Waiting patiently for your Burgundies from the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits to reach their fully mature exquisiteness? The five wine-producing communes of the Côte Chalonnaise a little further south provide some excellent options for earlier drinking, advises Clive Coates MW
Rully
Continuing north, we hit Rully – historically, and still, a major source for the grapes made into Crémant de Bourgogne, the local sparkling wine. Its great attraction is its white wines. The reds can be good, occasionally very good, but for me Rully stands out as a white wine commune, and these are not only the best in the Côte Chalonnaise, but very often preferable, at a much more interesting price, to a lot of what the Côte de Beaune offers.
We find here a suppleness of fruit, a flowery minerality and a purity which is wholly admirable, and within a delicate but intense structure that makes them quite delicious at two to four years after the vintage. There are 350ha planted, and 23 premiers crus. Look out for the following: La Pucelle, Grésigny, Meix Cadot, Montpalais and Champs Cloux.
Best growers: Stéphane Briday; Vincent Dureuil-Janthial; Domaine de la Folie; Christophe Grandmougin; P & M Jacqueson; Jaeger-Defaix; Erell Ninot; Jean-Baptiste Ponsot
Domaine Paul et Marie Jacqueson, La Pucelle 1er Cru 2013
18.5 (95)
My favourite wine from the Côte Chalonnaise. This is a splendidly laid-back and elegant example – impeccably balanced and absolutely delicious. The 2012 is wonderful too.
Price: £20.75-£21 Lea & Sandeman, Thorman Hunt
Drink 2017-2025
Alc 13%
Domaine Vincent Dureuil, Le Meix Cadot Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru 2013
18.5 (95)
From vines planted in 1920. Marvellous, profound fruit on the nose. Full and multi-dimensional on the palate. Quite brilliant. And it will keep.
Price: £25.75 OW Loeb, Thorman Hunt
Drink 2017-2024
Alc 13.5%
Domaine Jean-Baptiste Ponsot, Montpalais 1er Cru 2013
18 (93)
The vines are 60 years old here, and they lie above the La Pucelle 1er Cru. Fullish, balanced, mineral. ‘My objective is purity,’ says Jean-Baptiste Ponsot. He’s certainly got it here.
Price: £20-£25 Domaine Direct, Smiling Grape Co
Drink 2016-2021
Alc 13%
