As our team arrived in Saint-Emilion under sunny skies to start our annual en primeur pilgrimage, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the mood in the camp was somewhat apprehensive. Ever since the end of the Burgundy campaign, like every spring, the spotlight turns to Bordeaux and the press surrounding the 2024 vintage has been somewhat pessimistic – with a backdrop marked by talk of tariffs in the US, falling prices and the eternal question of en primeur as a viable mechanism for distribution today.  I find so often that – at primeurs – vintages are reduced to generalisations that never do justice to the region’s diverse terroir. This being my eighth campaign, I remind myself every year that this week is so much more than just an opportunity to taste the latest vintage. It’s a chance to spend time with those behind the barrels and to hear their story, for producers to share their insight on the vintage first hand. With over 50 visits booked, there was plenty for us to get our teeth into before we could draw any meaningful conclusions. Our first visit of the week was at Cheval Blanc – and it provided an excellent first litmus test in determining the quality of the vintage. Technical Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet highlighted the challenges brought by the sheer quantity of rainfall in what was one of the wettest winters for the region since records began. And the widespread rainfall – from the autumn of 2023 onwards – was the start of a series of challenges that would test even the most experienced of winemakers. After just our first morning of tasting, we could see that the 2024 vintage was throwing up a level of heterogeneity and diversity not seen in more recent, solar vintages such as 2022 and 2023. Challenges including mildew, uneven flowering, poor fruit-set and botrytis could be treated any number of ways with varying levels of success – the results of which were fascinating. Our full vintage report, due next week, will look more closely at the conditions of the year, producers’ reactions and the style of the wines. But, from our tastings across the Right Bank, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality on show in amongst the variety. The best wines of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol seem to have favoured a later harvest, risking losing fruit as they waited for phenolic ripeness. Many of our favourites have wonderfully lifted aromatics that are both expressive and concentrated – balancing the Merlot’s juicy fruit against the Cabernet’s texture and structure. This year, we spent just under two weeks in Bordeaux – our longest en primeur tasting trip to date. This allowed us to fit in a couple of extra visits into our tightly packed program. One of these was at Guillot Clauzel, a tiny two-hectare property nestled in Pomerol just a stone’s throw from Le Pin, and under the guidance of winemaker Guillaume Thienpont since 2018. Our visit highlighted that it was clearly possible to make excellent wines in 2024 regardless of price point or scale. The same is true on the Left Bank. In a year where the resilience of the Cabernet shone through, the best wines are quite classical. There’s impressive purity to the fruit on the mid-palate coupled with a backbone of acidity that brings length and drive. Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac seem to have been particularly challenging, with more mixed results (but some unashamed stars – just look at Montrose), while Saint-Julien, once again, offers a more consistent stable. Margaux and Pessac-Léognan’s lighter styles perhaps align best with the vintage’s natural style, and there are some particularly promising wines here. (While rarely a focus, it’s worth highlighting the quality of some of the whites this year too.) There is no year that we can remember in which it has been so important to get boots on the ground and taste en primeur – and taking the time to talk with producers to understand the specifics of the vintage. Producers have come to expect an unrivalled level of questioning when our team shows up. Now that the dust has settled, we can put our spittoons (and notebooks) away and take stock over the Easter weekend. We expect a steady stream of releases to start from as early as Tuesday next week with Batailley and Pontet-Canet set for 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Whatever the campaign has in store for us, we know that 2024 is a year to be selective. Consumers willing look past any pre-conceived ideas about the vintage will be rewarded. Keep an eye out for our full report, set to be published next week, as well as the very first releases

With teeth still wine-stained, our team is returning from almost two weeks tasting Bordeaux 2024 en primeur. Ahead of the very first releases and our full report on the vintage, our Bordeaux Buyer Hector Howes offers some early thoughts on the year – and why it deserved our longest trip to date

After almost two weeks in the region, Bordeaux Buyer Hector Howes offers his initial thoughts on the Bordeaux 2024 vintage and the wines it produced

Bordeaux 2024 en primeur – first thoughts on the vintage

Bordeaux 2024: first thoughts

Maylis Marcenat does not fit the stereotype for a Bordeaux producer. Lively, down-to-earth and humble, she’s as unstuffy as they come. She is the fourth generation of her family to run Clos de Sarpe – a small Grand Cru Classé Saint-Emilion estate that has long gone under the radar.  The history of Clos de Sarpe  The Clos de Sarpe name first appeared in 1897, given by a Monsieur A. Ducarpe to his property on the Sarpe plateau. Baron Henri du Foussat de Bogeron bought the vineyard in 1905, merging it with the vines of nearby Badette to create Ch. Haut-Sarpe. Jean Beyney bought Clos de Sarpe in 1923 and revived the original name. His son, Yvan Beyney, took over in 1952, who in turn passed the property to his son Jean-Guy Beyney in 1986. Jean-Guy still owns the estate today but retired in 2021, handing it over to Marcenat, who is his niece. (Jean-Guy has a son, Charles, who gives his name to the property’s second wine and will inherit Clos de Sarpe eventually but isn’t interested in running it day to day.)  The style of the Clos de Sarpe wines through the ages  The style and winemaking have evolved over time – with each generation putting their own stamp on the wines. In the early days, the wine was all whole-bunch fermented, with long macerations (40 to 50 days) and spent several years in concrete tank before bottling. Indeed, under Yvan, this continued. He only sold wine to those who could store the wine properly, and as such some wines spent extended periods of time in tank – the 1966 was in concrete for 10 years, for example. Yvan looked for purity of fruit, picking comparatively late (he was always proud to say he picked at the same time as Figeac, Marcenat says) and didn’t ever use oak. The wines were hard in their youth, needing time to soften, yet having great stability from their long élevage.  Under Marcenat’s uncle, who arrived in 1986, things started to change – with the late 1990s a pivotal moment. Jean-Guy favours powerful wines and reduced the amount of time the wines spent in tank, introducing de-stemming (gradually, from 1997, at first all done by hand) and oak barrels – with the élevage shifting from all concrete to 100% new oak between 1997 and 1999. He hired Michel Rolland to consult from 1998, and reduced yields – cropping a maximum 25hl/ha.  In 2005, Jean-Guy introduced a mechanical destemmer and densimetric sorting  – both of which contributed to a significant shift in quality, and everything has been destemmed since 2010, to encourage a rounder tannin profile in youth. In 2012, the property was granted Grand Cru Classé status – recognising their efforts. Marcenat joined the team officially in 2014, bringing her own vision, pushing for further change from 2016 and finally taking full control in 2021.  Clos de Sarpe today  The Clos de Sarpe vineyards cover 3.68 hectares, all in one block on the Sarpe plateau and south/southeast facing, just a kilometre from the village of Saint-Emilion itself and close to both TrotteVieille and Troplong Mondot, as well as Sansonnet and Haut-Sarpe.  The topsoil is thin here – with just 20cm in places – and lies over limestone bedrock, which contributes to the very high acidity of the wines (normally with a low pH of 3.2-3.4). Over half of the vineyard is between 60 and 80 years old, with the oldest Cabernet Franc now over 100 years in age, planted by Marcenat’s great-great-uncle in 1923.   The vine age combines with the limestone bedrock to help this site weather hot, dry conditions – a particular boon as the climate shifts. The limestone acts like a sponge, holding water, and the roots reach deep into the bedrock, accessing these reserves. Yields are naturally low given the age of the vines, and recent vintages have seen some tiny yields but Marcenat aims for around 35hl/ha in a good year (more than under her uncle and the Rolland influence).  To preserve the age of the vineyard, Marcenat is gradually starting to replant the site. As part of this project, she has added a little more Cabernet Franc, as well as a tiny portion of Petit Verdot. Previously 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, today the vineyard comprises 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.   The family has always worked organically, with no pesticides or herbicides ever used, but the vineyard has been officially certified since the 2020 vintage – something that is of particular importance to Marcenat. For her, the work is all done in the vineyard rather than the winery and the philosophy very Burgundian, with everything kept as simple as possible.  The team is tiny and Marcenat does almost everything herself, supported by Frank Bartolomucci. Today the fruit is all picked by hand, chilled overnight, destemmed and then density-sorted. Each parcel is vinified separately, with most fermented in the concrete tanks that have been used since the 1950s, however the oldest Cabernet Franc is fermented in a 600-litre new oak barrel. She only uses indigenous yeast so fermentations are slow, at least 10 days generally. Maceration times are long, with the wine normally spending around 40, and up to 50 days on the skins, depending on the vintage, but with very gentle extraction. Malolactic fermentation can be challenging with the low pH, so she routinely has to inoculate to force this through (malolactic is essential for wine stability, particularly for wine intended for long ageing).  The portion of new oak has been toned down, with Marcenat ageing the wine for a year in around 70% new oak, with the rest in second-fill barrels (and occasionally some concrete if required). It is then blended together and aged in concrete for around six months prior to bottling without filtration. The oak is all 228-litre Burgundian barrels (versus Bordeaux’s traditional 225 litres), largely Tronçais oak from the cooper Taransaud. Marcenat feels Burgundian barrels pair better with the wine, liking the thicker staves and longer seasoning (30 months versus the 24 that is the norm for Bordeaux).  The Clos de Sarpe wines today  Clos de Sarpe makes two wines: the eponymous Grand Vin and a second wine, Charles de Sarpe, which was introduced in 1997, named after Charles Beyney – Jean-Guy’s son and Marcenat’s cousin. Up to and including the 2015 vintage, the second wine was a saignée of the Grand Vin, used to increase the concentration of the Grand Vin. Since then, it has only been made in certain vintages when there is enough fruit to make a second wine – such as 2019 and 2023.  While most producers will talk about the freshness in their wines coming from the Cabernet Franc, for Marcenat it is the Merlot that brings the acidity, while the Cabernet Franc provides the wine’s structure.  Tasting Clos de Sarpe back to the 1960s, the site’s freshness shines through consistently, as well as a distinctive earthy minerality. The purity of a wine like the 1966 is extraordinary – and it’s holding up beautifully today. You can still see traces of the immense structure the 1975 and 1988 must have had in their youth – providing a gentle grip today alongside their savoury intensity. While the wines were significantly more powerful in style in the late 1990s and 2000s, that power feels balanced today, the 100% new oak integrated and unobtrusive – and the 2001 a particular standout. The 2010 and 2015 vintages of Charles de Sarpe are beautiful wines, with a softer feel and elegance – juice that would be worthy of many Grands Vins.   These wines might once have been known for their power and punch, but Marcenat has tweaked the style, leaning into the natural freshness of the site. She looks for silky tannins and a purity that makes the wines more approachable in youth. It is, she will tell you, very simply the wine she likes and wants to make. Tasting the wines en primeur since she took over suggests that only good things lie ahead here. With each vintage, Marcenat’s imprint on the wines feels clearer and quality belies the growing season’s conditions, testament to both her talent and the terroir.  A note on the Clos de Sarpe labels  As you can see in the line-up for this tasting (below), the labels have changed over the years. The oldest wines made under Yvan Beyney bear a very traditional label, which changed in 1986 to have a blue border when Jean-Guy (Marcenat’s uncle) took over. When the style of wine shifted in the 1990s, Jean-Guy changed the label again (from the 1998 vintage) to one with a gold foil border. The current label was introduced in 2012 when the property achieved Grand Cru Classé status.   The vertical tasting: Clos de Sarpe 1966-2015  2015 Charles de Sarpe: Maylis Marcenat recalls the 2015 harvest vividly – as it took place around the same time that she gave birth to her twin daughters. It was the last vintage in which the second wine was produced as a saignée of the Grand Vin, echoing its proportions of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, and effectively a less powerful version, aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year-old oak. The wine is still lithe and vibrant, offering bright red berries on the nose. The palate displays more savoury tones, with macerated red plum and a fine chalky coating of tannins, cut by bright acidity that drives through to a mouthwatering finish. This is in a beautiful spot now.   2015 Clos de Sarpe: The typical blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc (as with every vintage shown in this vertical), the 2015 Clos de Sarpe was aged in 100% new oak. As you might guess from the élevage and the power of the vintage, this is not a shy and retiring wine – yet Clos de Sarpe’s trademark acidity drives through its core and balances the wine’s intensity. It still feels youthful, packed with dark cherry fruit on the compact nose, that gradually offers sweeter, scented tones with time in the glass. There’s a solidity to the palate – with a mass of rich, concentrated fruit, yet there’s a juiciness here to that makes it mouthwatering, with a sweet plumpness. It’s round and full, with a firm grip of tannin on the finish. Decant to enjoy now, with plenty of air, but this will unfurl over the next decade and beyond.  2010 Charles de Sarpe: The 2010 vintage was the first in which the fruit was all destemmed at Clos de Sarpe. Tasting the second wine with winemaker Maylis Marcenat, she can’t help but wonder why her uncle didn’t put such gorgeous juice into the Grand Vin. It’s a supple, beautiful example of mature Saint-Emilion now – the nose subtle, shifting between sweet fruit, lifted florals and black truffle complexity. The palate is long and balanced, beautifully resolved, seamless and soft, still with mouthwatering freshness and an earthy mineral edge to the long finish. Lovely.  2001 Clos de Sarpe: This was a standout in our vertical – and a wine that holds a special place for Marcenat. As she told us, “For me, it’s better than 2000 – with more freshness, more balance, more everything.” The 100% new oak is integrated, with the nose now showing plenty of tertiary complexity: iron, sousbois and a subtle leafiness mingles with the still fresh, soft strawberry fruit. There’s a transparency here, yet still plenty of concentration – the palate still lithe with soft, plummy red fruit and high juicy acidity that supports the fruit and fills the long finish, complemented by an earthy note. Superb.  1998 Clos de Sarpe: This was one of the first vintages to be aged in oak, seeing 80% new wood for its élevage. It was a great vintage for the Right Bank – as is clear from this wine. The 1998 Clos de Sarpe is beautifully mature, with savoury, leathery aromas and darker bramble fruit versus the more red-fruited 2001 shown alongside. The palate has a savoury iron seam, the tannins still offering a satisfying chewy grip to frame the juicy hedgerow fruit. This blossomed in the glass, revealing further complexity and vibrancy. Long, balanced and very impressive.  1988 Clos de Sarpe: The 1988 vintage offered few challenges and is a fairly classic year. It comes from the era when Clos de Sarpe was all whole-bunch fermented and saw no oak (aged only in concrete) – as with the two vintages below. There was a slight mustiness to this wine at first, but gradually the wine revealed its true character, with sweet, dried fruit and intense, savoury notes – an umami richness reminiscent of marmite. There is still surprising structure and power here, although the wine isn’t quite as concentrated as the 1998, for example. The acidity keeps things fresh, with the scent of truffle and undergrowth lingering on the finish.  1975 Clos de Sarpe: This was recorked in 2020. The 1975 vintage produced some particularly tannic wines – and you can still feel the structure of the year here, with a phenolic grip that frames the palate. The nose is intensely savoury, appealing to lovers of old-school Bordeaux with barnyard and horse leather, gradually revealing a herbal lift – something almost menthol-like. Although this is firmly tertiary in profile, there’s still vibrancy to the palate, with soft waves of fruit and an iron-edged finish.  1966 Clos de Sarpe: Some older vintages of Clos de Sarpe spent extended periods of time in tank before bottling – as is the case with this 1966, which stayed in concrete for almost 10 years. It was recorked in 2019 and is an amazing wine that is singing today. The nose still offers surprising fruit purity – soft, cooked plum and deeper bramble fruit, as well as savoury sousbois and – with time in the glass – liquorice and an almost marmite intensity. It’s ripe and vibrant, with amazing freshness on the palate, the tannins are seamlessly integrated with the sweet fruit. Long, supple and balanced, a beautiful wine to drink now.     Explore all current listings of Clos de Sarpe or read more about Bordeaux 

Few people have heard of Ch. Clos de Sarpe – and even fewer have followed its evolution in recent years. We sat down with Maylis Marcenat – the fourth generation of her family to run the 3.7-hectare estate – to taste through a vertical and explore the site’s identity through the ages 

Exploring the evolution of this tiny Saint-Emilion estate through a six-decade vertical tasting of the wines with winemaker Maylis Marcenat 

Tasting through six decades of Ch. Clos de Sarpe 

Six decades of Clos de Sarpe 

“It’s been an absolute pig of a year,” says Mark Gaskain. It’s September 2024 and we’re reaching the end of what has been a trying growing season across most of Europe – with seemingly never-ending rain. Fortunately, Gaskain knows that such challenges are just part of the job. He’s a farmer, born and bred, now at the helm of his family business, and responsible for growing 70 million apples a year. But in the last decade, he’s added a new strand to the business – after selling a swathe of land to none other than Champagne Taittinger in 2015. That land is now the home of Domaine Evremond – one of the most exciting English wine projects to date.  The story began almost a decade ago. Patrick McGrath – founder and CEO of Hatch Mansfield, which represents Champagne Taittinger in the UK – had been looking at adding an English sparkling wine to the company’s portfolio. It was the early 2010s, and he spied an opportunity with the burgeoning category – but Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger suggested that, rather than taking on an existing estate, McGrath should create his own, working with Taittinger. Taittinger had embarked on a similar venture in California, creating Domaine Carneros with their US agent, Kobrand, under Pierre-Emmanuel’s uncle, Claude. Together, they decided to take the plunge.  They charged leading English wine specialist Stephen Skelton with helping them find the perfect site – determined to have chalk soils, south/southwest-facing slopes (for maximum sun exposure) at altitudes below 100 metres (with temperatures reducing by 1°C per 100m, anything above this would simply be too cold in England’s marginal climate). Kent – with easy access across to Champagne – was decided on, but it took them 18 months to find the right site. At the same time, the Gaskains were looking at selling some of their land (a foray into soft fruit had proven challenging, and were looking to get back to their core business of apples). The timing was fortuitous and the orchards at Stone Stile Farm – around the village of Chilham, southwest of Canterbury – were perfect. As Alexandre Ponnavoy (Chef de Cave for both Taittinger and Evremond) told me, if a site can grow good fruit – it’s a good indicator for its viticultural potential.  In 2015, the deal was signed and the project launched with great fanfare at Westminster Abbey. Domaine Evremond takes its name from Charles de Saint-Evremond (1614-1703), a Frenchman, essayist and early ambassador for the wines of Champagne – bringing them to the court of Charles II – who is buried in Poets’ Corner. Although Didier Pierson – a grower in Champagne – had made English wine under the Meon Hill label, Taittinger was one of the first major Champagne Houses to invest in England (Pommery had bought vineyards in Hampshire in 2014). Unsurprisingly, press coverage was extensive: the Champenois were coming to make sparkling wine on our home turf – the French naysayers set to eat their hats as the world started facing up to fine English fizz.  Evremond’s first vines went in the ground in 2017, with more added in 2020 (the team set up at the local Premier Inn to tackle the work mid-pandemic) and in 2024. The land here has a layer of alluvial clay over its chalk subsoil which is part of the Paris basin, shared with much of northern France (including Champagne). Around Canterbury, however, there’s more flint in the soil – something that Ponnavoy feels shines through in the wine, giving it a mineral, reductive character. There’s also a definite maritime influence – moderating temperatures, but also bringing ocean breezes from Whitstable, which is just six miles away. For Ponnavoy, it’s the combination of the site’s chalky soils, maritime softness and sea winds – a “contrasting climatology” – that defines the Evremond wines.   Gaskain is deeply involved in the project – his in-depth knowledge of the land an invaluable resource, knowing where potential frost pockets lie, for example, or where the soil might be overly rich for vines. He and his team manage the site day-to-day, guided by Christelle Rinvelle (Taittinger’s Vineyard Director). Currently, they have 62 hectares of vines, split between 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 10% Meunier. They planted Chardonnay on areas with the thinnest topsoil, allowing its roots almost direct access to the chalky bedrock, while the Pinot Noir and Meunier sit on the more clay/gravel-rich plots.  The vines are widely spaced (5,000 vines per hectare – half the vine density Taittinger uses in Champagne) and trained higher than across the Channel, allowing for better airflow (helping manage disease pressure) and a larger canopy (to aid ripening). While herbicides have never been used on the site and there’s a concerted effort to be sustainable, Gaskain is clear on the limitations of viticulture in Kent: “Organics is madness in this climate,” he tells me – as, perhaps, 2024 proved. While the team has vine-specific sprayers, Gaskain can also draw on his team’s orchard equipment too – a boon when conditions are challenging – and spray the entire site in one (rather long) day.  They harvested tiny quantities of fruit in 2018 and 2019, with the first commercial-sized vintage coming from 2020 (conveniently the grape harvest falls neatly between that of Galas and Braeburns). Early wines were made at nearby Simpsons, and from 2020, they set up in an old concrete barn on the site – with the entire operation run on a generator. In June 2022, they broke ground on a new winery (“We were over budget four weeks after starting,” says McGrath, with a weary smile). The same company that worked on the Channel Tunnel dug out 83,000 tons of chalk (around 2,000 lorry loads) to make way for the three-storey building that stretches 20 metres below ground. Designed by Reims-based architect Giovanni Pace, the idea is for the winery to blend into the landscape – rather than stand on it. It has the capacity to cellar 1.5 million bottles – all without expending any additional energy on cooling, thanks to its natural subterranean chill.   Works were finished in time for the 2024 harvest – a relief undoubtedly for the team. There is something charmingly British, slightly ramshackle and underdog about the operation – despite the very serious money behind it (£17 million invested so far, reportedly). “Everybody’s had to muck in,” says McGrath. He might be Hatch’s CEO and one of the Evremond founders, but he’s also the first to pull on his wellies to help with harvest – and has spent more weekends in the vineyard than anyone else. Vitalie Taittinger has taken over from her father as President of Taittinger, and McGrath’s daughter India is running the commercial side of Evremond – meaning the operation really is a family business, even if it comes with some luxury, Champenois-esque swagger.  With the Taittinger association, of course, expectations are incredibly high – something McGrath is painfully aware of. Talking to Ponnavoy – who is in charge of the winemaking at both Taittinger and Evremond – there’s been something very exciting about creating a project from scratch, even if it has come with some challenges too. He argued to keep the small 2018 harvest for the property only, allowing them to follow the wines in tank over several years, and get to know the site. It was a huge cost, and delayed the first release, but something he felt was crucial.  “It was really important not to do a copy of another sparkling wine, not to produce a… ‘style’,” he says. Their goal, instead, was: “To identify the terroir, to identify the soil, to identify the climate, and reproduce all that in the bottle. To find the Evremond identity.” Inevitably, there’s a temptation to draw comparisons between Taittinger and Evremond, but the team is clear that they are totally separate projects with very different DNA.  Working with English fruit, Ponnavoy felt it was key to manage the potentially biting acidity (and the wine sees full malolactic as a result), but – for him – the greatest challenge was to avoid a bitterness that he finds common in some English wines. Managing the phenolics to avoid this was, for him, therefore essential, while he also focused particularly on the bubble texture – working to get a very fine mousse, something that he believes sets the wine apart from the competition.  In time, Evremond hopes to make 400,000 bottles a year, although there are only 120,000 of its first release. There are plans to add a vintage and rosé cuvée once the vines have matured and they’ve gotten to know the site, but for now they’re only producing the non-vintage Classic Cuvée. Now, a decade after they bought the land, Edition 1 of the Classic Cuvée is set to be released. For a début, it’s an incredible result – perhaps not surprising given the pedigree of the operation. Incredibly fine, taut and layered with oyster-shell, iodine and flint, it’s a wine full of the promise of what Evremond can do.  Domaine Evremond’s Classic Cuvée Edition 1 will be released on Thursday 3rd April: contact your Account Manager to register interest or sign up to be notified here 

A decade ago, Champagne Taittinger did something unexpected: they bought land in Kent. On the eve of the release of the project’s first wine, Sophie Thorpe caught up with the team behind Domaine Evremond about the challenges and triumphs of their English adventure 

Champagne Taittinger bought land in Kent 10 years ago. As the first wine from the project is released, we talk to the team behind Domaine Evremond

Diving into Domaine Evremond – Taittinger’s new English wine

Unearthing Evremond: Taittinger’s new English wine project 

“Time is necessary,” Paul-Etienne Defaix tells me. He should know – he is the 16th generation of his family to make wine in Chablis – and, at Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix, time is everything.  Wine has been made at the Domaine du Vieux Château (the property’s historic name, which still features on the labels today) for eight centuries, and under the Defaix family since 1610. Much has changed in Chablis over the past 400 years, however – and today the estate is a last bastion of the Chablis of yore.   Demand for Chablis was booming by the 1970s, and producers reduced the élevage (the time wine spends in barrel or tank), bottling, releasing and selling the wines earlier. These modern wines, often bottled within six to 12 months, were lean and crisp, but for Paul’s father Daniel-Etienne, they were disappointing – lacking the complexity and ageability of wines that spent longer on their lees (the dead yeast cells). Daniel-Etienne decided to do things differently – to return to making wine the way they had in generations past – and the family hasn’t looked back.  Generally, their approach is to let the wine be – waiting, watching and waiting some more. Fermentation is all with indigenous yeast and notably slow, taking up to six months, with malolactic fermentation left to rumble along on its own timescale, only finishing after up to two years. Their Premier Cru wines then spend up to nine years on their fine lees, while for the Grands Crus it can be up to 15 years, kept at a cool 10-12°C.  During the wines’ extended élevage, autolysis takes place – the enzymatic breakdown of the dead yeast cells, or lees. It’s the same process that takes place in Champagne and other traditional-method sparkling wines aged on their lees, and is the key to the Defaix – and once traditional – style of Chablis, giving the wine a rounder mouth-feel, and lending bready, toasty complexity. It is also, for Paul, “key to revealing terroir”. Although the tiny volumes of Defaix’s Grands Crus and Pinot Noir go into oak, most of the wines are aged exclusively in stainless steel, meaning it is only the site and time that you taste in the bottle. Once deemed ready, the wines are bottled and released into the world.  Ageing its wines in stainless steel tank for not months but years, Defaix creates textural, complex wines that are only released as they reach their drinking window. It is a rebellion, Paul tells me, against “a society of rapid consumption”.  Paul is now in charge of the property’s vineyards and winemaking, although his father is still involved in the business. Paul studied in Beaune, getting experience at a handful of estates – largely focused on Pinot Noir – before returning to the family domaine, working his way from the vines to the cellar. As Daniel-Etienne told him, “You need to learn your soil, your vines, then you can make the wine – and then you try to sell it.”  And, although it’s often the style of winemaking that steals headlines at Defaix, the domaine has some remarkable vineyards. The family farms 28 hectares in total. It has two Grand Cru parcels (0.15 hectares in Blanchot and 0.3 hectares in Grenouilles), but it’s the property’s Premiers Crus that have built its reputation – with four hectares each in Côte de Léchet and Vaillons. From these, they produce three wines: their Côte de Léchet, Les Lys and Vaillon. Importantly, the latter is Vaillon, not plural Les Vaillons – their parcel lying in the historic heart of this Premier Cru, prior to its expansion in 1976. Les Lys is a cooler climat within the larger Vaillons, and is often our favourite of the range, while the Côte de Léchet is drastically steep – with a 45% gradient.  The remaining hectares are largely dedicated to the estate’s village Chablis – their Vieilles Vignes. These vines are all over 45 years old, but some are very old – own-rooted, having survived phylloxera and now 145 years in age. When I ask Paul how this half-hectare has managed to survive ungrafted, he pauses, before saying: “I think God prays for these vines.”. They crop a mere 15hl/ha, but produce beautiful fruit (“For my bank, it’s bad; for my wine, it’s perfect!” Paul jokes) – and are now used for massal selection across the estate.  The final piece of the property is a tiny section of Vaillons planted to Pinot Noir, which is bottled as Bourgogne Rouge (as the land is only classified for Chardonnay production). Comprising less than a hectare, these vines too are ancient, planted in 1900, and still on their own roots.  Their spacious cellars are stocked with back-vintages, carefully maturing – a bank of wine that eases the vagaries of each specific growing season, protecting them from dramatic drops in yield – something that is a constant threat in Chablis. Take 2024, a year that was challenging across much of northern Europe with its wet conditions and high disease pressure, but in Chablis also brought hail that devastated huge swathes of vineyard – including Vaillons.  Global warming might have made it easier to ripen grapes in this marginal region, but it’s also made for more extreme conditions – highs and lows that keep producers on their toes. It’s also, arguably, made Chablis a little less Chablis. With riper fruit, the wines are less steely, taut and lean. Harvest dates are inevitably earlier, Paul notes, to preserve acidity and retain Chablisien backbone, but he also emphasises that the fruit requires not just sugar ripeness, but phenolic ripeness – to give dry extract and allow the wines to age. For him, working with old vines and low yields is key – both to phenolic ripeness and to preserving Chablis’s style.  The 2014 vintage – the first that Paul made – has finally just emerged from the cellar, over a decade after it was produced. It’s been a long wait, but delayed gratification is part of life at Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix.   Explore all current listings of Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix – including the 2014 Vaillon – or read more about Burgundy. 

In many ways, time stands still at Chablis’s Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix. As the latest vintage is released, we caught up with Paul-Etienne Defaix – the 16th generation to take the helm at one of the region’s oldest addresses 

Exploring this traditional Chablis estate and its top Premier and Grand Cru wines with 16th generation winemaker Paul-Etienne Defaix

Worth the wait, Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix’s Chablis wine

Worth the wait: the wines of Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix   

Overall, the 2024 crop was Bordeaux’s smallest since 1991 – with the region producing 332 million litres of wine. This is in part due to declining vineyard area, with the yield averaging 35hl/ha – slightly higher than that of the 2021, 2017 or 2013 vintages. Diving further into this, however, reveals a significant difference between the Left and Right Banks – with 34.4hl/ha in Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac, versus 30.8hl/ha on average in the Médoc and Graves. It's a year where it is hard to generalise, even within each commune, for neighbouring estates produced drastically different results in the vintage. As David Suire of Ch. Laroque explained, there were such varying approaches to the year’s challenges, something that is echoed in the wines produced. RIGHT BANK This year, once again, the Right Bank offered more consistency than the Left. Although it was still heterogenous, the smaller size of estates lent itself to success – making it easier to treat and harvest in the narrow windows of dry weather. Wherever you were, however, it was a challenging year: as Christian Moueix said, “You cannot replace the sun.” Beyond the more overcast weather, hail hit Fronsac, Canon-Fronsac and Lalande-de-Pomerol in June, with some estates losing their entire crop, although Pomerol and Saint-Emilion largely escaped.  Pomerol For Noëmie Durantou (Ch. l’Eglise-Clinet), 2024 was a tough opponent – but one she knew they could win against, and looking back at it, what a game it was: as her wines certainly indicate. For her, there were several key elements to the growing season: the cloud cover that reduced diurnal variation (she recalls warm, sleepless nights), the late véraison, foggy mornings that increased botrytis pressure in the run-up to harvest, and the year’s humidity level – 80% in Pomerol, versus a more normal 50-60%. The hail that struck Lalande-de-Pomerol in June strayed a little into Pomerol, but most estates escaped any serious impact – with just a touch felt at Lafleur at Feytit-Clinet, for example. Treating the vines posed an additional challenge for the team at Clinet, who have to take into account the timetable of the neighbouring school, working around the presence of children and/or parents, on top of inclement conditions. Harvest began in Pomerol slightly earlier than in neighbouring Saint-Emilion, kicking off from as early as 16th September, but most starting to bring their Merlot in from 20th of the month, and the Cabernet finished by 4th October (although some producers had everything in the winery by the end of September). Yields varied significantly – from the second-smallest harvest since 1991 at Belle-Brise to the second-largest crop in the last 25 years at Lafleur.  Jeremy Chasseuil (Feytit-Clinet) emphasised how, for him, leaving the wine on lees for two months was key – helping to build texture, releasing polysaccharides that lend weight to the wine’s mid-palate. While 2024 did not produce the most opulent styles of Pomerol, the best retain a plush texture and exoticism to the aromatics that complements the naturally high acidity of the year. Although quality isn’t entirely consistent here, there are many highlights. Our favourites in Pomerol: Belle-Brise, Eglise-Clinet, Guillot Clauzel, La Conseillante, Lafleur, Le Pin, Vieux Château Certan Saint-Emilion There was a notable difference between Pomerol and Saint-Emilion – with Saint-Emilion seeing significantly more rain in April to June, with 278mm versus 199mm in Pomerol. Despite that, the region’s limestone plateau came into its own – allowing the water to drain away from the vines, despite hitting record levels (at Ausone, the level in their well was the highest-ever). August, however, was significantly drier on the Right Bank – with around half the normal rainfall.  Harvest started a little later here. Although some started as early as 17th September (Cheval Blanc, Canon, for example), most waited until 27th, and with several estates holding off until early October. Despite the year’s challenges (“It was a war,” said Cheval Blanc’s Pierre-Olivier Clouet), the yield across the appellation worked out as fairly average – although varied between estates. At Angélus, it was Hubert de Boüard de Laforest’s 40th vintage, and the bottle bears a cut-through of a tree-trunk with 40 rings as a tribute. At Ch. Beauséjour, it was the first vintage to be made in Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse’s new winery, something for which she was particularly appreciative, allowing her to divide the vineyard into smaller parcels and work with greater precision. Saint-Emilion is so large that there is inevitably a broad range of wines this year. Although there are some that can be overly tart, austere or astringent, there are some very impressive, textured, layered wines that retain tension yet also offer plentiful fruit and weight. Cheval Blanc, for example, is a very serious wine that will need time – a real contrast to many of the 2024s that are set to be approachable early. It’s worth highlighting Ch. Laroque, an estate that we have been watching for a while, and where David Suire continues to make wines that offer extraordinary value. Our favourites in Saint-Emilion: Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Clos de Sarpe, Figeac, L’If, Laroque, Tertre Roteboeuf LEFT BANK Yields on the Left Bank were – other than for the whites – generally lower than on the Right. It varies significantly between estates, however, with yields varying from the smallest-ever to normal. While there are years when lesser sites in the Médoc and Haut-Médoc excel, 2024 largely wasn’t – this was a vintage where the quality of terroir, as well as the means to make stringent selection were key. We found quality here was even more heterogenous than across the Gironde, however there are still some brilliant wines to be found.  Saint-Estèphe Quality in Saint-Estèphe is mixed in 2024. The commune’s cooler, northern position was not necessarily an advantage this year, nor were the more clay-rich soils – which have been such an advantage in recent warm and dry vintages. Estates with vines on free-draining gravels fared best, however there are many variables to the quality equation this year. While not every estate thrived, there are some serious highs here, with Montrose vying for wine of the vintage – offering a level of density and complexity that really stood out in our tastings. It’s the second rendition of their Grand Vin to come exclusively from Terrace Four (T4), a decision that is clearly being rewarded, and we also got our first taste of the not-yet-released wine made from T3, called “Terrasse 3” – a wine that will be worth looking out for. The team at Montrose emphasised how the appellation saw less rain between 1st August and 8th September compared to those further south, receiving just 50mm in this critical period (versus 80mm for Margaux and 120mm for Pessac-Léognan), something they felt was key to their success. Calon-Ségur was one of several estates that chose to abandon organics this year, using conventional sprays between budburst and flowering, before reverting to their normal regimen, allowing them to achieve the same yield as 2023 at 45hl/ha (versus 29hl/ha at Cos d’Estournel, who continued on their path to organic certification). Technical Director Vincent Millet – who is at the helm of Calon’s entire portfolio of estates, including Ch. le Prieuré in Saint-Emilion and Vray Croix de Gay in Pomerol – noted how the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon was particularly tricky this year, making the Left Bank more challenging than the Right in the vintage. Our favourites in Saint-Estèphe: Montrose Pauillac Pauillac had the lowest yield of any of the Left Bank communes this year, with the average across the appellation 29.5hl/ha (versus a 20-year average of 45.7hl/ha). Between estates, figures varied wildly – from the miniscule 11hl/ha made at Ch. Latour (a level more typical in Sauternes) to 33hl/ha at Ch. Lafite Rothschild, for example, looking at two estates working organically. June was drier here than elsewhere, meaning the vines started to suffer from hydric stress earlier – with some properties even saying they saw the vines’ development stall in August, with the first rains at the end of the month a welcome reprieve. Harvest here stretched through the first 10 days of October, with botrytis significantly impacting yields. Pichon Baron estimated they lost around 10hl/ha to rot – just one of the sacrifices that made 2024 such a costly vintage to produce. The resulting wines tend to have higher portions of Cabernet Sauvignon, and vary in both style and quality. Generally, these are lighter-styled Pauillacs, not having the firmness or power that this appellation can often offer. Although some don’t have sufficient concentration or structure, the best have trademark Pauillac graphite, complemented by more delicate florals, crunchy fruit, a saline quality and fine tannins. The vintage also marks 100 years of Batailley under the Borie-Castéja family, earning a commemorative label for this benchmark Claret, as well as a special Marie-Jeanne format. Our favourites in Pauillac: Batailley, Lafite Rothschild, Pichon Comtesse, Pontet-Canet Saint-Julien At Chx Léoville and Langoa Barton, Damien Barton Sartorius compared 2024 to running a marathon – tiring, but satisfying, and leaving you ready to sign up for another. The average yield for the appellation was a little bit higher than that of Pauillac, with 32.5hl/ha – still almost 25% down on the 30-year average. As with further north, however, the average is only an average: Beychevelle cropped at 43hl/ha, while selection took the yield down to 23.6hl/ha at Ducru-Beaucaillou (with the team throwing away almost 10hl/ha), and figures varied significantly between estates. At Beychevelle, Philippe Blanc explained how after just 4mm rain between 1st and 28th August, the rain recommenced and never stopped. Their Merlot was more impacted by mildew and therefore the blend is higher in Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) – something echoed elsewhere. The poor flowering and resulting coulure meant looser bunches, explained Barton Sartorius, something which he felt really helped them avoid significant botrytis pressure at the end of the season.  The smaller size of Saint-Julien means it is a little more consistent than Pauillac, however, it’s not entirely uniform. The fruit tends to be a little sweeter, while still on the red rather than black spectrum, the wines offering bright acidity and the best fine tannins and good balance, with the oak seamlessly integrated.  Our favourites in Saint-Julien: Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Barton Margaux Although no appellation is consistent in 2024, Margaux produced some particularly impressive wines. Rainfall may have been higher here than further north, but the slightly warmer microclimate and shallow soils perhaps allowed the grapes to ripen earlier and more fully. There are still some light and tart wines, however the likes of Palmer, Margaux and Rauzan-Ségla produced wines that are among the best of the vintage. Ch. Margaux pointed to their early flowering as a significant advantage in the vintage – “a blessing”, in Aurélien Valance’s words. The 2024 vintage was meant to be the final year of organic conversion at Ch. Rauzan-Ségla, and as the mildew pressure hit, the team had a serious conversation about whether or not to persevere. With the owners’ endorsement, they decided that long-term it was the right decision to continue – knowing it would mean a sacrifice in yield (with a final crop of 30hl/ha), but it would also be their first organically certified wine. The Palmer team – long biodynamic – had to spray as many as 10 times by hand, unable to get their tractors into the vines. However you explain it, the results here speak for themselves – with wines that combine pretty, heady florals with sweet and supple fruit, as well as fine but persistent, powdered tannins: some serious wines that would deserve consideration in any vintage. This was also the one appellation where second wines – such as Alter Ego de Palmer and Pavillon Rouge – showed real quality. Our favourites in Margaux: Brane-Cantenac, Giscours, Palmer, Margaux, Rauzan-Ségla Graves + Pessac-Léognan Yields for the reds in Pessac-Léognan were – unusually for the year – average. The whites are discussed separately below, but the reds from Graves and Pessac-Léognan were as varied as elsewhere. There are, however, some charming wines, and some very impressive wines that defy the year’s reputation. This southerly region saw more rain in August, not benefitting perhaps from the hydric stress that was so key elsewhere – but the rain that month wasn’t excessive, just in line with the norm. At Smith Haut Lafitte, September saw more than three times the average rainfall (164mm versus 48mm), making the harvest far from easy. Although Carmes Haut-Brion picked 40hl/ha, they only vinified 24hl/ha – another example of the extreme selection that quality-focused estates put in place this year. Guillaume Pouthier – who always offers a unique perspective on a vintage – is doing something different with his ageing this year, reducing the temperature of the cellar from 16°C to 12°C over the two-year élevage, to preserve the fruit profile in the wine and encourage tartaric precipitation, thereby reducing the acidity level. Time will tell how this works, so it will be fascinating to retaste the wine in bottle. Domaine de Chevalier produced some particularly impressive wines this year, and although they have long worked organically and biodynamically, this year they made the difficult decision to use conventional treatments – something that has been rewarded, with both generous yields (48hl/ha) and very high quality. Our favourites in Graves + Pessac-Léognan: Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, La Mission Haut-Brion Dry whites Some people are raving about the dry whites in 2024 – and, while there are absolutely some brilliant whites, quality is far from uniform. The first Sauvignon Blanc grapes were harvested in Sauternes on 20th August, although most producers we spoke to picked from the very end of August/early September, with the last Semillon brought in on 23rd September. Yields were average to generous, with mildew much less of a problem – 30 hl/ha at Margaux, 32hl/ha at Smith Haut Lafitte, 38hl/ha for Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, 48hl/ha at Domaine de Chevalier, for example, while on the Right Bank the Lafleur stable brought in around 40hl/ha and the Nicolas Thienpont team cropped 43hl/ha and 47hl/ha respectively at Alcée and Charmes-Godard. The cooler conditions preserved a backbone of acidity in the wines, with accordingly low pHs – analytically speaking, the wines have the highest acidity since 2014. The aromatics are precise, dominated by green rather than stone-fruit, and certainly not at the more tropical end of the spectrum. If anything, some of the wines can feel a little green or lean. As Smith Haut Lafitte’s Technical Director Fabien Teitgen explained, the challenge was to get ripeness that would cloak the acid of the vintage, the flesh to complement its skeleton. Owner Florence Cathiard feels the result is “one of [their] best whites”. Similarly at Ch. Margaux, they did a little more bâtonnage to give weight to Pavillon Blanc – and it’s one of the stars of the year. In some, you can feel the growing season’s excess of water – the generous yields resulting in wines that don’t have sufficient concentration. Sauvignon Blanc seemed to fare better than Semillon, which was more susceptible to rot and was more challenging to get phenolically ripe – and many of our favourites were pure Sauvignon, or heavily driven by the variety. Comparisons were varied – although 2021 was common for its acid backbone and cooler conditions. At Lafleur, Omri Ram is convinced that 2024 Les Champs Libres is one of their best, sitting comfortably alongside the 2023 and 2021. At Ch. Margaux, Aurélien Valance looked to a surprising vintage – the warm 2018 season, but in which the wine has a similar saline imprint to that found in 2024. Our favourites: Charmes-Godard, De Fieuzal Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Haut-Brion Blanc, Les Champs Libres and Grand Village Blanc, Pavillon Blanc du Ch. Margaux Sauternes + Barsac It’s easy to assume that because rain and rot threatened the crop in 2024, it was perfect for the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac: but very specific conditions are required for noble rot to set in, and if they aren’t met, you get grey rot – with both caused by the same fungus, botrytis cinerea. The first pass in Sauternes tended to take place at the end of September, with alternating wet and dry conditions encouraging the development of noble rot from the start of October. But teams had to battle grey and sour rot too – and a high degree of selection was key. At La Tour Blanche, they made just 3hl/ha for their Grand Vin, a tiny yield that matches that of 2021. The grapes that made it into the tank offered high acidity levels, precise aromatics, but not the luscious concentration of the very best vintages. Based on our tastings, the resulting wines are good to very good, if not quite exceptional, but may have particular appeal to consumers who prefer a lighter style of sweet wine – with brighter acidity and slightly lower residual sugar levels. They are vibrant and pure, with plenty of concentration, if not as hedonistic as more lauded years – and will be approachable at an earlier stage in life. Our favourites: Doisy Védrines, Guiraud, La Tour Blanche, Suduiraut Explore Bordeaux 2024 – including our full vintage overview

Following on from our full vintage overview, and as the Bordeaux 2024 en primeur releases continue, we explore how each subregion performed in the year, as well as identifying our favourite wines in each

Bordeaux 2024: a breakdown of the vintage by region, with top picks from Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol

Bordeaux 2024 – breaking the year down by commune

Bordeaux 2024: the vintage by commune

Some of Nicolas Champagneux’s earliest memories are of life in the vines – of the hubbub of harvest with his grandparents. It’s not the hard work that he recalls, it’s “des bons moments de famille” he tells me – the convivial spirit that infused the air. He grew up in the heart of Côte-Rôtie, spending weekends and holidays in his family’s vineyard – a swathe of Les Grandes Places, a prized site in the commune of Verenay, where his great-grandfather planted vines at the start of the 20th century.  Les Grandes Places is an extraordinary site – with the most famous producer arguably Jean-Michel Gérin. In the north of the Côte Brune, in a southwest-facing amphitheatre, this steep site has crumbly mica schist soils, which allow the vines’ roots to drive deep into the bedrock. It’s home to some very old vines – such as the centenarian plantings that Champagneux farms – and produces wines that are beautifully elegant yet with dark, fleshy power. Champagneux has almost two hectares here, having the largest holdings. Nicolas’s uncle André took over running the vineyard after his grandparents, while his father Gérard went to work in a factory. There wasn’t enough money for both brothers to join the family business back then, with Côte-Rôtie not nearly as sought-after as it is today. Other than a couple of barrels for personal consumption, the family didn’t make wine, farming the site and selling almost all the fruit to Guigal, one of the Northern Rhône’s most famous names.  Indeed, beyond the family vineyard, Nicolas spent a lot of time at Guigal – after his father Gérard left life on the factory floor to head up their viticulture team. From 16, Nicolas would work there in his holidays to earn some money. When Champagneux turned 18, he needed to find a job: he was determined not to work in an office and loved being outside, so he ended up becoming a high-wire electrician – working with huge currents of 20,000 volts. “You were never in the same place, each day was different, each task was different – so there was no monotony,” he says. He often finished his day early, and – a farmer born and bred, unaccustomed to the concept of relaxing – would go help in the family vineyard.  When his uncle passed away, there was no one else to take over the domaine – so he stepped up to the plate, keen to ensure his family’s heritage was preserved. He decided to start keeping the fruit and making wine under the family name, wanting to see the year’s efforts captured. He knew how to work the vines but had never dreamt of being a winemaker – but, never one to be put off by a challenge, he learnt on the job. That was 2014, and the wines have rapidly earned him a reputation in the region. The family cellar had the essentials, but the first few vintages were made with the bare minimum – with a new cellar built in 2016 (Yves Cuilleron advised on the project).  Almost a decade after he left the world of pylons, transformers and conductors behind, life might follow an annual cycle, but it’s as un-monotonous as it was before. Nicolas works as a one-man band and values the independence that brings – managing his own time and being his own boss. “There is still a lot to do and each year is different,” he tells me. He hopes his son will join him at some point – he was born in 2009, and his uncle put away a stash of wine from the vintage, some of which is set to be released for its 20th anniversary in 2029.   Climate change is at the forefront of his mind, with harvests now early September and even August versus October under his uncle. Where they used to struggle to get 13% potential alcohol, his wines often sit at 14-14.5%. He’s now working with grass cover, deleafing less and using a little whole bunch in warmer years to preserve freshness in the wines. Otherwise, little has changed in the decade since he started – he continues to work as simply as possible, looking to translate the vines he grew up amongst into wine. And that’s just what he does: the wines are elegant expressions of Les Grandes Places, perfumed and suave, with a fine grip of tannins and an underlying savoury salinity, ageing beautifully – as a mini-vertical of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 vintages showed recently.   The Nicolas Champagneux wines  From his four hectares of vines, Nicolas Champagneux makes three wines: an IGP Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes La Rémise and two Côte-Rôties, Les Grandes Places and La Dédicace, all made with 100% Syrah.   La Dédicace comes from the younger vines in Les Grandes Places, with a “mere” 40-60 years behind them on average. Around 6,000-7,000 bottles are produced of this “baby” Grandes Places.   Les Grandes Places comes from his oldest vines, averaging a little over 100 years in age, with some planted in 1910. Just 1,500 bottles or so are made of this wine each vintage.  Both the Côte-Rôtie wines are made in exactly the same way, mostly de-stemmed with  little whole-bunch added in warmer vintages and fermented with indigenous yeast, reaching a maximum 28-30°C, and spending around three weeks on skins. The wine then spends 20-24 months in old oak before bottling.  Nicolas Champagneux Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: a vertical tasting  2022 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: This is packed with spicy intensity – clove and cardamom along with a hit of Szechuan pepper. The palate offers a juicy lushness, layered with deep, concentrated dark cherry fruit and a twist of black tapenade, with mouth-coating tannins and all refreshed by a line of vibrant acidity. A baby now, best approached from 2030.  2021 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: A really impressive 2021, poised and powerful, Champagneux’s Les Grandes Places needs air but gradually reveals pepper spice and more delicate, lifted, violet florals. There is, however, power and weight to the palate – more than you might expect from the pretty nose, with a savoury firmness, supple but structured tannins and juicy acidity. It’s dark and brooding, gothic with its haunting florals, with a long, mouth-watering, saline finish. Approach from 2027.  2017 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: The 2017 Les Grandes Places combines delicate florals with a bloody, iron note on the nose, leading on to a palate layered with bramble fruit. The tannins are round, supple and soft-textured, with tangy acidity that cuts through the concentrated fruit, while the long finish is scented with white pepper and parma violets.  2016 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: This 2016 is in a gorgeous place. Heady incense combines with sweet cherry fruit and a touch of smoke on the nose, leading onto a palate that you sink into – the wine soft and supple, with waves of sweet fruit, yet all cut by an intensely saline, savoury edge. Fresh and flawlessly balanced, decant and enjoy now and over a good decade to come.   2015 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: The sternest of the trio of 2015, 2016 and 2017, this is a powerful and impressive vintage of Les Grandes Places – with all the best characteristics of the year. The wine is dark and broody, compact and amazingly primary still, with black cherry fruit and blackberry filling the nose. On the palate, however, it has amazing purity and intensity, with a crystalline quality to the fruit, plenty of acidity to complement its concentration and the firm tannins. Smoky, saline notes linger in the mouth, with a dusting of petal florals on the finish. Decant if opening now, but this will be even better if you can resist for another few years.  Explore all current listings from Nicolas Champagneux including a range of back-vintages or read more about the Rhône 

It’s almost a decade since Nicolas Champagneux took over his family’s vines and started making wine under his own name – the first generation to do so. We sat down with the vigneron to find out more about his heritage and the journey so far 

How the talented young vigneron in Cote-Rotie has taken his family’s legacy and created a new domaine that is one of the Rhone’s most exciting 

Nicolas Champagneux – building on his birthright 

Nicolas Champagneux: building on his birthright 

It’s not every day that you get to taste wines made over half a century ago – but earlier this month I got to trace CVNE’s flagship Imperial Gran Reserva all the way back to the 1947 vintage. Victor Urrutia, the fifth generation of his family to take the helm of this legendary Rioja producer, put together a tasting of what he called “the dirty dozen” – lining up 12 vintages of Imperial. The wines were chosen to show how the wine speaks across a range of vintages – not just the most famous, but the hot, the cold, the mighty and the mediocre.  CVNE has been making wine in Rioja Alta since 1879, so – even going back to 1947 – this tasting offered just a snapshot of its history. Imperial was created in the early 20th century (1917 is the earliest vintage Urrutia himself has tasted), conceived as “super Rioja”, Urrutia explained. The idea was to make the best wine possible, regardless of its commercial potential, at a time when Rioja didn’t have the prestige of today. Around 50,000 bottles are produced, but – importantly – Imperial isn’t made in every vintage, with the quality of the fruit in some years not meeting CVNE’s stringent standards (there was no 2003, 2006 or 2013, for example, and there won’t be a 2023 either).  For Urrutia, the goal with Imperial now is to reflect each vintage, and fine-tune the wine rather than look for revolution. The early vintages are their benchmark and inspiration. Across the vintages, however, Urrutia points to a “churchy” nose – something he finds is distinctly Imperial and reminiscent of the winery.  It’s easy, perhaps, to forget how well Rioja ages – and not just over a decade or two, but over half a century. The oldest vintage in this tasting, the 1947, was undoubtedly the star – a wine that has retained its freshness, with delicate aromatics and a beautifully long, pure, resolved palate. The entire flight impressed – with the quality of Imperial shining through. Some of Rioja’s legendary vintages featured (the 1970 and 1959, which sit alongside the likes of 1982 and 1964 in the history books), but my personal favourites were the aforementioned 1947, the still compact 2004 (named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2013), the brooding 2011 and pretty, elegant 2018.   The Imperial vineyards  The fruit for Imperial Gran Reserva comes from CVNE’s best vineyards, all over 40 years in age and almost all bush vines, yielding around 4,000kg/ha (equivalent to circa 25hl/ha or less than 1.5 tons/acre). The parcels all sit close to the Cantabrian mountains, at around 500-600 metres’ altitude, and on poor but cool soils (clay and limestone) – lending the wines great freshness, even in hot and dry years, explains longtime Technical Director María Larrea.  The village of Villalba de Rioja has been the backbone of the wine since its conception. This village was where the Real de Asúa brothers (who founded CVNE) first bought vineyards, four kilometres from Haro. The vineyards are steep and south-facing, exposed to the winds and some of the vines therefore have to be trellised (cordón Royat), but it brings acidity and freshness to the wine – something that is essential for its ageing potential. Parcels in the villages of Briones and Torremontalbo were added later, in the 1960s. Briones has richer soils, gentle slopes and a warmer climate, giving structure and body to the wine, while Torremontalbo has steep, stony slopes with calcareous soils and a significant diurnal shift, adding minerality and finesse to the blend.  The Imperial blend  The blend has shifted over the years, with the wine originally around 40% Garnacha and 40% Tempranillo, with the remaining 20% Graciano and Mazuelo. The old vineyards were field blends, with the varieties interplanted and harvested together, meaning mixed ripeness levels – something that arguably brought balance and complexity to the wines, even if some of the fruit wouldn’t have been ripe. Nowadays, each variety is planted separately at CVNE – allowing them more control and precision, harvesting each grape at the perfect moment and crafting a blend in the winery.  There was a move away from Garnacha in the 1970s, with more and more Tempranillo planted instead. Garnacha was less appreciated, seen as a workhorse, an impression that was only reenforced when lesser, high-yielding clones were planted in the 1980s and 1990s. As Larrea also noted, Garnacha is much more prone to coulure and millerandage (poor flowering and fruit-set), which may have been another factor in its decline. There was also a time, Urrutia explained, when Bordeaux was the reference point for fine wine, and they looked to imitate the region, favouring Tempranillo for its darker colour versus the more thin-skinned and therefore pale Grenache. Today, the blend is dominated by Tempranillo (with the 2017 and 2018 Imperial both 85% Tempranillo), but Grenache is undergoing a revival across Rioja and – provided they can have the right clonal material and/or older vineyards – it may contribute more to the blend in time.  The proportion of Graciano and Mazuelo has been reduced slightly, but Larrea emphasises how important the two grapes are in the face of climate change. Mazuelo (aka Carignan/Cariñena) provides structure and colour, while Graciano contributes acidity and aromatic complexity.  The winemaking  Although she joined CVNE in 1991, María Larrea took over the winemaking for Imperial with the 2005 vintage, following on from Basilio Izquierdo, who had been running things for over 30 years (since 1973). Before Izquierdo came Ezequiel García, known as “El Brujo” (“The Wizard”), winemaker for CVNE for over three decades (he returned briefly in 2014 to recreate their legendary white, Monopole).  Across the three winemakers and almost 70 years, surprisingly little has changed. The winemaking here remains extremely traditional, although technology has allowed the team to monitor the wines more closely, and for better winery hygiene, as in most regions. Fermentation remains indigenous, although it’s no longer spontaneous – the wines have been inoculated with a selected strain of their indigenous yeast since the early 2010s (with some experiments in the 1990s). Traditionally fermentation was in concrete tank, however this moved to oak in the 1990s, with one lone vintage (1994) fermented in stainless steel when the vats hadn’t arrived in time.  The wines used to be stored in barrel and only bottled when they were sold, so some older vintages of Imperial spent over a decade in barrel, while today the wine normally stays in barrel for between two and three years. (The bottling dates for each of the vintages is included below – the 1947 wasn’t bottled until 1960!) Originally the oak was all American, simply because that is what they had access to via their historic trade routes, and the barrels were kept for decades (Larrea remembers using 40-year-old barrels when she arrived in the 1990s). CVNE gradually started introducing French oak in the 1980s, with around 30% French oak used in the 1990s and around 60-70% today, with the remainder American.   The wines: tasting eight decades of CVNE Imperial  A note on the bottles themselves: older vintages are in green glass, however they moved to brown glass around 10-15 years ago.  2018 Imperial Gran Reserva: This was a real highlight of the vertical. It is very youthful still, fruit-forward, yet with amazing finesse and delicacy. The nose is precise with dainty aromatics of spice, graphite and florals alongside the crystalline fruit. The palate is juicy and lithe, pure, silken and fresh with savoury tobacco and dried red berries filling the mouth-watering finish. Beautiful and very open, even now. Fermented in oak, 14% alcohol and bottled July 2021.  2017 Imperial Gran Reserva: Frosts swept across much of Europe in late April in 2017, although the rest of the season was relatively warm, producing a tiny crop of concentrated fruit. It’s a drastically different wine to the 2018, yet still with great freshness and a floral lift alongside ripe, sweet red fruit. The palate is tight, much less approachable than the 2018, with compact tannins, a bite of crunchy acidity and a grip of firm tannins, while smoky tones that fill the finish. Decant to enjoy now, but this will be even better with a couple more years in bottle. Fermented in oak, 14% alcohol and bottled July 2020.  2015 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 2015 Imperial is dark and intense, layered with rich bramble fruit, cedar, tobacco, spice and something meaty – a hint of biltong, perhaps. The palate echoes the concentration of the nose, with chewy tannins and a line of acidity that cuts through its intensity. Powerful, almost stern, with more dried fruit coming out with air, the finish is long and savoury, with a touch of red miso. Fermented in oak, 14.5% alcohol and bottled June 2018.  2011 Imperial Gran Reserva: Another standout in the vertical, the 2011 Imperial offers a dark and pure nose, still surprisingly primary with black cherry and cassis fruit, lifted by sweet spicy perfume. The palate is silken and pure, still so youthful, flowing across the tongue, framed by firm but integrated tannins. It’s concentrated and long, with floral aromatics dancing on the juicy finish. Hard to resist with great balance. Fermented in oak, 13.5% alcohol and bottled July 2014.  2009 Imperial Gran Reserva: This is a very serious Imperial now at a lovely stage of maturity – with savoury undergrowth and spicy notes sitting alongside the vibrant dark berry fruit. The palate is intense yet with a softness to it, despite the chewy framework of tannins. It’s juicy and expressive, with smoky, spicy, tobacco notes playing on the finish, and just the slightest hint of leather starting to appear. Fermented in oak, 13.8% alcohol and bottled January 2013.  2004 Imperial Gran Reserva: From “a textbook vintage” in CVNE CEO Victor Urrutia’s words, the 2004 is shining. Pencil shavings and bacon complement ripe, dark fruit. The palate is tight and compact, yet with a juiciness that elongates the whole thing, with acidity that drives through to the long finish. The tannins are supple and soft, integrated with the fruit, but still offer a grip on the finish. Bright and effortlessly balanced. Fermented in oak, 13.8% alcohol and bottled October 2008.  1994 Imperial Gran Reserva: This is an intriguing vintage of Imperial, the only one ever to have been fermented in stainless steel as they were switching from cement to wood, but the new vats didn’t arrive in time for the vintage. It was also served at the wedding of Spain’s Crown Prince, who later became King Felipe VI. After the 2004, this marks a shift towards wines dominated by tertiary notes, although there’s still plenty of fruit here. The nose is spicy with mushroom and undergrowth alongside incense and leathery tones. The palate is laden with umami – with fresh leather and dried berry fruit – as well as dried strawberries, supple tannins and refreshing acidity. Fermented in stainless steel, 13.16% alcohol and bottled June 1998.  1980 Imperial Gran Reserva: As CEO Victor Urrutia said, 1980 was “a shit vintage” – and has always been in the shadow of 1981 and 1982. Tasting the wine today, that’s probably fair – however it’s still an impressive wine. The nose has a distinctly herbal, menthol edge to the sweet fruit – macerated strawberries, with a balsamic hint. The tannins still offer bite, while the fruit shifts to darker, more bramble tones towards the finish. Fermented in concrete, 13.4% alcohol and bottled May 1985.  1970 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 1970 vintage was hot and produced powerful wines – earning it a reputation as one of Rioja’s finest vintages. After over 50 years, the wine is intensely savoury – combining soy, marmite and barnyard tones with intense, dark fruit. With air, the wine offers layers of spice (almost reminiscent of paprika), bacon frazzles and smoked almonds, complementing the concentrated core of fruit. It’s intense yet balanced, with bright acidity that keeps everything fresh and fills the long finish. Fermented in concrete, 12.97% alcohol and bottled March 1975.  1968 Imperial Gran Reserva: From a more difficult vintage, the 1968 Imperial has a charming nose that seamlessly combines savoury and sweet – with earthy richness that sits alongside incense-inflected berry fruit and a pleasing herbal note. The palate is elegant and vibrant, with plenty of fruit still driving through its core, while more savoury, smoky notes dominate the finish. Fermented in concrete, 12.7% alcohol and bottled April 1974.  1959 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 1959 vintage is another of Rioja’s most lauded, although I suspect this bottle was not showing its best. There’s a plushness and intensity to the palate, with a sharp drive of acidity, while the nose is dominated by leather, black liquorice and barnyard. Fermented in concrete, 13% alcohol and bottled February 1968.  1947 Imperial Gran Reserva: An amazing wine to tasted, the 1947 CVNE Imperial has a reputation – one that this bottle more than lived up to. Coffee and tobacco notes with bright fruit – ripe red cherry and raspberry, as well as florals, incense, black tea and sage, alongside smoky perfume. It’s long and fresh on the palate, seamless and fully resolved but pure and persistent, with a Bovril edge to the finish which is vibrant and long. Gorgeous now – drink it while you have the chance. Fermented in concrete, 12.4% alcohol and bottled August 1960.  Explore all CVNE listings, including a range of back-vintages of Imperial Gran Reserva, or read more Editorial 

Earlier this month, CVNE hosted a once-in-a-lifetime tasting of their Imperial Gran Reserva. Sophie Thorpe explores what makes the wine so special and how it has evolved over eight decades 

Exploring CVNE’s flagship Gran Reserva Rioja, Imperial, back to 1947 at a once-in-a-lifetime tasting with CEO Victor Urrutia 

Tasting CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva Rioja 2018-1947 

An icon through the ages: CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva 

Honeysuckle, peach, jasmine. Ripe, perfumed and exotic, viscous and heady – but, at its best, with a mineral, saline line and phenolic grip that keeps its hedonism in check. Condrieu is a wine like no other – and one that couldn’t be much less fashionable if it tried.  And yet, its top bottlings are incredibly hard to find. The likes of Georges Vernay’s Coteau de Vernon or Guigal’s La Doriane fly out on release. Chapoutier’s Coteau de Chery is absorbed effortlessly by France’s finest restaurant wine lists. The iconic Château-Grillet has almost vanished from the world of retail since it was taken over by Artémis. Production might be limited – but it’s also clear that there’s more than enough demand for these very special wines from the Northern Rhône.  The appellation and its unique expression of the Viognier grape has a rocky history. The Romans were the first to cultivate vines in this corner of the Rhône Valley – and they’ve been there ever since. By the 17th century, the wines from the steep slopes around the village of Condrieu were renowned throughout France. In 1853, there were 143 hectares of vines in the region – but then plague and pest arrived: powdery mildew swept through the vines, swiftly followed by phylloxera, decimating vineyards across Europe. With two World Wars, as well as the industrialisation of the valley, the workforce fled the vines for more stable, salaried factory work: looking up at the back-breaking angle of its slopes, entirely unmechanisable, it’s easy to see why the region’s vineyards were almost entirely abandoned. When the Condrieu Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) was created in 1940 (encompassing the villages of Condrieu, Vérin and Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône), just six hectares of vines remained.  Only eight of the potential 170 hectares were planted in the 1960s and Condrieu’s future looked uncertain. But one vigneron was quietly working to change that.  Georges Vernay – whose father Francis Vernay had helped create the appellation after planting his family’s first vines on the Coteau de Vernon in 1937 – believed in the alchemy between Condrieu’s biotite granite slopes and the Viognier grape. At the time, the region was best-known for its stone-fruit – with a kilo of peaches worth significantly more than a kilo of grapes. (The area is still known for its fruit today, Jean-Marc Roulot sources the apricots for his eau de vie and liqueur from the Rhône.) When Georges Vernay uprooted orchards to plant Viognier, people called him a fool.  “No one believed in Condrieu anymore, or in Viognier anymore,” Philippe Guigal – the winemaker and third-generation at the helm of his family’s company – tells me. Philippe’s father Marcel was another pioneer of the region, persisting in making fine wine from the region’s uneconomically steep terraces.  Vernay kept his faith too – championing Condrieu, but also Viognier. Almost all the Viognier in the world was planted in Condrieu at the time, and Vernay supplied cuttings to those outside the region – encouraging others to plant this distinctive grape. At the same time, he championed the region with his age-worthy wines, especially the now-iconic Coteau de Vernon.  By 1986 there were still only 19 hectares of Condrieu planted, but Vernay’s battle started paying off – wine-lovers fell for Condrieu’s rich, textural whites and plantings rocketed. There were 38 hectares of vines by 1992 and 217 by 2024. But it wasn’t just in the Rhône that Viognier finally found its footing – plantings appeared in the Ardèche, the Languedoc, Australia, California (especially with the wave of Rhône Rangers, led by Randall Grahm) and beyond. Viognier’s lustre had been restored.  Although now much more widely planted, it’s only in Condrieu that Viognier reaches such heights. Here, on steep terraced slopes in this hallowed corner of the Rhône, the vines sit almost directly on the granite bedrock – a specific type of granite laced with biotite, an iron-rich black mica. It’s this biotite granite that defined the original Condrieu appellation created in 1940 – encompassing vineyards around the villages of Condrieu, Vérin and Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône. The monopole appellation Château-Grillet (sadly unable to comment for this feature) sits within Condrieu, classified four years prior, and sharing the same biotite granite. The iron in the soils is key, lending much-needed tension to the potentially flabby Viognier.  Finding – and keeping – that tension is key to the best Condrieu. And it isn’t about acidity per se, but a sense of freshness.   For Emma Amsellem – who works alongside her mother Christine Vernay at Domaine Georges Vernay, “It’s a combination of different things.” She attributes much to their farming (which is both organic and biodynamic), as well as working with old vines and low yields (normally around 27-30hl/ha). Maxime Chapoutier – who works alongside his larger-than-life father Michel Chapoutier at the eponymous empire – echoes how important vine age is for Viognier, much more so than Syrah or Marsanne, he says. He finds Viognier starts to produce fruit of significantly more complexity at 20-30 years of age, but the vines can also lose interest if they’re too old.   “The beauty of the balance of Viognier comes from its dry extract – from its bitterness,” he explained. It is, Chapoutier says, the hardest grape to pick – harvest too early and you won’t have the necessary dry extract, but harvest too late and the aromatics are too much. Ansellem also emphasised the importance of picking date: although you want to retain as much natural acidity as possible, you also need Viognier to be sufficiently ripe – and the window is getting smaller and smaller with climate change.  The challenge, as Philippe Guigal puts it, is to keep the richness, the full expression of Viognier, as well as its drinkability and salinity. He introduced a Champenois-style cycle, very long and slow, for their Condrieu – something that helps bring out the grape’s aromatics and structure, a concept echoed by both Ansellem and Chapoutier, working with Viognier’s natural thick skins. Chapoutier also highlighted the importance of oxygenising the must and then racking as little as possible, retaining the lees to help build on the grape’s “noble bitterness”.  Guigal is also particularly careful with fermentation temperatures, feeling it is key to keep ferments under 12°C to avoid any potentially heavy aromas.  It's that dry extract that allows top Condrieu to age so beautifully too. Chapoutier explains how he likes to wait at least five years before opening their Coteau de Chery, but it can age for 25, developing more layers of complexity – with notes of honey, lanolin, gingerbread and dried citrus peel. “A great Condrieu is a wine that doesn’t taste of Viognier,” he says.  Tasting through a flight of the region’s top wines last week was fascinating – from Chapoutier’s remarkably fresh, floral Coteau de Chery to the decadent yet mineral Coteau de Vernon from Georges Vernay. More than anything was perhaps seeing the response from those tasting – the wines far surpassing their stereotypical expectations. Not all the haters left lovers, but they certainly had a newfound respect for the style; and those that were already fans fell even harder for its charms.  There’s next to no room for further plantings in Condrieu, largely thanks to Georges Vernay’s efforts championing the region, and quality in the appellation is higher than ever before. The style of its heady wines will always be divisive – and perhaps that’s a good thing given how limited production of the best wines is. Its cool credentials may not quite have caught up yet, but it’s time to open up to the region’s opulent embrace – you won’t regret it.  Top Condrieu cuvées to look out for  Chapoutier’s Coteau de Chery: From a single parcel of vines between 40 and 80 years in age, this is aged entirely in old oak (larger, 600-litre casks). Production is tiny (often only two barrels) and goes almost exclusively to restaurants in France.  Georges Vernay’s Coteau de Vernon: This is just a stone’s throw (100m or so) from Vernay’s other single-vineyard, Les Chaillés de l’Enfer (literally meaning the terraces of hell, for its steep south-facing slopes). From the region’s most famous pioneer, the vines were planted in the 1930s and 1960s, in a natural amphitheatre, producing a profound expression of Viognier that ages beautifully.  Guigal’s La Doriane: Guigal’s top Condrieu is a blend of their top five parcels across the appellation, averaging 35 years in age, matured in 100% new oak – which is seamlessly integrated with the concentrated and powerful fruit.  Château-Grillet: The tiny monopole appellation covers 3.5 hectares of vines. Owned by the Artémis group (owners of Ch. Latour) since 2011, its wines are some of the most sought-after in the world, largely disappearing into wine lists.  Yves Gangloff’s Condrieu: Renowned for its voluptuous style, in all the best ways, this bottling from this famous winemaker is rightfully prized.  André Perret’s Chéry: Known also for their Clos Chanson cuvée, Chéry also comes from the Coteau de Chery, from a three-hectare plot of 70-year-old vines.  Ogier’s Les Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay: Only 125 cases are made of this wine per year, making it incredibly hard to find.  Marie & Pierre Benetière’s Condrieu: Possibly even harder to find than their astounding Côte-Rôties, Pierre was inspired by and studied under Vernay before making his own wines.   Explore all current listings of Condrieu or read more Editorial 

The epitome of Viognier, Condrieu makes some of the world’s most remarkable wines – yet this appellation in the Northern Rhône came close to disappearing. Sophie Thorpe dives into its brush with fate and how producers manage Viognier’s natural hedonism to create wines that stand the test of time 

Condrieu’s wines are better than ever. We talk to Georges Vernay, Guigal and Chapoutier about the appellation’s comeback 

Condrieu’s comeback with Vernay, Guigal and Chapoutier 

Condrieu’s comeback 

En la Rue de Vergay

Morey Saint-Denis Premier Cru

Morey-Saint-Denis

Côte de Nuits

Burgundy

France

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En la Rue de Vergay

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