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2019  Beaumont

Beaumont ---- "From Gamay vines planted in 1978 in the coolest of the domaine's red wine parcels, the 2019 Mâcon-Cruzille Beaumont exhibits notions of red berries, warm spices, smoke, raw cocoa and orange rind. Medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, it's deep and sapid, with powdery tannins and a long, floral finish. It was vinified without any destemming. As I wrote of its 2018 counterpart, this is a serious, inherently structured wine, so readers shouldn't be misled by the modest appellation into drinking it too soon: four or five years' bottle age will be richly rewarded." - 92+pts WA ---- "It took me time, I confess, to understand the wines of Domaine Guillot-Broux. These are tightly wound, concentrated whites, framed by chalky dry extract from low yields and intelligent pressing, and they take their time to evolve in the cellar. That's a far cry from the stereotype of the northern Mâconnais - honeyed, facile, giving - but when you visit the vineyards, you understand. Rocky, sloping, enclosed sites at the forest's edge - some recently recovered from its encroachments - are planted with old vines of Chardonnay, Gamay and Pinot Noir, and they've never seen chemical farming. Of course, opening old bottles also helps make sense of these wines: complex, mineral and sapid, it's clear that 20 years is the minimum rather than the maximum at this address. But the rewards of patience, as so often, are considerable; and when you get to know them, it's hard to argue that these number among the region's finest exemplars. As I've written before, Emmanuel Guillot's grapes are harvested by hand, with the whites pressed to barrel directly and the reds fermented in small tanks, often with more than a little whole-cluster inclusion. With the 2019 vintage, taking advantage of market dislocation occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guillot opted to extend élevage: so most of his whites, having spent a year in barrel, saw an additional six months in tank. Whether or not it's the inherent quality of the vintage, or the fact that those additional six months really seem to help these structured wines flesh out and unwind, the 2019s are the most impressive young wines I've tasted to date at this address, and everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended." - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

2022  Vallee de Coigny

Les Pinots Blacks is a collaboration between four friends: Chablis restauranteur Fabien Espana (previously of Au Fil du Zinc), and three renowned winemakers: Thomas Pico of Domaine Pattes Loup in Chablis, Damien Delecheneau of Domaine de La Grange Tiphaine in the Loire, and Bruno Verret of Domaine Verret in Irancy. The project was born from a common dream to vinify Pinot Noir together, since neither Thomas Pico nor Damien Delecheneau farm this grape variety on their respective properties. With one hectare of Pinot Noir farmed by Bruno Verret, they give deserved attention to lesser-known village of Irancy. This dynamic foursome is producing compelling wines from pocket-sized vineyards.

2015  

Located just southwest of the commune of Chablis, Irancy boasts an unusual topography: it lies in the hollow of a valley whose slopes (covered primarily with vines and cherry trees) protect it from harsh weather of its northern climes. Its geographical location, on the right bank of the Yonne River, also provides good moisture from morning mists. Fortuitously the region does claim adequate sunshine for full ripening. Irancy is a natural ampitheater and a unique winegrowing environment.

2019  

Varietals: 95% Pinot Noir 5% César ---- Vineyard age 60+ years ----Sometimes referred to as the red wine of Chablis, Irancy is in the Côte Auxerrois, just north of the Cote d’Or. It is a 100% red wine appellation devoted to the production of Pinot Noir. David Renaud’s domaine, which has been in his family for four generations, sits on 11 hectares under vine on soils of Kimmeridgean marl and brown limestone.