Burgundy
When it comes to the world of fine wines, Burgundy stands tall as one of the most revered and sought-after regions. Renowned for its exceptional terroir and commitment to quality, Burgundy has long captivated enthusiasts with its exquisite and highly prized wines. Today, let us delve into the realm of the best and most expensive wines that Burgundy has to offer, a realm where true wine aficionados can indulge in the pinnacle of winemaking excellence.
At the heart of Burgundy's prestige lie its renowned vineyards, which have garnered global acclaim for their exceptional wines. The names that resonate in the world of Burgundy are Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, Domaine Armand Rousseau, and Domaine Georges Roumier. These vineyards have become synonymous with greatness, crafting wines that define elegance, complexity, and longevity.
Burgundy's most esteemed wines are crafted from two noble grape varieties: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The region's red wines, made predominantly from Pinot Noir, display a finesse and purity of fruit that are unmatched. Vineyards such as Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, and Richebourg produce red wines that command astronomical prices due to their exceptional quality and limited production.
For white wine enthusiasts, Burgundy's Chardonnay-based wines are a true revelation. Vineyards like Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, and Meursault showcase the full potential of this noble grape, producing wines of unparalleled richness, depth, and complexity. These whites epitomize the artistry of winemaking, with each sip revealing layers of flavors and a harmonious balance between fruit, minerality, and oak.
In the world of fine wines, Burgundy stands as an epitome of elegance, complexity, and refined craftsmanship. Its best and most expensive wines are a testament to the region's unwavering commitment to excellence, terroir-driven winemaking, and the artistry of the winemakers.
Burgundy
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Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93)
The holding is located on the southern side of Les Charmes, in the top of the lower part. Pale lemon and lime, plenty of charm to the nose, medium plus bodied, discreet, but there is plenty there, and the finish is elegant and persistent. Tasted: 10/1/2021د.إ2,485.00 -
Vinous (91-93)
The 2018 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru, blended from six parcels, is pure, focused and taut, all while expressing the natural richness of the year. Lemon confit, white flowers, white pepper, mint and a kiss of French oak add striking aromatic top notes to match the wine's linear, energetic feel. The Vaillons has a surprising amount of freshness and lift, with bright saline notes that extend the finish. I suspect the opulence of the year will emerge more fully over time, but this is nevertheless a fine showing.د.إ952.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (88-90)
This is from the excellent Pargues vineyard, vinified and aged in stainless steel. Pale colour. The bouquet has a Chablisian crispness but also the juiciness of this 2022 vintage. Crisply concentrated on the palate, this still needs quite a bit more elevage. Which always needs time as shown by the reductive tang. Drink from 2024-2027. Tasted: June 2023.د.إ840.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2018 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a concentrated bouquet with yellow fruit, orange rind and light crushed stone. It coalesces nicely in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, lightly spiced with fine grip, tensile, even a little mean on the finish. Wonderful salinity. Superb. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 white tasting.د.إ2,260.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2019 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a clean, precise, more floral bouquet than the Valmur; white flower petal scents infuse the citrus fruit, along with a hint of egg whites. The palate is well balanced, taut and linear, with great poise and nervosité, leading to an intense and very persistent finish. This will vie with the Valmur as best Grand Cru.د.إ1,630.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Christian and Fabien own an enviable three hectares that extend two-thirds of the way up the slope. This 2020 is almost cozy with concentrated extract at the core. This generous body is smartly lifted by vivid acidity. The flavors range from citrus and star fruit to roasted hazelnuts and a hint of smoke. 2024-40د.إ1,725.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2020 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru has a well-defined nose, citrus fruit mixed with pear, wet limestone and green apples, tight at first but responds to aeration. The palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity, taut and fresh with a lovely, lip-smacking salinity that fires up the finish. Excellent.د.إ1,540.00 -
Vinous (92+)
The 2020 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a backward bouquet that demands coaxing from the glass: wet pavement, pressed yellow flowers and a touch of flint. Very focused. Fresh and saline, the palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity; however, it remains quite strict and oddly like a 2021 towards the close. Give this three or four years in bottle.د.إ2,335.00 -
Wine Advocate (91)
The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Villages is superb, unfurling in the glass with a youthful bouquet of sweet cassis, wild berries and peony that mingles with subtle hints of candied peel, grilled meat and rich forest floor. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, pure and velvety, structured around a chassis of fine-grained tannins that will demand some bottle age, underpinned by bright acids and concluding with a strikingly fragrant finish. It's a beautiful wine that exemplifies the fragrant, precise style that Bertrand Dugat and his siblings are coaxing from their family's enviable patrimony of old and meticulously farmed vines.د.إ1,680.00 -
Immerse yourself in the opulence of Claude Dugat La Gibryotte Gevrey-Chambertin 2018, an exquisite wine hailing from the prestigious Burgundy region of France. This luxurious wine is crafted meticulously from Pinot Noir grapes grown in the famous Gevrey-Chambertin vineyards. Renowned vintner Claude Dugat, the mastermind behind this ambrosial nectar, adheres to time-honoured traditional winemaking techniques, ensuring perfect harmony and balance.
The alluring ruby red Claude Dugat La Gibryotte Gevrey-Chambertin 2018 possesses a beguiling bouquet of dark berries, earth and spice. Its palate teases with striking red fruit flavours amalgamated with delicate oak nuances. A vibrant acidity provides marvelous longevity, guaranteeing an exquisite sensory experience.
The 2018 vintage of Claude Dugat La Gibryotte Gevrey-Chambertin, lauded by connoisseurs and critics alike, promises a compelling encounter for the discerning palate. With its unparalleled elegance and profound depth, it establishes its place as an icon of French viniculture.
د.إ2,860.00 -
Wine Advocate (92+)
The 2016 Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens is also quite reserved, offering up aromas of sweet red berries, dark soil tones and spicy new oak. On the palate, the wine is quite medium to full-bodied, chalky and firm, with broad shoulders and good concentration at the core. It's a promising Rugiens in the making but it will demand some patience.د.إ2,685.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2017 Volnay En Carelle Sous La Chapelle 1er Cru has a slightly disjointed bouquet that requires only a couple of minutes to gain focus and delineation, though the aromatics lack the vibrancy and purity of the succeeding vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with pretty red cherry and red plum fruit, coming across a little conservative toward the finish, but boy, does this meliorate with aeration! After a couple of hours it suddenly goes up through the gears, developing more precision and harmony than it had immediately after opening. My score reflects this Volnay in full flight.د.إ1,675.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
Tasted at the pre-dinner vertical to mark Sylvain Pitiot's retirement from the domaine, the 2012 Clos de Tart Grand Cru has just a wonderful nose with more fruit intensity than the 2013, so pure and feminine with ebullient raspberry preserve and strawberry notes, sheer pinoté! The palate is beautifully structured with fine tannin, tensile, refined and aristocratic. There is a brilliant focus here and an extraordinary sustained finish that leaves you desperate for the next sip. What it shares in common with the 2008 Clos de Tart Grand Cru is that it is predestined to be overshadowed by the 2009 and 2010. That should not be the case - it is a quite brilliant articulation of the Clos. Bon vin!د.إ12,825.00 -
Vinous (98)
The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was wonderful from barrel but now it seems to have gone up another level. It has an exquisite bouquet with wonderful mineralité infusing the brambly red fruit. Wonderful focus and quite profound complexity. You could nose this forever. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins married with a killer line of natural acidity. Everything is perfectly proportioned in this wine, very persistent with layers of dark berry fruit laced with white pepper and tea leaf on the finish. Immense. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.د.إ13,755.00 -
Vinous (98)
The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was wonderful from barrel but now it seems to have gone up another level. It has an exquisite bouquet with wonderful mineralité infusing the brambly red fruit. Wonderful focus and quite profound complexity. You could nose this forever. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins married with a killer line of natural acidity. Everything is perfectly proportioned in this wine, very persistent with layers of dark berry fruit laced with white pepper and tea leaf on the finish. Immense. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.د.إ12,640.00 -
Vinous (93)
The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a very pretty and pure bouquet, the oak here deftly integrated and allowing the dark cherries, cranberry and raspberry scents to flourish. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins framing the pure confit-like red fruit, just a splash of balsamic towards the finish lending another welcome dimension. I suspect that this will mature with style and panache. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.د.إ3,125.00 -
Vinous (95)
The 2019 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru has a composed bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, tobacco, forest floor, a touch of wild mint and much more clarity than its peers. Fleshy, ripe and beautifully balanced, the palate is medium-bodied and supple, building succinctly toward the focused and complex finish. Wow...where did this come from??? Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.د.إ5,230.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2015 Echézeaux Grand Cru has a competent, well-defined bouquet of raspberry, wild strawberry and earthy aromas. The medium-bodied palate is edgy in style, presenting fine tannin, well-judged acidity and a splash of balsamic that lends tension toward the sustained finish. This seems to improve in the glass, and that bodes well for the future. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.د.إ3,990.00 -
Jancis Robinson (18)
Fragrant and smoky on the nose and palate. Chewy texture, compressed fruit. Very much in its infancy. Tight, restrained and compact. Unquestionable purity of fruit, which has a charming bitter stemminess to finish.د.إ4,105.00 -
James Suckling (96)
A very elegant and refined Echezeaux that nimbly moves over your palate. Underplayed power and very fine tannins make this a shy beauty, but if you give it time and attention then you will be amply rewarded. Very silky and delicate, long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.د.إ5,100.00 -
Vinous (96)
The 2015 Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru seems to have been born to embarrass my rather tepid reaction to this wine from barrel. Wow! This has me smitten. It offers a very floral, seductive bouquet with pressed violet petals liberally scattered over the black cherry and wild strawberry fruit, and just a hint of vanilla in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin. This is very cohesive, harmonious and silky-smooth in texture, with a light touch of blood orange and brown spices that impart complexity on the finish. Excellent. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.د.إ3,010.00 -
Burghound (92-94)
A relatively deeply pitched nose offers plenty of both floral and spice elements along with notes of plum, dark cherry and a touch of Asian-style tea. As is usually the case there is excellent volume and a taut muscularity to the sappy broad-shouldered flavors that flash superb depth and persistence. Note well though that this classic example is definitely built-to-age and is going to need at least most of a decade to be approachable. Recommended.د.إ3,045.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2018 Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru is showing some reduction on the nose, slightly smudged red fruit, leather and undergrowth. It does seem to gain clarity with modest aeration though. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, taut and crisp, quite linear with fine sapidity on the structure, backward finish. A Premier Cru with a long future ahead. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.د.إ3,720.00 -
Burghound (92-94)
(from a large 1.76 ha parcel). Here too there is enough wood to notice but not to intrude on the exceptionally spicy and overtly floral-suffused nose of dark currant and plum. There is outstanding intensity, muscle and power to the broad-shouldered flavors that brim with both minerality and dry extract on the sappy, mouth coating, robust and youthfully austere finish that goes on and on. This is excellent and worth checking out. (92-94)/2037+د.إ3,010.00 -
Experience excellence with the distinguished Clos Rocs Pouilly Fuisse Pierrotes 2021. Produced in the lauded vineyards of Southern Burgundy, this vibrant white wine is a testament to the savoir-faire of Olivier Merlin, who has cultivated the reputable Clos Rocs name. Matured in oak barrels, this Chardonnay displays the quintessential character of the Pouilly-Fuissé zone with enviable lucidity. An end result of precise winemaking techniques and careful harvesting, it boasts an expressive nose with a fine blend of fruit and floral nuances, culminating in a rich, opulent palate. Minerality integrates seamlessly with notes of apple, pear, and lemon. Perfect now yet delectable for aging, its well-integrated acidity assures great holding potential. Indulge in the harmonious marriage of tradition and sophistication that is the Clos Rocs Pouilly Fuisse Pierrotes 2021. With every bottle lies a unique definition of quality encapsulated in its golden hues.
د.إ1,795.00 -
د.إ5,335.00 -
Wine Advocate (90-92)
The 2015 Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru, which is a blend of 60% Breterins and 40% Les Bas des Duresses close to Monthélie, had received a bit of SO2 a week before my visit and was due to be transferred into tank for around two months. It contains 10% whole bunch fruit this year and sees 20% new oak. It has a sensual bouquet with black cherries, raspberry and confit fruit all with fine delineation. The tannins here are finer than the village cru as you would expect, the acidity nicely judged (3.4 pH) with a poised and tensile finish that delivers a welcome salinity on the finish. This comes highly recommended and is certainly one of the best 2015s that I have encountered from the appellation.د.إ1,215.00 -
Jancis Robinson (17)
Cask sample. Pale blueish crimson. Lively and racy with real lift, though a tad rawer than the Clos des Epeneaux. A very serious Côte de Beaune by any measure.د.إ924.00 -
Vinous (89-91)
The 2019 Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru, a blend of two vineyards Les Beautrains and Les Bas des Duresses as usual, matured in around 25% new oak. It has a refined bouquet with a little more purity and sensuality compared to the Auxey Village. The palate is well balanced with gentle grip on the entry, quite rich but fresh in style with candied orange peel infusing the mixture of black and blueberry fruit. Crunchy, almost brittle texture towards the finish which is surprising given the type of growing season. Recommended.د.إ1,065.00 -
Decanter (94)
Ripe, concentrated currant and plum fruit, with hints of smoke, mineral and leather on the nose, plus firm but finely-grained tannins balanced with fresh acidity, delivering a wine that's both exuberantly fruity yet structured and long. Blended from two lieux-dits: 60% Bretérins and 40% Bas de Duresses. This wine is always a standout in the portfolio and it is terrific in 2020.د.إ1,205.00
