TOP VALUE RED Côte Chalonnaise Mâconnais
bunches, and the wine is aged without the use of new oak, giving a smoky, complex nose with delicate plum and cherry fruit and notes of leather and earth. The texture is silky and very fine, yet does not lack in structure or grip, with an emphasis entirely on finesse. Drink 2025-2040
Michel Mallard, Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Valozières
Valozières lies directly below Corton Bressandes, and Mallard’s 0.39ha parcel produces small berries with surprising concentration. Between 50%-60% of the fruit is vinified as whole bunches, yet there is nothing rustic about this wine, which has bright, silky red fruit upfront on the nose, firm tannins, rich density and a pleasant note of bitterness on the finish. Very elegant. 2022-2035
TOP VALUE WHITE Domaine A&P de Villaine, Bouzeron
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Drink
Pure lemony fruit on the initial attack, but also saline, iodine notes and hints of beeswax and hay. Enchanting, with a waxy, slightly phenolic texture and a lovely light bitterness that balances out the richness of the wine. Built to age and will last a decade or more. 2022-2035
Drink TOP VALUE RED Château de Chamirey, Mercurey 1er Cru Clos de Ruelles
This monopole is spread over three distinct south-facing parcels in the stony, ironbearing clay. The vines average 55 years and produced in 2020 a wine with lovely 18
Ocassis fruit and an edge of mint on the nose. Initially quite approachable, with time the body and tannins make themselves known and one sees the depth of which this wine is capable. 2022-2035
TOP VALUE WHITE Domaine JA Ferret, Hors Classe, Tournant de Pouilly, Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Reisses
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The soil is very chalky, on a low-fertility foundation of Bathonian limestone, giving the wine a distinct ripe apple character and hints of hazelnut and camomile. On the palate there is density, power and length – a noble wine. 2022-2035
Drink TOP VALUE WHITE Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, Clos du Four Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine
Lafon has 1.4ha in the Clos du Four, which is considered one of the premier sites in Mâcon: east-facing with stony soils, planted at mid-slope at about 250m, making it one of the later-ripening sites here. In 2020, the wine shows a ripe apple fruit character tending a little towards the tropical. The fruit is pressed as whole clusters and fermented in large casks to give a wine of lovely concentration, complexity and expressiveness – one of the top wines of the Mâconnais. 2023-2030
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OTOP VALUE WHITE Domaine Barraud, La Roche Mâcon-Vergisson
The lieu-dit Sur la Roche stretches around the Roche de Vergisson, covering three levels of appellation: Pouilly-Fuissé premier cru on the lower, southeast facing slopes, village-level Pouilly-Fuissé above this, and
Montrecul is a historic vineyard on the outskirts of Dijon at the northern limit of the Côte de Nuits, a sunny spot that ripens fruit well, giving wines with black fruit more than red and a fine tannic line. Winemaker Marc Soyard uses non-interventionist techniques to create this impressive wine, with its floral-scented, plummy fruit and firm tannins. 2022-2035
Drink TOP VALUE RED Domaine Michel Lafarge, L’Exception, Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
BExceptional indeed, this is a blend of half Pinot Noir and half Gamay, from 95-yearold biodynamically worked vines. The grapes are destemmed and fermented with native yeasts prior to ageing in cask over two winters. The wine has a deeply lovely fruit character with plenty of forward red berry fruit nicely dressed with floral notes and a silky, fine texture set off by lively, refreshing acidity. 2022-2030
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