The 2004 Montrachet Grand Cru from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is an elusive white Burgundy that amounts to one barrel. A friend generously offered this bottle of 2004 Montrachet at a casual dinner in Beaune during Hospices weekend last November.

It was a privilege to attend this 1978 horizontal—however, there is always a risk when broaching old bottles, especially Pinot Noir from an era besmirched by swings in quality. Fortunately, scattered among the disappointments is a clutch of bottles that sparkle like rubies in the sand.

The second edition of Bouchard Père & Fils’ time travels through their enviably deep library comprised a number of vintages ending in the number “three,” all served blind at the domaine’s headquarters in Beaune. This tasting revealed a clutch of remarkable bottles from forgotten vintages.

I admit I approached the 2022s from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with some trepidation. Given reports of extreme, record-setting warm and dry weather, I feared a repeat of 2020, a year in which the wines were unusually dark and concentrated. Those concerns were quickly allayed as soon as I started tasting the 2022s. The wines are absolutely brilliant. Elegant and poised, the 2022s are not only captivating, but they also offer that most elusive of all qualities in fine wine: the ability to convey the essence of site.

My good friend Lord Bruce recently raided his cellar and produced a gem of a Burgundy from a vintage more renowned for the whites: the 1992 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Domaine Hubert Lignier.

It’s very rare for Frédéric Mugnier to participate in a tasting of his own wines, let alone his Musigny, so when I heard a few days before the event that a spot was available at a vertical of 15 vintages, with Mugnier in attendance, I leapt at the chance.

Much has been written about Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, but tasting the bottled 2022s recently, I thought about all the memories made whenever a bottle of DRC is opened…

This brief supplement to Neal Martin’s extensive report on the 2023 Burgundies covers several dozen wines I tasted on my most recent trip through the region. Readers will want to revisit Neal’s article for an in-depth look at the growing season and the conditions that shaped the wines.

I suspect that nearly all wines from the Rully appellation are consumed in their youth. The 2019 Rully En Guesnes Wadana proves that not all Rullys are made equal.

Following my Burgundy 2023 report, I have penned my views on the state of the Burgundy market after conversing with growers in the Côte d’Or, head buyers at UK merchants and, most crucially, consumers at several tastings in London in January 2025.

The 2023 vintage in the Côte d’Or offers many pleasures. After six weeks tasting nearly 2,500 wines across 160 domaines, it is clear that while the year has its shortcomings, the best wines will have you singing their praises.

What a pleasure it is to taste Raveneau’s 2016 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru. The 2016 has come together beautifully over the last few years.

I have always loved the wines from Pierre Morey before he joined as winemaker at Domaine Leflaive in the very year the 1988 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru was made.

Burgundy covets caprice. Tasters, critics and even winemakers can only approximate how its wines evolve. Predicting Burgundy is like herding cats–it’s just a more enjoyable undertaking with less meowing.

I know, I know, I know. With all the discussion about the unaffordability of Burgundy, why this 2008 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru? Simply because this bottle was not scurried away in some dusty cellar. It was not used to make a profit. It was not brandished about to show off someone’s wealth. It had one reason and one reason only–to be drunk for what it is, something as banal and wondrous as wine.

Chablis was bearing the brunt of a challenging growing season when I visited in 2024, but at least the previous two vintages refilled cellars. What are the differences between 2022 and 2023, and what should you look to buy?

The Mâconnais has a wellspring of delicious and affordable Chardonnay that it could be argued is only now demonstrating what its finest terroirs can achieve…in the right hands. More than just Pouilly-Fuissé, more than its recently introduced Premier Crus, there is much to be discovered, especially in a benevolent vintage as 2022.

A couple of years ago, I ordered the maiden Kei Shiogai 2020 Bourgogne Blanc En Pellans from a restaurant list, as members of the fourth estate are persona non grata at the winery in Beaune. I was interested. Sadly, the bottle left me indifferent. When dining in Chablis recently, I decided to try another bottle.

This brief Burgundy report looks at new releases from an established producer, Domaine Leflaive, a brand new grower, Arnaud Boué and a welcome return for the Chassagne-Montrachets of Domaine Michel Niellon, with an early look at their 2023s.

During the Burgfest tasting, we tend to diversify our drinking habits at dinners as members proffer bottles from their cellars. One of the best was the 2015 Lousas Parcela Camiño Novo from Envínate, which translates as “wine yourself”.

There is justifiable handwringing about Burgundy losing its typicité because of warmer growing seasons. Is that being borne out in the wines? In the first of two blind tastings at the annual Burgfest, I tasted over 200 whites from the 2020 vintage and found reasons to be cheerful.

In the fledgling days of my wine career, long before I put pen to paper, I used to visit a reputable merchant in deepest Suffolk. These were thoroughly enjoyable away days from the office. We would often repair to a local fish restaurant to imbibe the rest of the afternoon away, skivers that we were. I vividly recall one occasion when the merchant regaled a bottle drunk recently. He rhapsodized that wine so much that his words have always stayed with me. Unfortunately, even then, 20-plus years ago, this wine was so unfathomably rare that the chances of even finding a bottle, let alone drinking one, were remote. Of course, back then, I had not counted on munificent wine friends…

Every year, I round up all the stray bottles of Burgundy and publish them in a single article. This year’s edition is the customary eclectic array of wines stretching back over decades, from feted recent vintages to others best forgotten, from legendary producers to “Who?”

Pierre Vincent is one of the most talented winemakers working in Burgundy. After producing a raft of great wines at Domaine de la Vougeraie and then Domaine Leflaive, Vincent is about to embark upon a new chapter in his career, the 2023s representing the maiden vintage of wines under his own name.

Since the vintage ends with the right digit, I was tempted to add this wine to my Centuries Of… article. Frankly, this bottle was so amazing, defied logic to such a degree, and was so astounding that it had to be placed on its own pedestal, which is this Cellar Favorite. I did not choose it because readers can just go out and procure a bottle; instead, this is a pertinent reminder of wine’s longevity and that consumers don’t necessarily need to forage for blue chip growers or even the most esteemed vineyards. Perhaps the message of this particular Cellar Favorite is to keep an open mind.