‘What a good year 2022 was for white Burgundy,’ said DWWA Co-Chair Andrew Jefford as he revisited the wines of the Decanter World Wine Awards’ (DWWA) newly unveiled top 50 (Best in Show) list for 2024.
Burgundy’s complex wine landscape includes vineyards fragmented by multiple ownership, hundreds of premiers crus, climats within grands crus, soil diversity and vintage variation. With so many variables, Burgundy is perhaps the region to watch when looking at our DWWA results.
Blind-tasted and rated by top specialists, annual results can be mixed given the inherent challenges. However, a glance at the DWWA 2024 results makes it clear we should be racing to Burgundy’s whites, with exceptional 2021 and 2022 vintages topping the charts.
Scroll down to discover 15 must-try white Burgundy wines from DWWA 2024
Burgundy’s three Best in Show winners, each from the 2022 vintage and representing the Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais, emphasise ‘how attractively this ripe yet fresh vintage tastes in early youth’, said Jefford. Two more 97-point white Burgundies showcase northerly Chablis, with its vibrant 2021 vintage, and Viré-Clessé in Mâconnais to the south – a ‘stylish wonder’, the judges agreed.
Recalling judging during Platinum week, Master Sommelier Stefan Neumann said: ‘We had one really standout flight of Burgundy. Fantastic quality, and the so-called more minor appellations like Rully and Pouilly-Fuissé really thoroughly overdelivered.’
Below, discover 15 to buy now from the just-revealed results, with more at awards.decanter.com
Must-try white Burgundy: Top-rated wines uncovered
Burgundy’s Best
Berthelemot, Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022
97 Best in Show
£127 (ib)-£152 Ideal Wine Co, Vine & Bine, Wild & Lees
Compelling nose of subtle oak, hawthorn blossom and cool citrus. Controlled breadth on the palate with subtle, breathfreshening fruits. The lingering finish mingles ripe, fruit-bonded acidity with a quiet pulse of ripeness. Alcohol 13%
Château de Fuissé, Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Le Clos Monopole 2022
97 Best in Show
£60 Hedonism, Jeroboams, Lay & Wheeler, Millésima
Wealth, warmth and comfort sings out of the glass. It’s broad and ample, with a generosity of nuts, grasses, straw and pounded hazelnuts and almonds; the finish is long, vinous but finally neatly tailored without any undue heat. Alc 14%
Jaffelin, Rully 2022
97 Best in Show
£30.95-£34.95 Cellar Door Wines, Hennings
Rully’s grapes typically make graceful, sparely contoured, food-friendly still whites like this one. Fresh-cut hay and quince are lent richness by subtle barrel-fermentation. It’s sculpted and pure, with a gentle lime-zest pungency,
classical Burgundian vinosity and an apple-fresh finish. Alc 13%
Chablis
Louis Moreau, Clos des Hospices, Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2021
97 Platinum
louismoreau.com
Layers of passion fruit, pomelo and white peach underpinned by lavish marzipan, coconut water and smoky mineral spice with a mouthcoating, creamy scone texture and spine-tingling acidity. All-encompassing, immersive and everlasting. Alc 13%
Christian Moreau, Cuvée Guy Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon 2022
96 Gold
£44-£45 Reserve Wines, The Solent Cellar
Flourishing with flavour! Green apple, lime and orchard fruit to begin with, followed by an unravelling of warming popcorn and oyster shell minerals. Long and finessed. Alc 12.5%
Courtault Michelet, Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2022
96 Gold
chablis-courtault-michelet.com
White blossom with hints of linen billow and dance across the nose and preside over the superb focus and tension on the palate. Electric with energy and vigour. Alc 13%
La Chablisienne, Chablis 1er Cru Montmains 2021
96 Gold
£31.67 Millésima
Classically stylish with profound saline and rocky mineral characters evoking a prevailing ocean breeze, all framed
by a well-defined structure and bracing acidity. Long and flinty. Alc 13%
Pascal Bouchard, Blancs Cailloux Petit Chablis 2022
96 Gold
pascalbouchard.com
Breathtaking citrus, crushed rocks and seaweed cascade endlessly over the piercingly fresh acidity and linear structure. Pure and untarnished with exceptional saline length. Alc 12.5%
Chenevières, Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2022
95 Gold
US$43 Oak & Barrel
A stunning drive and salinity flows persistently through the muscular structure and racy white grapefruit acidity. Very mineral-focused and complete with a long, classy finish. Alc 13%
Domaine du Chardonnay, Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu 2021
95 Gold
domaine-du-chardonnay.fr
Capacious lime blossom, orchard fruit and lemon sherbet sit atop nutty, salty minerals. Bright and mouthwatering with a creamy, honeyed texture and bitter orange finish. Alc 13%
La Chablisienne, Pas Si Petit Petit Chablis 2022
95 Gold
£18.95 Cheers
Entrancing white grapefruit and green apple tinged with mineral and floral notes. Finely tuned and complex with a beautifully pure character. Vastly exceeds expectations. Alc 12.5%
Côte Chalonnaise
Albert Sounit, Rully 1er Cru La Pucelle 2022
95 Gold
albert-sounit.fr
Vibrant citrus in the lead but closely followed by a wealth of apple, pear and tropical fruit, with a tapering of gently defined oak. Pure class. Alc 13.5%
Côte de Beaune
Albert Bichot, Hospices de Beaune, Cuvée Baudot Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières 2022
95 Gold
£250 (ib) Berry Bros & Rudd
Ample yellow apple, nectarine and hawthorn flowers with a lovely injection of smoked nuts and butter. A powerhouse of elegance and poise that guarantees a bright future ahead. Alc 13.5%
Mâconnais
Perraud, Viré-Clessé 2022
97 Platinum
domaineperraud.fr
Delightfully ripe melon, lemon zest, sweet clove and vanilla oak characters perfectly fit this stylish wonder, all tumbling gracefully over the generous structure and luxurious creamy texture, kept in check with a verve of expressive acidity. Alc 12.5%
Domaine Ferret, Pouilly-Fuissé 2021
96 Gold
£42.70 Hic, The Oxford Wine Co, The Wine Reserve, Whole Foods Market
Positively glowing with plush lemons and melons enriched by a lovely charred oak character and lush lime zest acidity that ebbs and flows towards a lengthy finish. Alc 13%
