If one cuvée were to sum up the Guillemot school of wine, it would be this Bourgogne rouge, a wine that is, simply put, red Burgundy. It tastes of the air, the soil, the bees, the birds, and the Pinot Noir that grows there. The barrier to entry is low for this one, which is just how the Guillemots prefer it. To them, Burgundy cannot be too precious. Their Bourgogne rouge is a simple solution to a grand idea.

I sampled this wine last May while visiting the Guillemots’ labyrinth of damp, darkened cellars. Brothers Philippe and Vincent were hosting us, but dad Jean-Pierre couldn’t resist joining with his own wine thief in hand for what was still clearly, after all these years, a sacred experience for him—tasting out of barrel. The wine was as cool as the chai, chalky, citrusy, and friand, as they called it; a way to describe that perky, palate-opening freshness and vigor that’s so essential in a blanc.

My notes just say “cassis and violet,” and that’s where they end! I must have been stunned by the wine, rendered speechless with immediate writer’s block upon encountering such a gorgeous old-vine cuvée. If the Guillemots’ Bourgogne rouge offers a taste of the region, this cuvée is a glimpse into a specific terroir, the best of what it produces—the voice of this appellation.

Ask anyone who has tasted at Domaine Guillemot whether they’ve tried an older vintage of Aux Serpentières, and the answer will be yes. To this day an Aux Serpentières is among the oldest wines I’ve ever tasted, a 1947 that I recall vividly! It had faded to a pale rosé and threw a delicate deposit of fine sediment, like tiny confetti, in the bottom of my glass. The 2022 is on the same course to greatness, a classic vintage that’s tart, earthy and generous; it’s beaming with pleasure and would be well worth cellaring, too.