness. The vines learn a
lot. There is a subtlety that I find attractive.” Of course, these were made by
winemaker <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/it-s-all-in-the-name-domaine-pierre-vincent-jun-2024">Pierre
Vincent</a>, and they bear his magic touch, a wondrous set of wines with
pinpoint acidity and clarity. The 2022 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet has the
audacity to outshine the Bâtard, while the Combettes is my pick of the Premier
Crus. In addition, I tasted a couple of wines from their fast-expanding
holdings in the Mâconnais, which will be included in my annual report.

Finally,
I made a long overdue return to Domaine Michel Niellon. This was one of
the first producers I ever visited, with the late Michel Niellon and unmistakable
bushy mustache ever-present. With a couple of free hours after my tasting at
Leflaive and before a quick bite to eat at bistro La Dilettante, I visited with
current winemaker Michel Coutoux, Niellon’s son-in-law, who joined back in
1991. Their winery is in the same unit as Domaine Philippe Colin (now Simon
Colin), which affords them a clean, temperature-controlled, capacious work
environment. After tasting the 2022s that were picked from August 25 after some
vines showed signs of hydric stress, Coutoux had to nip off. So, his daughter Lucie,
who has also been involved on the winemaking side for several years, came in
from the vines to guide me through the 2023s from barrel. “In August, we had ten
days over 40°C, which can destroy acidity, and that made us afraid because we
do not want a heavy Chardonnay,” she told me. “The 2023s were picked from
September 4 over six days. I remember that it was very hot. The challenge was
to keep the acidity.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721223627042-leflaive+2022+bottles.JPG">Again,
rather than sitting on these for several months until I publish my report, I
decided to let these notes “go free” now, not least because they hold so much
promise. Chassagne-Montrachet is such a hotbed at the moment with young
winemakers, and Niellon’s wines have wonderful acidic spines. Apropos 2023,
there is much talk about high yields and consequent dilution, but I found none
here. Readers should also note the inclusion of the Bâtard-Montrachet that
returns after the vines were pulled up in 2016. I was the first person to taste
this. Though the fledgling vines seem to limit complexity, especially when
compared to the superlative Chevalier-Montrachet, I have little doubt that this
parcel will produce great wines in the future. In Lucie, who works alongside
fellow fourth-generation winemaker Matthieu Bresson, it looks like this great domaine
is in safe hands. © 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/variations-on-a-theme-burgundy-2020-whites-jul-2024">Variations on a Theme: Burgundy 2020 Whites</a>, Neal Martin, July 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/archive-away-mature-burgundies-1919-2019-jun-2024">Archive Away: Mature Burgundies 1919-2019</a>, Neal Martin, June 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/it-s-all-in-the-name-domaine-pierre-vincent-jun-2024">It’s All in the Name: Domaine Pierre Vincent</a>, Neal Martin, June 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-fours-jun-2024">A Century of…Fours</a>, Neal Martin, June 2024

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social