whiteburgvalue

2019  

2015  

2014  Pre Berceau

Pre Berceau - "The wines of Domaine Lorenzon make you rethink Mercurey. They convey a sense of terroir that is seldom shown so vividly in this realm of Burgundy. A third-generation winegrower of his family's estate in the old part of Mercurey (before the expansion of the AOC), Bruno Lorenzon took over the reins in 1997. In an often-overlooked region and a village that lacks any Grand Cru vineyards, 90% of his 11 acres are 1er Cru, including seven acres of the top 1er Cru vineyard, Champs Martin. All his vineyards have southern exposures and are riddled with the familiar limestone and clay of the Côte. Quite simply, Domaine Lorenzon transcends its terroir. The focused, intense Bruno produces focused, intense wines, tending to his farm as though he is manicuring a garden. Miniscule yields, organic farming and minimal intervention in the cellar are the norm here. Bruno's experience working for the Tonnellerie de Mercurey allows him to select and age his own wood, then build and toast his own barrels based on the characteristics of each cuvée and each vintage. His philosophy is that the oak, or any other component, should never stand out in the wine. The results are extremely elegant wines, with intensity and personality, light in color, yet rich with dry extract. The reds have silky tannins and bright, fresh fruit flavors mingling with savory character, while the whites have astonishing mineral length. Bruno's exacting attention to detail and excellence earned him a Winemaker of the Year Award in Burgundy from the highly respected Bourgogne Aujourd'hui."

2020  

One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit—a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

2020  Les Copains d'Abord

Les Copains d'Abord ---- The 2020 Saint-Bris Les Copains d'Abord is lovely, exhibiting aromas of gooseberry, pear, orange oil, mint and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, with chalky grip and a penetrating finish, it transcends its cépage." - 90-92pts William Kelley, Wine Advocate ---- One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit - a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door.

2019  Pouilly-Fuisse

The fruit comes from 20 to 30-year-old vines situated in a variety of terroirs and is aged in 40% oak and 60% stainless. -- "Moderate wood frames the citrusy and smoky aromas of white flowers, pear and more discreet citrus nuances. There is better volume to the energetic and equally rich medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a youthfully austere, bone dry and sneaky long finish. This is very good and is also worth considering." - 91-93/Sweet Spot Outstanding, Burghound

2020  Cotes d'Auxerre Blanc

Cotes d'Auxerre Blanc ---- "Lavallée's 2020 Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Blanc is very promising, offering up notes of citrus, Anjou pear, green apple and white flowers. Medium-bodied, elegantly fleshy and concentrated, it's fine-boned but intensely flavored. It's produced from deep but stony soils and, in total, amounts to a mere four barrels." - 88-90pts William Kelley, Wine Advocate ---- One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit - a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door.

2018  

2015  

"A fresh and appealingly layered nose is composed by notes of apple compote and citrus zest. There is both solid volume and richness to the middle weight flavors that offer very fine verve on the lingering finale that is more complex than is typical for the appellation. Worth considering and note that it would make for a fine all-around house white." - 87/Outstanding Top Value BH

2018  Mont de Milieu

Mont de Milieu -- "Touches of the exotic are present in the form of lychee nut, dried apricot and white peach along with hints of petrol and quinine. The succulent and borderline oily medium weight plus flavors possess an abundance of dry extract that imparts a sappy texture to the bitter lemon finish where an interesting hint of marmalade appears. This isn't classic but it is actually quite good." - 90-93pts/Sweet Spot Outstanding -- 2018 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu from Domaine Pinson which is one of the highest rated 1er Cru Chablis in the most recent Burghound report! It received the same exact score as Dauvissat 1er Vaillons 2018 and Raveneau 1er Butteaux 2018 (Raveneau 1er Montee de Tonnerre 2018 received almost the same exact score of 91-93). This wine scored higher than the following wines: Dauvissat 1er Sechets 2018 (90-92), Raveneau 1er Montmains 2018 (90-92).

2020  

"An elegant, admirably pure and airy nose freely offers up its aromas of green apple, lemon rind, oyster shell and iodine. There is again fine energy and detail to the equally saliva-inducing medium weight flavors that flash plenty of salinity on the complex, long and balanced finale. This too is excellent for its level." - Outstanding Top Value, Burghound