After so many difficult growing seasons in Burgundy, with production hit by every form of biblical disaster, the 2017 harvest saw almost normal yields. Granted, there was still some patchy frost (Chablis, of course) and hail (Beaujolais) but the 2017 growing season was good, with a very hot summer, giving close to average production. Whilst the growers are not complacent, they are hopeful that they have turned a corner in terms of epic natural catastrophes and are looking forward to a second vintage with decent quantities in 2018, which is shaping up very nicely indeed.

Despite their woes, the vintages since 2010 have produced some seriously stunning wines; after the initial weather assaults the remainder of the growing seasons have passed almost without hitch and we have had an unprecedented run of fine vintages to choose from, for both red and white wines. The 2015 and 2016 whites are showing beautifully now, with the ’16s tighter and more restrained overall than the ’15s, whilst the remaining and rare 2014s are really worth seeking out – on the cusp of moving towards secondary aromas, whilst retaining the zest of youth. For the red wines, it is the 2013s which are having their moment; what started out as a difficult year ended up as a glorious red vintage, with gorgeously accessible red berry fruits, plump and spiced, with supple tannins behind. The 2014 reds are only just beginning to open up and will benefit from some gentle decanting, whilst the 2015s are ludicrously approachable already but with an even finer future ahead of them.

Constantly widening our search area in the hunt for new wines at more everyday prices, we are actively seeking out wines made either by our current growers in more marginal appellations – Hautes Côtes, Côte Chalonnaise – or for young, up-and-coming growers like Baptiste Guyot and Morgan Truchetet who are reinvigorating family Domaines. And making a welcome re-appearance in our list this year are the wines from Domaine Patrick Javillier in Meursault, in particular his two strikingly different Bourgognes Blancs.