A blend of Pinot Noir from Pierre Boillot’s holdings in Volnay and Gevrey-Chambertin, this traditional and classic bottle of red Burgundy showcases the elegance and finesse of Volnay along with the brawn and depth of Gevrey. It is the best of both worlds, meaty and chewy along with silky tannins and a certain sophisticated refinement.

Franck Follin and his son Simon are making incredible wines in their deep stone cellars in Aloxe, and this premier cru is their flagship bottling. It is a wine capable of traversing the decades effortlessly, but the thrilling 2019 vintage is quite enjoyable now. Bold-fruited, deeply concentrated and structured, with pitch-perfect balance and poise, this Burgundy will stand tall against challengers from the top premier cru appellations of the Côte de Nuits.

Charmes Chambertin is a grand cru situated between Morey-Saint-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin. This prime saddle of mid-slope land is home to nine grands crus that include “Chambertin” in their name. Charmes is known, as its name might indicate, for a more charming and sensual style. This is certainly the case with Romain Taupenot’s exquisite Charmes 2019, a wine that boasts the depth and richness you would expect from a grand cru along with beautiful freshness, taut spine, suave tannins, and a great deal of finesse and perfume—a grand vin in every sense.

Valentin Montanet is making beautiful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from his limestone terroir in Vézelay, a less-traveled but beautiful hilltop village southwest of Chablis and on the same latitude as Sancerre. It is refreshing to encounter a young vigneron with such a clear-headed idea of what he wants to accomplish and how to do so. His simple-to-utter-and-not-so-simple-to-achieve goal? Make delicious, affordable, thirst-quenching wines every year.

There is much chatter these days in Burgundy about the future potential of the Aligoté grape, a future in which acidity may be more at a premium than ripeness was a few decades ago. This domaine has long realized the potential for this historical Burgundian white grape, planting their best terroirs to its most qualitative clone and forging Burgundy’s only Aligoté appellation. Made from hillside fruit aged in foudre and sporting its characteristic freshness and energy, the de Villaine Bouzeron is a staple of the KLWM Burgundy portfolio and a timeless classic.

In my experience, it is rare for a domaine to excel equally in both colors of Burgundy. Typically, there is an obvious specialty. With Follin, that specialty has always been red, as it represents the majority of their holdings. However, with each recent foray into blanc—whether it be their recent first harvest in Aloxe-Corton, their purchases a few years ago of vineyards in Pernand, or their replanting of a new parcel in Le Charlemagne—their growing stable of whites has captured my attention as truly stand-out. Raised with the same care and style as their incredible Corton-Charlemagne, this impeccably crafted blanc showcases the majestic, steep, stony terroir of Pernand with uncommon flair and precision. Impressive!