2021 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

This is the first year that Edouard, son of Bruno Clair, is on hand to guide me through a selection of the 2021s. Rapid expansion in the eighties and nineties means that over 30 cuvées are now produced. Edouard tells me that he began working at the Marsannay-based winery in 2017. “We lost 50% red and 60% white production,” Clair tells me, a young vigneron with just the right amount of confidence without being brash. “But it was bad on the slopes as we had a lot of compact bunches due to the old vines. We picked from 20 September to 1 October. We did more pigeage than in 2020 but less in my father’s time. We want the wine to be a little more drinkable and approachable. We did one daily pigeage over five days. The whites were completely devastated and yielded 9-10hL/ha.”