Burgundy 2023 Part One

The 2023 Bourgogne Côte d'Or comes from vines in Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet and undergoes an 18-month élevage with 20% new oak, like the other whites. It has a potent nose with citrus peel and orange pith aromas. The palate is well balanced with a spicy, nutmeg-tinged entry. Good depth and a persistent finish make this a classy Bourgogne Côte d'Or. NEAL MARTIN

This comes mostly from Puligny and a bit below Chassagne. Pale colour, almost nutty on the nose. More classic on the palate with flesh and excellent tension. This is a wine with a lot more to offer when it grows up JASPER MORRIS MW

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Village comes from eight different parcels around the appellation, kept separate during the élevage. It has an attractive bouquet with yellow plum and praline scents and a light brioche aroma that intensifies with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a keen line of acidity, fresh and poised with good presence and tension on the finish. This will be irresistible. NEAL MARTIN

Seven plots in various locations, all suited to chardonnay. A little more reductive on the palate, clean white fruit behind, with good tension at the finish. Not too fleshy but with adequate concentration. A high class Chassagne JASPER MORRIS MW

OUTSTANDING - This is presently sufficiently reduced to reveal nothing on the nose. More interesting are the impressively dense and sappy medium-bodied flavors that deliver very fine length for a villages-level wine on the balanced finale. One to consider. BURGHOUND 

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Village comes from four lieux-dits. It has a lifted nose with green apple, a touch of petrichor and just a small reduction. The palate is well balanced with lovely poise. Touches of noisettes and orange rind build through the harmonious and persistent finish. Excellent. NEAL MARTIN

An attractive light lemon colour. The bouquet is reserved, though with a little more yellow fruit and a menthol note. Lighter on the palate, with a little steel in the backbone nonetheless, and a cheerful airy fruit to finish. JASPER MORRIS MW

OUTSTANDING - Pretty aromas of white flowers, pear, apple and anise are complemented by rich and generous, if perhaps not quite as vibrant, flavors that are also seductively textured before culminating in a bone-dry and more complex finale. While qualitatively similar to the Chassagne, these are two very different wines. BURGHOUND 

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru has a taut bouquet with scents of oyster shell and Granny Smith that need a little more vigor. The palate is well balanced, taut and fresh, with a fine bead of acidity and a more neutral finish than perhaps I would have liked. It is a little austere compared to its peers, but it should age well in bottle. NEAL MARTIN

Mid lemon yellow. A little more oak on the nose though the power of the fruit boosts through. This is really complex on the palate – firstly an immense volume of ripe fruit, with a touch of bacon fat, then a little lemon wash. Lots of protein in the wines this year, I am told. Impressive length. (96) JASPER MORRIS MW

OUTSTANDING - An even more floral-suffused nose speaks of aromas of petrol, crushed anise, lemon-lime and a touch of green apple. The medium weight flavors aren't as concentrated but they at once finer and more powerful, all wrapped in a bone-dry, precise and solidly persistent finale. As is usually the case with this wine in its youth, it could use better depth but that should not be an issue if given a chance. BURGHOUND 

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru has more vigor on the nose compared to the Les Referts, more mineral-driven with yellow flowers and a touch of lemon verbena. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, a lovely caressing texture and hints of chamomile infusing the orchard fruit toward the finish. The acidity keeps this tight and focused—a beautifully sculpted Puligny. NEAL MARTIN

Pale lemon yellow, with a lightly reductive nose. More of a chiselled than a heady Folatières, though with all the necessary weight of fruit further back on the palate. This is less extrovert than Les Referts but perhaps shows a classier intensity at the finish. (96) JASPER MORRIS MW

OUTSTANDING - A suggestion of the exotic is present on the slightly riper aromas of white peach, spiced tea and passion fruit. The rich, succulent and opulent medium weight flavors possess slightly better mid-palate density though not quite the same precision on the lingering finale that could also use better depth. BURGHOUND