Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne-Romanee

"The wines are already clearly delineated by taste according to vineyard and vintage - and positively vibrate with seriousness of intent. They are sturdy and will take time to show their worth and are likely to improve with every year's experience. But it is a significant compliment that Aubert de Villaine of the hallowed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has nothing but praise for his young neighbour." Jancis Robinson MW Financial Times. Liger-Belair is one of Burgundy's rising stars and Wine Cellar is proud to have acquired the agency. Michel Liger-Belair believes his 2006s to be better than his prodigious 2005s. And the most prestigious is the monopole of La Romanée next to the famous Romanée Conti. In 2007 'Comte Liger-Belair has surely produced the best set of wines yet - there is a cellar extension and more flexibility re bottling dates and so on here too' rates Jancis as one of the over-performers of the vintage. The 2008s arrive late 2010.

Domaine des Lambrays, Morey St Denis

Clos de Lambrays is one of the five Grand Crus of Morey St Denis. As early as 1365, we find the vineyard referred to under the name of CLOUX DES LAMBREY in the deeds of Citeaux Abbey. In 1789, at the time of the French Revolution, the property was sold and divided between 74 owners and reunited in 1868. On April 27th, 1981 the Clos des Lambrays was promoted by decree to GRAND CRU.

After harvest, which is rigorous sorted by hand, mostly is not destemmed and traditional Burgundian vinification is followed.; fermentation between 15 and 18 days with daily treading occurs with ageing and maturing in 50% new oak for 18 months. JR - "Exotic and rich and winning with some nice transparency. Quite firm tannins. Not an obvious massive step up from the Cuvée des Loups in view of the price. Quite firm tannins." 

Maison Joseph Drouhin, Beaune

73 hectares of prime Burgundy are owned by the Drouhin family, with the rest bought in for the lower-priced wines. Having the Masion family-run with passionate Veroniqe Drouhin in charge of the oenology, certainly adds a personal feel to the wines.  "Elegant and refined" is how Wine Spectator describes the house, allowing each vineyard to express its own specific terroir. Biodynamic and organic practices, low yields and hand picking are just some of the techniques used for the traditional style. Veronique's siblings take charge of the running of the business affairs allowing the house to be handled more like a Domaine than a negociant, producing 90 different wines.

2006 - Wine Advocate "The Drouhins started early but picked with a level of meticulousness and at a moderate tempo that most growers did not feel they could afford this vintage. Lees contact was passive and the wines were bottled relatively early. The results are universally rich and accessible, the best wines being those that manage to retain clarity and a measure of vivacity as well as to stand up to their components of new wood. Drouhin has tight viticultural control over the numerous parcels that inform their village level wines, even though most of them are not owned."

Jayer Gilles, Magny-Les-Villers

 The 27-acre estate is located in the tiny village of Magny-les-Villers where Gilles Jayer makes a very scarce amount of exceptional wine from the most modest of appellations.  Domaine Jayer-Gilles is run by the very talented Gilles Jayer who took over for his father Robert Jayer in 1998. All the wines are terrifically authentic and traditional even though a fair dose of new oak is utilized. They are beautifully fine and rounded, yet have intensity and structure for long aging.

The Hautes-Cotes wines are as good as premier cru Cote d'Or offerings and are grown from 50 year old vines. Similarily the Blanc is more Puligny-like with its purity and depth. 

Jayer Gilles	Hautes Cotes de Beaune Blanc	2007	R 380	AM 87/100
Jayer Gilles	Hautes Cotes de Beaune Rouge	2005	R 400	AM 85-87
Jayer Gilles	Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge	2007	R 400	AM 86-88
Jayer Gilles	Cotes de Nuits Villages Rouge	2006	R 480	AM 87
Jayer Gilles	Cotes de Nuits Villages Rouge	2007	R 480	AM 87-89
Jayer Gilles	Echezeaux	2007	S/O	Tanzer 91-94, AM 90-93

Prince Florent de Merode, Corton

Wine Cellar has been importing these fine Cortons since the 2002 vintage as they grow in status world wide. They are exemplary expressions of the terroir where new oak is never more than 10%. Traditional winemaking and viticulture under Dider Dubois produces extremely elegant and long-lived wines. The Clos du Roi is the finest of the Grand Crus from 60 year-old vines. It combines the lushes fruit of the Renardes and intensity of the Bressandes. These have scored up to 95/100 by Wine Spectator in the past and offer magnificent value.

Florent de Merode	Aloxe Corton 1er Cru	2006	R 415	AM 86-89
Florent de Merode	Aloxe Corton 1er Cru	2007	R 360
Florent de Merode	Corton Bressandes Grand Cru	2007	R 585
Florent de Merode	Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru	2007	R 695
Florent de Merode	Corton Renardes Grand Cru	2006	R 595	AM 88-91
Florent de Merode	Corton Renardes Grand Cru	2007	R 575
Florent de Merode	Ladoix Chaillots	2006	R 225	AM 87/100

Rene Lequin-Colin, Santenay

Lequin Colin is another up and coming Domaine which has roots back to 1979. Rich, finely textured wines from the Cote-de-Beaune are produced with the focus on mostly white cuvees . These Bourgogne 2006s are especially great value with pure fruit in an elegant style. The Grand Crus from 2007 are as traditional and elegant as they come in Burgundy and a maximum of 25% new oak is ever used. These are the jewels in the Lequin Colin crown!

Domaine Jacques Prieur, Meursault

The strength of Domaine Jacques Prieur is that it groups together some of the most prestigious vineyards under one label; Montrachet, Musigny and Corton. The whites are crisp and mineral whilst reds show more polish and power. From 2003, the Prieur wines have become fresher, purer and more classic and pundits believe the 2007s are slightly better than the very good 2006s.

Jacques Prieur	Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Combettes	2007	R 820	AM 90-93
Jacques Prieur	Beaune Champs Pimont 1er Cru Rouge	2007	R 415	WS 90/100, AM 90/100
Jacques Prieur	Volnay Champans 1er Cru	2006	S/O	AM 88-91

Chateau de Chamirey, Mercurey

One of Antonin Rodet endeavours, Chateau de Chamirey's offers wonderfully priced Mercureys from the Cote Chalonnaise. Mercurey is very much the flagship of this region and the rich mineral reds reminds one of Gevrey-Chambertin but with perhaps more upfront fruit and less robustness.  5% is planted with Chardonnay and both village and 1er cru offer great value for money. The grapes are manually harvested, sorted and de-stemmed. The maceration and alcoholic fermentation lasts 15 to 18 days with controlled temperatures in open vats. 30-40 % new oak is used for maturation with 100 % malolactic fermentation.

AM - Alan Medows Burghound

WS - Wine Spectator

WA - Wine Advocate