Vinous (88-91)

(losses to frost were only 30% here, vs. 80% for the Grasses Têtes): Good dark red. Very ripe aromas of black cherry and mocha. At once sweeter and sappier than the Grasses Têtes, offering noteworthy concentration and definition to its juicy dark fruit flavors. Showing much more early personality too. Finishes with serious but pliant tannins.

The Bruno Clair Marsannay Rouge 2016 is a splendid embodiment of fine French winemaking. Expertly crafted in the heart of Burgundy, this charming Pinot Noir captures the essence of its Marsannay terroir with finesse. Its brilliance stems from Bruno Clair's philosophical winemaking approach, one that emphasizes minimal interference and meticulous attention to detail. An advocate of sustainable viticulture, Clair's respect for the soil affords a robust concentration of flavour.

This wine displays vibrant ruby hues, exuding ripe red fruits, including cherries and currants on the nose. On the palate, it impresses with its elegant tannins, the subtle spiciness of clove blending with its fruit-driven core. The wine's natural acidity and balance make it accessible within its youthful stage, whilst indicating a long life ahead.

The Bruno Clair Marsannay Rouge 2016 is a testament to the producer's profound understanding of the vine and a dedication to the authentic expression of its origin.

Burghound (89-90)

"A very subtle hint of wood frames pure and relatively elegant red and blue pinot fruit aromas that introduce delicious mineral-inflected flavors that possess good detail and punch, all wrapped in a mildly austere and persistent finish"

Wine Advocate (89-91)

Notes of cherries, red berries and peonies introduce the 2020 Marsannay Les Longeroies, a medium-bodied, bright and lively wine with a pretty core of fruit and ripe, melting tannins.

Wine Advocate (91)

From vines planted at elevated densities, the 2020 Marsannay Clos du Roy Blanc exhibits notes of white flowers, citrus zest, crisp orchard fruit and nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy, with bright acids and a saline, mineral finish, it shows plenty of promise.

Vinous (90-92)

The 2021 Marsannay Clos du Roy has a splendid bouquet, very pure and perfumed, quite floral in style. The palate is fresh on the entry with crunchy red fruit, a bit chalky, crisp black and red fruit with a vibrant, rather mineral finish. This is quite superb.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Marsannay Es Chezots is one of the most impressive on the nose among Laurent Fournier’s cuvées with black cherries, cassis and briary aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins. There is a discrete marine influence, touches of oyster shell and sea salt on the finish of this splendid and sophisticated Marsannay.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (90-92)

Rich deep purple, I do like the nose here. Laurent says it did not show so well earlier and is now only coming in to itself. He is looking at longer ageing. Huge stuffing to this yet entirely balanced. On the cusp of red and black, a little bit spicy and with excellent length. Tasted: November 2021

Vinous (91-93)

The 2021 Marsannay Es Chezots has a lively, vibrant bouquet with pure Dorset plum and bilberry scents, light iris petal aromas. Very detailed. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiselled tannins, quite chalky in texture, perhaps a little compact but I feel this has something up its sleeve for later. Fournier's spiciest Marsannay. Great potential.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (90-93)

5 stars. Pale to mid lemon yellow. No sign of too much wood here from Schneckenleitner barrels, much crisper with great tension behind and complex citrus fruit notes behind. Long and fine. Excellent. Marries freshness and density. Tasted: November 2021

Wine Advocate (90-92)

The 2015 Bourgogne Chapitre Vieilles Vignes, which now includes a small parcel of younger vines, is one of the best generic red Burgundy wines that you can find. This does not disappoint. It has a beautifully defined bouquet with blackberry and raspberry aromas, real intensity, almost brooding in quality. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, quite rounded redcurrant and cranberry notes on the entry, wonderful acidity and genuine weight and presence on the finish. Never underestimate the quality of this wine.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Marsannay Le Chapitre comprises a blend of 15- and 75-year-old vines. Interestingly, Laurent Fournier remarks that the younger vines performed better due to the superior rootstock. It has a gorgeous bouquet with dark cherries, blackcurrant and light violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, very velvety in texture with an almost crystalline finish. Just a wonderful Marsannay from Fournier this year.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2019 Marsannay "Trois Terres" Vieilles Vignes has a dense bouquet with blackberry, Japanese nori and almost briny aromas. It gradually opens with more crushed stone scents coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, fleshy to the point where it disguises the structure underneath, leading to a tarry and very sustained finish. Just about as good as Marsannay gets. Superb.

Burghound (90-93)

An agreeably fresh nose freely offers up its array of spicy and perfumed red berries, soft earth and a floral whiff. There is fine mid-palate density to the seductively textured, even succulent, medium weight flavors that exude a subtle minerality on the lightly austere, firm and balanced finale. This is lovely and worth considering

Wine Advocate (98)

The single-vineyard Sorte O Soro had not been produced since 2016, and the 2019 Sorte O Soro is the next vintage after that. This plot has always shown additional elegance, freshness and salinity since he started vinifying it in 2004, because of the altitude (710 meters above sea level) and the north exposure to the Bibei Valley, where the old clone is planted on fine granite sand and quartz soils. Like As Sortes, this Sorte also fermented and matured with lees in new 500-liter French oak barrels for eight months. It has 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.12 and higher acidity (at 7.5 grams) than the rest of the 2019s. It feels very harmonious, elegant and nuanced with some creaminess, with notes of wet pollen and yellow flowers. The palate reflects the soil, with vibrant granite and very fine sand and electric quartz (saline), and it's also round and powerful from the clone that is planted in the vineyard. This vineyard is in the process of being organically and biodynamically certified. 2,240 bottles were filled in September 2020. I tasted the 2019s and 2020s from Rafa Palacios in Valdeorras. For him, these are two very good years. 2019 had a mild and dry winter and a rainy and cold spring that delayed budding, followed by a mild summer with fewer hours of sunshine, which meant a delay in the ripening process. Harvest was more than one month later than usual, and the grapes achieved very slow ripening and full development of aromas and flavors while keeping the acidity. The harvest started in October and finished in November. It's a beautiful, homogeneous vintage with very good wines. 2020 saw a moderately cool and rainy winter and a dry and cold spring that resulted in 20% less bunches than in 2019. The summer was also quite dry but, fortunately, not too hot. Given the low yields, maturation was accelerated, and the harvest began at the beginning of September for Louro and from September 25th for As Sortes. Given the scarce water, the plants had to work harder deep down into the soil, which marked the wines; the silica and quartz from the sandy soils of O Bolo shaped a saline identity and the wines achieved a lot of elegance and balance. It's a more heterogeneous vintage, and the higher-altitude vineyards behaved better. The 2020 O Soro is out of this world. He gave me a quick preview of the very cold 2021, a vin de garde vintage but a challenging year with a lot of rain. They are in the process of certifying their vineyards (organic and biodynamic), but they have some problems in the vineyards with neighbors who are not organic, so it will probably be faster for O Soro and Sorte Antiga.

Decanter (98)

Sampled from a vat, this is one of the best As Sortes I have ever tasted, comparable to the iconic 2011. It's a prodigy of subtleness and elegance. Everything is firmly delicate in this wine. Restrained aromas open up parsimoniously, with a steely structure like a great Burgundy, but with flinty acidity almost like Grosses Gewächs from Rheingau. Despite the fact that the sample was not yet bottled, the wine had no oak influence, just the indication that it had been aged, as top Godello must. Rafael Palacios is refining his work year after year, reaching the magic of the greatest wines. A top wine, and one to keep.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Marsannay Les Longeroies comes from the middle of the vineyard on clayey soils. It is quite high-toned on the nose with Morello cherry, crushed strawberry and sea cave aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with very good depth, rather spicy with a liberal sprinkling of cracked black pepper on the vivacious finish. There is good persistency here - this is a superb Marsannay.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2015 O Diviso felt closed, more reticent, and seems more powerful, despite the fact they did a nonextractive vinification; they did nothing and let the wine ferment at its own pace. This matured in one 600-liter oak barrel, and this is the only red that has a slight note from the oak. There is also a relevant amount of Garnacha Tintorera, so the combination of a warm year, the small barrel and the varietal mix resulted in a more austere and backward wine that is going to require more time in bottle. The fruit is darker and the wine is more powerful than the 2014. It might evolve with time in bottle, because it certainly has the stuffing to do so, but today As Caborcas was singing, and I have to give it the edge. 895 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2016.