Best Burgundy 2018 premier cru wines
Look beyond the headline-grabbing grand cru wines from Burgundy's 2018 vintage and you'll find a raft of brilliant premier crus. We've pulled together the top premier cru wines tasted by Tim Atkin MW for his 2018 Burgundy en primeur report...
Take a glimpse at Tim Atkin’s Burgundy 2018 en primeur report and the majority of the top-scoring wines come from grand cru vineyards. This comes as no surprise, but scratch the surface and you’ll find a raft of highly-rated wines from premier cru sites.
These are wines which – unlike many of the grand crus – are going to be easier to find and relatively less wallet-busting.
Scroll down for Tim Atkin’s top Burgundy premier cru 2018 tasting notes and scores
When it comes to Burgundy’s top wines, small volumes and growing global demand have made many grand cru wines extremely difficult to acquire, and if you can find them, eye-wateringly expensive.
When it comes to en primeur, merchants naturally handle Burgundy grand cru allocations carefully and their job has become as much about diplomacy as selling in some cases, especially following a run of small harvests. It’s common for wines to get snapped up prior to general en primeur release offers.
See all the full Burgundy 2018 en primeur report and tasting notes
Premier cru focus
With this in mind, a smart way to buy in Burgundy is to look at the best premier cru wines. We’ve highlighted below the best Burgundy premier cru wines from the 2018 vintage, as rated for Decanter Premium subscribers by Tim Atkin MW.
Atkin says that 2018 is a vintage where, due to extreme weather during the growing season, it pays more than ever to know your producer and choose carefully. ‘Follow individual producers rather than villages or vineyards,’ he advises, so bear this is mind with making purchases.
Prices for the highlighted wines have yet to be released and while they are never going to be pocket-money cheap, you may have more joy finding these wines for your cellar than their grand cru counterparts.
Tips
Finding the right producer for you
At this level, the name of the producer holds as much weight – if not more – than the terroir, although of course it’s always sensible to be as informed as possible about both.
It’s important to find a producer with a stylistic approach that you enjoy.
Allocations: Playing the long game
Generally speaking, the more you buy, the more likely merchants are to keep you in mind for allocations.
You have a better chance of rising up merchants’ lists if you’re a proven buyer. That doesn’t just mean buying all the premier cru – or even grand cru – level wines, but also good village-level wines, too.
Introduction copy by Chris Wilson.
Tim Atkin’s top Burgundy premier cru wines from 2018:
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Domaine Roulot, Meursault, 1er Cru Perrières-Dessous, Burgundy, France, 2018
If you wanted to choose wine that encapsulates all that is special about Jean-Marc Roulot's winemaking style, this would be it in 2018. It's like...
2018
Domaine RoulotMeursault
Domaine Paul Pillot, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Les Grandes Ruchottes sits close to Les Caillerets on the slope above Chassagne-Montrachet, but produces very different styles of wine from its redder, deeper soils....
2018
Domaine Paul PillotChassagne-Montrachet
Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Beaune, 1er Cru Clos des Mouches, Burgundy, France, 2018
Restrained, delicate meadow flower aromas. Growing in intensity, oak currently prevails on palate hardening the impression on the finish; it simply needs time. The fruit...
2018
Domaine Joseph DrouhinBeaune
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault, 1er Cru Porusots, Burgundy, France, 2018
Picked last among the Premiers Crus in 2018, this has a substantial amount of old vine material. Part of the Lafon range since 2011, but...
2018
Domaine des Comtes LafonMeursault
Domaine Paul Pillot, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru La Romanée, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>If any of Thierry Pillot's Premiers Crus are of Grand Cru quality, this is it in most vintages, including 2018. Made from 70-year-old vines planted...
2018
Domaine Paul PillotChassagne-Montrachet
Domaine Roulot, Meursault, 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Jean-Marc Roulot's Clos des Bouchères feels like such an established part of his range that it's hard to remember he's only been making it since...
2018
Domaine RoulotMeursault
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru La Garenne, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Pierre-Yves Colin Morey's parcel is located at 330 metres in the highest part of La Garenne, nex to Saint Aubin and was planted in the...
2018
Pierre-Yves Colin-MoreyPuligny-Montrachet
Domaine Robert Groffier, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Amoureuses, Burgundy, France, 2018
Harvested on August 28th, such was what Nicolas Groffier calls the 'luminosity' of the vintage, this brilliant expression of a Grand Cru in all but...
2018
Domaine Robert GroffierChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Dugat-Py, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Lavaux St-Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2018
In the right vintages (and the right hands), Lavaux-St-Jacques can produce wines that are every bit as good as some Gevrey-Chambertin Grands Crus. Made with...
2018
Domaine Dugat-PyGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Clos-St-Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Every bit as good as the Grands Crus wines he bottles under his domaine and négociant labels, Jean-Marie Fourrier's Clos St-Jacques has a classic combination...
2018
Domaine FourrierGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Dugat-Py, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Les Corbeaux, Burgundy, France, 2018
Les Corbeaux neighbours Mazis-Chambertin to the north and, at its best, can aspire to Grand Cru quality. This comes from two small parcels with an...
2018
Domaine Dugat-PyGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Sylvie Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Clos St-Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Not everyone in Gevrey-Chambertin got the vintage right in 2018, but Sylvie Esmonin nailed it, making one of her best-ever Clos St-Jacques. Sourced from a...
2018
Domaine Sylvie EsmoninGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Combe aux Moines, Burgundy, France, 2018
Jean-Marie Fourrier is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the fame of this isolated Premier Cru. Planted in 1926 (though not by monks, alas), this parcel...
2018
Domaine FourrierGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Cécile Tremblay, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Beaumonts, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Fruit from a single 1.5ha parcel planted in 1927 supplies the fruit for this remarkable 2018 Premier Cru, described by Cécile Tremblay as a 'beautiful...
2018
Domaine Cécile TremblayVosne-Romanée
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Petits Monts, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Les Petits Monts can take time to come round in bottle, given its slightly cooler exposure, and I think that will be the case in...
2018
Domaine du Comte Liger-BelairVosne-Romanée
Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Petits Monts, Burgundy, France, 2018
Véronique Drouhin has a special affection for Les Petits Monts as it’s a vineyard that she owns herself. This high-altitude (for Vosne) red sees a...
2018
Domaine Joseph DrouhinVosne-Romanée
Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Malconsorts, Burgundy, France, 2018
Charles van Canneyt sources his Malconsorts from the higher part of the Premier Cru and always makes a refreshingly graceful expression of the terroir. With...
2018
Domaine Hudelot-NoëllatVosne-Romanée
Domaine JJ Confuron, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Beaux Monts, Burgundy, France, 2018
Jean-Jacques Confuron remains something of a below-the-radar producer whose wines should be much more famous. This smooth, sumptuous, old-vine red is ripe, concentrated and very...
2018
Domaine JJ ConfuronVosne-Romanée
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Reignots, Burgundy, France, 2018
Sandy with some limestone in the soil, the terroir of Aux Reignots tends to produce wines with detail, freshness and balance chez Cathiard and that's...
2018
Domaine Sylvain CathiardVosne-Romanée
Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Suchots, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Les Suchots is the biggest Premier Cru in Vosne-Romanée and its soils are correspondingly diverse. The Cathiards' parcel is on deep clay soils above the...
2018
Domaine Sylvain CathiardVosne-Romanée
Domaine Arlaud, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Sentiers, Burgundy, France, 2018
Appropriately for a domaine based in Morey-St-Denis, the Arlaud holdings are in the most northerly Premier Cru in Chambolle-Musigny and date back to the 1950s....
2018
Domaine ArlaudChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Christophe Perrot-Minot, Cuvée Ultra, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru La Combe d’Orveau, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>One of the outstanding wines in the Perrot-Minot range in 2018, this is a selection from a 0.7ha parcel in one of Chambolle-Musigny's coolest sites....
2018
Domaine Christophe Perrot-MinotChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Ghislaine Barthod, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Cras, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Les Cras is situated in the upper part of Chambolle-Musigny close to Les Fuées on very poor, white, chalk-dominated soils. Racked last in 2018, it...
2018
Domaine Ghislaine BarthodChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Ghislaine Barthod, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Véroilles, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>It's rare to find a Premier Cru labelled as Les Véroilles, as most of the appellation is classified as village Chambolle-Musigny. In years like 2018,...
2018
Domaine Ghislaine BarthodChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Robert Groffier, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Sentiers, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Nicolas Groffier chilled his cellar in 2018 to prevent early malolactics in his wines and it seems to have paid off. This entirely whole bunch-fermented...
2018
Domaine Robert GroffierChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Dugat-Py, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Fonteny, Burgundy, France, 2018
Fonteny is a comparatively rare Premier Cru in Gevrey-Chambertin, which is a shame because it's very well located next to Ruchottes- and Mazis-Chambertin. Facing north...
2018
Domaine Dugat-PyGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Arlaud, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Aux Combottes, Burgundy, France, 2018
Aux Combottes is closer to Morey-St-Denis than it is to Gevrey-Chambertin and is surrounded by Grands Crus, making it one of the best placed Premiers...
2018
Domaine ArlaudGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Denis Bachelet, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Les Corbeaux, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Denis Bachelet's three parcels total 0.44ha and are situated next to Mazis-Chambertin, with some influence from the cool breezes wafting down from the Combe de...
2018
Domaine Denis BacheletGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Denis Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Champeaux, Burgundy, France, 2018
Caviar' is how Arnaud Mortet describes the grapes from this old-vine cuvée, sourced from four parcels close to Brochon on the northern side of Gevrey-Chambertin....
2018
Domaine Denis MortetGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Dugat-Py, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Champeaux, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>The Dugat-Pys' 0.5ha parcel has an average age of 60 years and faces east on clay-dominated soils. Made with 60% whole clusters and 66% new...
2018
Domaine Dugat-PyGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Duroché, Vieilles Vignes, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Lavaut Saint-Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2018
The Durochés make two separate cuvées from this exceptional Premier Cru. Their old vine bottling hails from a single parcel planted in 1923 that sits...
2018
Domaine DurochéGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Duroché, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Estournelles St Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Estournells-St-Jacques is a comparatively small Premier Cru located - as its name suggests - just about the Clos St-Jacques in one of the coolest and...
2018
Domaine DurochéGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Duroché, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Cazetiers, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Pierre Duroché picked his Cazetiers first in 2018, despite the fact that the vineyard sits at the foot of the cooling Combe de Lavaux. The...
2018
Domaine DurochéGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Cherbaudes, Burgundy, France, 2018
Located just below the Clos de Bèze, on very hard, rocky soils, Cherbaudes is often one of the more muscular and concentrated wines in the...
2018
Domaine FourrierGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Les Goulots, Burgundy, France, 2018
Less famous than neighbouring Combe Aux Moines, possibly because it sounds a little less appealing, Goulots is a similarly cool site high on the slope...
2018
Domaine FourrierGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Nuits-St-Georges, 1er Cru Les St-Georges, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Thibault Liger-Belair has produced one of the tighter, more serious expression of this celebrated Premier Cru in 2018, finding texture, tannin and structure in his...
2018
Domaine Thibault Liger-BelairNuits-St-Georges
Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay, 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>It took seven people five hours to destem the grapes from the Lafarges' parcel of the Clos du Château des Ducs, something that was 'very...
2018
Domaine Michel LafargeVolnay
Domaine Launay-Horiot, Pommard, 1er Cru Rugiens-Bas, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>Xavier Horiot's Rugiens-Bas has the classic grip and fresh blood notes of the iron oxide soils of this celebrated Premier Cru. The parcel may be...
2018
Domaine Launay-HoriotPommard
Domaine Comte Armand, Pommard, 1er Cru Clos des Épeneaux, Burgundy, France, 2018
<p>One of the best Côte de Beaune reds of the vintage. The four blocks that make up the blend of this justly celebrated Pommard Premier...
2018
Domaine Comte ArmandPommard
