2019 Bourgogne Rouge

Heading down to the village of Dezize-lès-Maranges always leaves me feeling happy because it means I am en route to meet Alexandre and Marc Bachelet and tasting their impressive whites and reds. Marc Bachelet escorted me through the 2019s and a number of 2018s. “We started picking on 6 September and finished on 20 September,” he told me. “Yields were around 42hl/ha for the reds and 30hl/ha for the whites, occasionally half the crop. The yields in Puligny-Montrachet were better. The low yields came because of the flowering and also since 2013 being organic. I guess it is the combination of different things over recent vintages. The whole bunches component on the red wines is selected from millerandé berries on the sorting table. We used around 25% for the 2018 red Premier Crus.” What can I say apart from every year these boys slam-dunk another raft of outstanding wines that brim with freshness and vigour. They have the knack. Their 2019 Bâtard-Montrachet is as good as any you will come across, but really what I love is how they elevate Maranges into something that exceeds all expectations, as demonstrated by a 2017 Maranges La Fussière I ordered from a restaurant list the following week.