Assorted Burgundy TNs (August 2025-January 2026)

Yule Kim

Yule Kim
Red Burgundy

2023 Maison Glandien La Leux: Very expressive nose with strawberries, spices and stemmy florals. It doesn't have the same impact on the palate, unfortunately. Beautifully silky and spherical texture with just a hint of grip on the palate, but the purple fruit seems a little monolithic and dull. Some nice tart citrus on the finish, but I wish there was a little more complexity going on here. Someone from the table referred to this wine as the "Maison Blandien"; I wouldn't go that far, but I would say I enjoyed the rose more than this. This might be a product of a meh vintage.

2023 Domaine La Côtelette Les trognes de Pinot: Lovely natural Pinot Noir wine. Bit of funk and reduction on the nose, but it blows off, and the palate is quite juicy and red-fruited with a just a subtle substrate of stony minerality underneath. Eminently drinkable and glou-glou, but not overly volatile or natty. Nice, and pretty decent value.

1999 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares: Quite brawny and coiled right now with a dense and darkly fruited palate. I like the purity and elegance of it, but I do think it needs some more time to unfurl. Still enjoyed this though.

2012 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots Domaine Gagey: Beautifully floral nose, right now the palate, for me, is quite given and silky. Tannins still have some grip and bite, but they are approaching a nice place. There's a slight touch of charcoal on the finish. The wine is quite dark fruited, and it reminds me of more Nuits than Vosne.

2018 Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Angles: Wow, slick, plush, velvety, and port-like in consistency and flavor. A strong, bright (Red #5) fruit flavor that reminds me of the syrup in a cherry cordial bon bon. This did not handle the ripeness of the vintage very well. A big, boozy, sloppy floozy of a wine. Yikes.

2013 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes: Quite a fragrant, floral nose, but it definitely has some green herbaceous aromas as well, such that a friend of mine assumed this wine saw whole-cluster (I believe this is wholly destemmed). On the palate, this is quite delicate, with dark red fruit contained in a sleekly textured profile. Acid is quite pronounced and the finish is quite tart with a subtle hint of smoke. With time, it gains herbal complexity (some may characterize it as a green streak) that I actually quite like. Does not have quite the density of fruit that I think most other people would like, but I appreciate the wine's elegant, weightless quality. Tannins become more drying with time in the glass, but I found this quite tasty to drink right now.

2013 Domaine Dujac Morey St. Denis: Nice nose that has more pronounced "stemmy" floral notes, but the palate is predominantly dark red fruit that is a bit plummier (and meatier) than the '13 Bachelet village Gevrey I had with this. Good density in the midpalate, but still possessing a delicate weight and transparency. Nice finish, but does not have the black pepper spice I normally associate with whole cluster. Refreshing acidity (perhaps too tart for some folks, to be fair), this does get more tannic and drying with time in the glass. Still enjoyable though, if not particularly complex.

2008 Jean-Claude Boisset Charmes-Chambertin: Not familiar with this producer, but this was very good. Nice, expressive nose, good dark red fruit that persists through the midpalate and finish, texturally quite silky and charming bound together with a taut acidic spine that is not too overbearing considering the vintage. Subtle mineral complexity, but this is more about the easy charm of the fruit married with that refreshing blast of acidity and cool, chalky finish. Tannins seem fairly resolved. A very enjoyable wine that is quite filled out at this point.

2017 Bruno Desaunay-Bissey Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts Vieilles Vignes: I am not familiar with this producer, and what a pleasant surprise drinking this. Transparent, crisp, refreshing, with lovely red fruit on the palate and just a hint of spice. An utterly charming wine that is elegant and light on its feet. What more can you want? Delicious!

2015 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Ile des Vergelesses: I liked this quite a bit. Quite lush and ripe with dark fruit and hint of herbal complexity, but there's balance and acidity. Still wound a little tight and a bit monolithic, it is definitely still a hold, but not as unapproachable or as tannic as I expected.

2016 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes: Very fragrant and floral on the nose with aromas that remind me of freshly crushed raspberries. On the palate, it is lush, but fresh with juicy, dark fruit on the palate. Very pure and elegant, and while initially, the tannins are not too assertive, they do become more drying and astringent with air. Tasty, but this could use a little more time to tame the tannins and shed some of the baby fat.

1985 Bonneau du Martray Corton: Still quite elegant and lithe on the palate, with fully resolved tannins that are soft and silky. Acidity is still on point, providing needed freshness. However, the fruit has really faded and you are mainly getting savory notes of damp earth, mushroom, and a jolt of soy on the finish. At this point, I would say this is past peak and quite tertiary, but there is enough liveliness hanging on to make this still quite enjoyable and interesting to drink.

2009 Lucien Le Moine Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Genavrières: This is definitely the most extracted out of the red wines today, but it is still relatively balanced. The fruit is quite dark and fleshy, but not overripe. There's a touch of smoke and anise to the palate. Could use some more freshness and acidity, but this isn't too ponderous or overdone. Despite the reputation of this producer, this wine is not particularly oaky and it is rather integrated at this point.

2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains: Quite linear with aggressive, piercing acidity, but there is good midpalate density to the dark fruit and beautiful tension from first sip to the sharp, still slightly tannic finish. Still a little backwards with respect to the firm acidity and drying tannins, but I'm sure this will blossom with just a little more age. However, even at maturity, this will still be a red Burgundy for those who crave mouthwatering freshness over plush fruit, and it won't be for everyone. I love it though; absolutely scintillating and thrilling.

2010 Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines: A little closed, but you can still feel the elegance and delicacy of the wine against the palate. The red fruit feels a little muted and locked up in the structure. This will need time, but it doesn't taste fearsomely backwards and its journey to maturity doesn't seem that far away beyond the horizon.

2015 Philippe Livera Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Village: A little tannic, but elegant with good acidity and tasty dark red fruit. Rather straightforward and fruit forward, but a well done version of a village-level wine. Wears the ripeness of the vintage surprisingly well.

2023 Julien Altaber (Sextant) Maranges Rouges: Noticeable brett and VA, but both are within the bounds of tolerance. Dark red fruit on the palate that finishes with a pleasant herbal streak and a bit of drying, tannic grip. Good minerality; unfortunate that its marred by the brett and VA.

2023 Julien Altaber (Sextant) Pinot Noir Bourgogne: Noticeable brett and stemminess on the nose. Whole clusters influence is pronounced with hints of herbal green fused with the dark red fruit on the palate. However, the wine has freshness; VA is also quite noticeable as well.

2023 Julien Altaber (Sextant) Bourgogne Gamay: Straightforward juicy, red-fruited wine with freshness and acidity, with an element of chalky minerality on the finish. There really isn't that much overt VA at all. Tastes like a rather civilized Beaujolais. Pretty good.

White Burgundy

2023 Louis Billard Saint-Romain: This had a lovely floral nose with just a hint of herbs that was really enticing. The palate had a subtle gloss of oak, endowing the wine with some sleekness, but it wasn't overdone, and I really enjoyed a pronounced minty herbal quality on the palate, blending in with the white fruit and mineral spine. There was a lack of acidity, however, which I chalk up to the vintage. This is really well made, but probably held back by what nature provided the winemaker.

2024 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet: Has a nice, sparkling acidity with white fruit, citrus, and a good amount of gloss on the palate. Still rather fresh tasting, but I have noticed in the past that Pernot's village wines tend to have an oaky finish to them, which was true here. Still pretty good with its freshness.

2024 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatières: Really beautifully expressive nose of lemon, sea salt, and orchard fruit. The white fruited, citrusy palate is deftly framed with just a subtle hint of oak, a juicy acidity, and finishes on a long mineral and saline note. Beautifully thirst-quenching and refreshing and already quite drinkable right now.

2024 Paul Pernot et ses Fils B“tard-Montrachet: The most tightly wound of the Pernot wines with a very dense palate of white fruit, firm acidity, and a taut mineral spine. This needs a lot of time, but you can taste the potential. While large-scaled and powerful, it also has a weightlessness and elegance as well.

2018 Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru Les Margotés Blanc: I really enjoyed this. Bright, yellow fruit subtly framed with just a bare touch of vanilla from the new oak, but a good amount of refreshing acidity to provide balance. Yeah, this is ripe, but it is balanced and tasty.

2005 Maison Valette Pouilly-Fuissé Le Clos de Monsieur Noly Vieilles Vignes: Quite brown in the glass, but the palate is still lively and fresh. Clearly oxidative and tertiary at this point, it has savory nuttiness, a hint of caramel (without any sweetness), citrus zest and mushroom, with just a hint of smokiness. Incredibly refreshing and refined for a wine that looks so advanced. Acidity is on point (and probably is why the wine is still alive and kicking today). And, much like the Energizer bunny, the finish just keeps going on and on and on. From magnum.

2012 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses: Still very fresh with not a hint of premox on it. Classic seashell, salt, and citrus layered on top of substrate of white fruit and chalk. Nice density on the midpalate, but light-on-its-feet, with good acidic tension and a nice, long, linear finish (though with more breadth than I normally associate with Dauvissat). Killer bottle.

NV Paul Nicolle Crémant de Bourgogne: Lean, light, crisp with some apple and citrus on the palate. Not complex, but tasty. Nice simple sparkler.

2013 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre: Can definitely taste vanilla from the new oak on the palate, but the acid is nice and texturally this is quite silky. Richest and broadest white Burgundy in the tasting, relatively lush in comparison to the 2013 Leflaive Clavaillon. However, with air, the wine becomes more crystalline and precise, the oak seems to integrate better, and the perceived acidity becomes brighter. By the end of the glass, this is quite balanced and lovely.

2013 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon: Still relatively tight on the nose, but it has such a lovely, seamless texture and the oak is just a lightly felt accent on the palate. Otherwise, this is incredibly fresh and elegant with sparkling acidity in tension with the mineral and citrus notes on the palate. Splendid.

2013 Francois Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain: Fairly round and seamless at this point; the acidity is fairly well-integrated, providing mouthwatering freshness to its palate of ripe yellow fruit, citrus, and spices. A slight buttery texture that may be from the new oak; presenting perhaps a bit too slick and broad for my tastes, but a good wine regardless.

2014 Domaine Bruno Clair Morey St. Denis En la Rue de Vergy Blanc: This seems to be the most oak-influenced of the white Burgundies, which becomes more prominent with air. There is still nice freshness and acidity on the palate, good minerality and lean, white fruit and citrus, but then you get a hit of oaky spice on the finish. I think other folks liked this better than me; if it wasn't for the flavors of unintegrated oak I'm getting, I would like this a lot better. (Interesting that the oak seemed prominent to me despite it being only 15% new oak).

2010 Caves Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre: The most ready of the whites wines on the table. Acidity is well integrated and there is nice breadth on the palate. Really elegant and the oak is barely perceptible. Seems less "Chablis" to me and more like a really fresh take on a Clos de Beaune white Burgundy.

2010 Caves Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru Montmains: Another good showing from Duplessis: nice freshness on the palate with white fruit, salt, and just a hint of butteriness from the oak. Nicely textured with good tension from the acidity. Tasty.

2021 Domaine Bernard Millot Puligny-Montrachet Les Corvées des Vignes: Quite light and airy on the palate of white fruit, which is framed with just a scintilla of new oak that is barely perceptible. Great acidity supporting its crystalline structure. To honest, I was seriously surprised how good this was considering I never heard of this producer before. Great value and just flat-out delicious.

2023 Julien Altaber (Sextant) Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc: Lots of lemony and salty freshness on the palate that has a decent amount of tangy freshness from the acidity. Not bad.
 
Can you explain your comment on the Billard Saint-Romain some more? I understand it to mean that because 2023 was a hot vintage, that caused the low acidity. Or did I misunderstand?
 
“Interesting that the oak seemed prominent to me despite it being only 15% new oak”

I used to taste wines with a winemaker whose wine chemistry chops were as good as I’d ever seen - he mentioned that certain yeast strains can present as oak at certain times in a wine’s life.
Just a thought . . .
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Can you explain your comment on the Billard Saint-Romain some more? I understand it to mean that because 2023 was a hot vintage, that caused the low acidity. Or did I misunderstand?

I read somewhere that 2023 was a lower-acid vintage for white Burgundies in general, so I was making an assumption that the lack of acidity in this particular bottle of wine had to do with vintage conditions rather than the winemaking and harvesting decisions of the producer (mainly just giving the producer a benefit of the doubt).

I am not certain whether it was heat specifically that caused the wine to taste so low acid (though that seems to be a reasonable conjecture to make).
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
“Interesting that the oak seemed prominent to me despite it being only 15% new oak”

I used to taste wines with a winemaker whose wine chemistry chops were as good as I’d ever seen - he mentioned that certain yeast strains can present as oak at certain times in a wine’s life.
Just a thought . . .

That's really interesting. Perhaps that was what I was detecting when I was drinking the Clair.

Thanks for sharing that info.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Can you explain your comment on the Billard Saint-Romain some more? I understand it to mean that because 2023 was a hot vintage, that caused the low acidity. Or did I misunderstand?

I read somewhere that 2023 was a lower-acid vintage for white Burgundies in general, so I was making an assumption that the lack of acidity in this particular bottle of wine had to do with vintage conditions rather than the winemaking and harvesting decisions of the producer (mainly just giving the producer a benefit of the doubt).

I am not certain whether it was heat specifically that caused the wine to taste so low acid (though that seems to be a reasonable conjecture to make).
What I've tasted from 2023 is not high acid, but also not deficient in acidity. Moreover, Saint-Romain is a quite cold appellation, so if others have sufficient acidity from warmer climates, it doesn't make sense that the vintage conditions are responsible here. More likely, it seems to me (I do not know this producer), low acidity could result from overcropping (very prevalent for whites in 2023), other viticultural practices, or harvesting overly late.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
“Interesting that the oak seemed prominent to me despite it being only 15% new oak”

I used to taste wines with a winemaker whose wine chemistry chops were as good as I’d ever seen - he mentioned that certain yeast strains can present as oak at certain times in a wine’s life.
Just a thought . . .
If the wine was sealed with natural cork, that, too, can impose an oak flavor.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Can you explain your comment on the Billard Saint-Romain some more? I understand it to mean that because 2023 was a hot vintage, that caused the low acidity. Or did I misunderstand?

I read somewhere that 2023 was a lower-acid vintage for white Burgundies in general, so I was making an assumption that the lack of acidity in this particular bottle of wine had to do with vintage conditions rather than the winemaking and harvesting decisions of the producer (mainly just giving the producer a benefit of the doubt).

I am not certain whether it was heat specifically that caused the wine to taste so low acid (though that seems to be a reasonable conjecture to make).
What I've tasted from 2023 is not high acid, but also not deficient in acidity. Moreover, Saint-Romain is a quite cold appellation, so if others have sufficient acidity from warmer climates, it doesn't make sense that the vintage conditions are responsible here. More likely, it seems to me (I do not know this producer), low acidity could result from overcropping (very prevalent for whites in 2023), other viticultural practices, or harvesting overly late.

Not super familiar with Billard myself, but a friend of mine has been bringing wines to dinners and he's enthusiastic. I remember another Billard white from a year or two ago being pretty enjoyable.

Here's info on the producer. Worked at DRC and Roumier (and some wineries in South Africa and Australia) before starting off on his own. Young guy.

But, to your point, maybe the low acidity can be chalked up to producer error. I really don't know.

More info on Billard below:

 
You wouldn't know to notice it unless you've done a lot of tasting of wines that have cork closures and ones that have stelvin closures. I first noticed this at large tastings in Austria where about half the wines were of each closure and there was a persistent taste to the cork-sealed wines that was not present in the stelvin-sealed wines. It was across all the white wines, but most especially the Pinot Blancs.

If Oliver McCrum reads this, he can chip in, too. Oliver has done extensive research on cork closures and we have discussed the taste of the cork seal in wines.
 
I have seen Billard's name on a few fairly good restaurant lists in Paris (they're fairly expensive, IRRC). But note: the Thatcher website says that 2023 is only his second vintage. It also says that he finds his 2023 whites fresher and more lively than his 2022s. Make of that what you will.

Add on edit: note that on the Thatcher website, you can't tell if the Saint-Romain is estate or négoce (i.e., how much control he had over the vines), but it does say that 2022 was 780 bottles produced, 2023 was 1500 bottles produced. If he did not add land in 2023, that tells you something, no?
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
I have seen Billard's name on a few fairly good restaurant lists in Paris (they're fairly expensive, IRRC). But note: the Thatcher website says that 2023 is only his second vintage. It also says that he finds his 2023 whites fresher and more lively than his 2022s. Make of that what you will.

Yeah, I would disagree with him on that take. I thought his '22 was livelier and more interesting (I doubled checked my notes and I did have the '22 St. Romain back in 2024).
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
I have seen Billard's name on a few fairly good restaurant lists in Paris (they're fairly expensive, IRRC). But note: the Thatcher website says that 2023 is only his second vintage. It also says that he finds his 2023 whites fresher and more lively than his 2022s. Make of that what you will.

Yeah, I would disagree with him on that take. I thought his '22 was livelier and more interesting (I doubled checked my notes and I did have the '22 St. Romain back in 2024).
See also my add on edit above.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
I have seen Billard's name on a few fairly good restaurant lists in Paris (they're fairly expensive, IRRC). But note: the Thatcher website says that 2023 is only his second vintage. It also says that he finds his 2023 whites fresher and more lively than his 2022s. Make of that what you will.

Yeah, I would disagree with him on that take. I thought his '22 was livelier and more interesting (I doubled checked my notes and I did have the '22 St. Romain back in 2024).
See also my add on edit above.

Saw this on the Leon & Sons website. Apparently he farms all of his Cote de Beaune sites himself (I'm assuming that includes the St. Romain).


Of course we are talking about retailer websites, so who knows how accurate this all is.

If the Leon & Sons information is accurate, maybe he leased additional land in St. Romain, but is overseeing the farming? All of this is just pure guessing on my part (I have had a total of 2 bottles from this producer, one I liked, the other I thought was interesting, if flawed).
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
You wouldn't know to notice it unless you've done a lot of tasting of wines that have cork closures and ones that have stelvin closures. I first noticed this at large tastings in Austria where about half the wines were of each closure and there was a persistent taste to the cork-sealed wines that was not present in the stelvin-sealed wines. It was across all the white wines, but most especially the Pinot Blancs.

If Oliver McCrum reads this, he can chip in, too. Oliver has done extensive research on cork closures and we have discussed the taste of the cork seal in wines.

Gtk!
 
As I said above, Chardonnay yields were huge in 2023 for those that didn't manage their vineyards very closely -- I've heard numerous stories of yields >100hl/ha. Chardonnay is much more yield-elastic than Pinot Noir, but still.

As for the Leon & Son website, they do not offer the St-Romain and it is unclear whether the statement that he farms the Côte de Beaune sites himself applies to all Côte de Beaune wines he produces or just the ones they offer.

Interesting also that neither the Thatcher nor Leon website says anything about his viticulture methods, they just talk about the vinification. That says something to me.

Bottom line: competition for new Côte d'Or producers is very stiff these days. This guy looked promising, so they jumped on him because if they didn't, someone else would. But it's going to take some time to see if the promise is fulfilled. If I were seriously following this guy (and of course was willing to put out the $$$ to follow him), I'd look closely at the 2024 reds, particularly in Côte de Nuits. If you didn't do the work in the vineyards, there's a high probability that you didn't make good wines, I would think (I didn't visit producers whom I don't already know to be good).
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Big Desaunay-Bissey fan here. A Weygandt import and a real throwback style of Burgundy.

Totally agree. It's wonderful stuff.

It's nice to know there are (relatively) under-the-radar Vosne producers like Desaunay-Bissey and Jerome Chezeaux out there that are making good wines at still somewhat obtainable prices (if you know where to look; though it does look like the ship is sailing on both of these producers too).
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Big Desaunay-Bissey fan here. A Weygandt import and a real throwback style of Burgundy.

Dominique Laurent bought wines from there for a long time, I do not know whether he still does.
 
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