Top Côte de Beaune 2017 en primeur wines
Tim Atkin MW continues our Burgundy 2017 coverage by taking a look at the Côte de Beaune region in the southern part of the Côte d'Or. Scroll down for his report, including best producers and over 130 tasting notes & scores...
Scroll down to see Tim’s Côte de Beaune tasting notes & scores
Apart from a frost in St-Aubin on 24 April and sporadic mildew in the southern part of the region, the Côte de Beaune escaped unscathed by the elements in 2017.This was a massive relief after the hail it suffered in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the terrible gelée noire of 2016. Vineyards that were badly frosted in 2016 tended to over-produce, sometimes dramatically, in 2017.
‘Highlights include Volnay, the Beaune premiers crus and the hill of Corton’
‘The temptation,’ says Franck Grux of Olivier Leflaive, ‘was to leave too many grapes on the vine’, which was understandable after a run of vintages in which some producers made the equivalent of 1.75 crops in five years.
Picking dates, as well as yields, varied widely across the region, which makes it difficult to generalise about style and quality. That said, the best whites from Corton-Charlemagne, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, St-Aubin, Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet are outstanding.
The reds are more mixed, but highlights include Volnay, the Beaune premiers crus and the hill of Corton – a grand cru that’s coming into its own as the climate hots up.
Côte de Beaune tasting notes by village:
Aloxe-Corton
Auxey-Duresses
Beaune
Blagny
Corton
Ladoix
Monthélie
Meursault
Pernand-Vergelesses
Pommard
Puligny-Montrachet & Chassagne-Montrachet
Santenay
Savigny-lès-Beaune
St-Aubin
St-Romain
Volnay
Best Côte de Beaune producers:
Bonneau du Martray
Lafarge
Leflaive
Montille
Comtes Lafon
Maquis d’Angerville
Paul Pillot
Roulot
Etienne Sauzet
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
Some of Tim’s top 2017 Côte de Beaune en primeur wines:
See all Burgundy 2017 en primeur tasting notes & scores
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Domaine de la Vougeraie, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
One of the outstanding white wines of the vintage, this comes from a 0.18ha parcel that always seems to produce a brilliant white wine. It's...
2017
Domaine de la VougeraieChevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault, 1er Cru Les Charmes, Burgundy, France, 2017
Charmes wasn't hit by the frost in 2016, so volumes were actually down a little in 2017, but Dominique Lafon is more than happy with...
2017
Domaine des Comtes LafonMeursault
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
After a near wipeout in 2016 leading to it being sold as part of a 500-bottle blend with six other producers, this superlative grand cru...
2017
Domaine des Comtes LafonMontrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Roulot, Meursault, 1er Cru Perrières, Burgundy, France, 2017
The Roulots' 0.26ha parcel is entirely located in Perrières Dessous, so is better positioned than their Charmes. This is a correspondingly superb wine, right up...
2017
Domaine RoulotMeursault
Domaine Leflaive, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
Bienvenues is generally less powerful than Bâtard at Leflaive, and that's certainly the case here. But what this impressive grand cru lacks in terms of...
2017
Domaine LeflaiveBienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Leflaive, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
Divided into three separate parcels, two in Puligny and one in Chassagne, the Leflaive holdings in Bâtard amount to a more than satisfactory 1.5ha. Rich,...
2017
Domaine LeflaiveBâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Leflaive, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
Leflaive owns a comparatively large 1.8ha in Chevalier, running from the bottom to the top of the grand cru, so it's normally made in two...
2017
Domaine LeflaiveChevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Etienne Sauzet, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
When it's as good as this, Chevalier is every bit as exciting as the more famous and expensive Montrachet. This four-barrel parcel from the highest...
2017
Etienne SauzetChevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
One barrel is all that Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey makes of this stunning grand cru, and there's a long waiting list to get hold of a bottle...
2017
Pierre-Yves Colin-MoreyChevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Olivier Leflaive, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
A single supplier sells Olivier Leflaive the grapes to make these two precious barrels of Bienvenues. It has the freshness, focus and poise that's common...
2017
Olivier LeflaiveBienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine de la Vougeraie, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
Volumes will be down in 2018, as one-third of this 0.78ha parcel has been pulled out to be replanted, but 2017 yielded a full crop....
2017
Domaine de la VougeraieBienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Faiveley, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
In a very good year for the white grands crus of the Côte de Beaune (provided people didn't pick too late), this stylish expression of...
2017
Domaine FaiveleyBâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Faiveley, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017
Young vines from the Clos des Cortons are assembled with vines from elsewhere on the hill to produce this fresh and citrusy wine that is...
2017
Domaine FaiveleyCorton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
