Exuding grace and sophistication, the Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 is an exquisite testament to traditional French winemaking. Allied with the finest Cabernet Franc grapes handpicked from the sun-kissed hills of Bourgueil in the Loire Valley, this wine is a marvel of nature and human ingenuity. Accurate craftsmanship by the astute vintner produces its signature medium-bodied elegance accompanied by intriguingly complex flavours.

Following the classic Bourgueil style, it is carefully aged for up to 24 months in wooden oak barrels to craft a remarkable bouquet providing a harmonious blend of rich dark fruits and an underlying subtly of earthy undertones. Finely balanced acidity and supple tannins add to its impressively long finish, promising prolonged pleasure.

Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 indeed captures the essence of the region and the unrivalled skills of its producer. A distinguished selection, it caters to the sophisticated palate of the discerning, experienced wine aficionado.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Powerful and structured, this wine is dark with black fruits. The rich fruit and acidity are surrounded by firm tannins provide a solid scaffolding. With acidity and tannins at the end, this complex wine will age slowly, so don't drink before 2022.

Vinous (93-96)

Bachelet's 2013 Charmes-Chambertin is striking. Translucent and pulsating in the glass, the 2013 possesses notable energy and fabulous overall balance. Dark red cherry, violet, leather and smoke gradually unfurl in a mysterious, beguiling Charmes that will provide fabulous drinking for many years.

Vinous (95-97)

The 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has an airy and generous bouquet with lifted black fruit, hoisin and light roasted chestnut aromas, all well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautiful line of acidity, svelte and harmonious with a slightly grainy-textured finish. I adore the discrete crescendo in this Grand Cru and the unimposing but long aftertaste. "It’s been growing in stature over the last 10 to 15 years," remarked Alex Seysses. Proof of that is evident by tasting this superb Charmes-Chambertin.

Decanter (97)

Sourced from what Burgundians often call 'Charmes-Charmes' to distinguish it from the Mazoyères part of this extensive Grand Cru, this cuvée uses fruit from five different parcels, all but one of which is 40 years' old. Floral and intense, with 20% whole bunches adding some freshness and spice, this is a serious, well-upholstered Pinot Noir showing fine tannins and appealingly understated oak.

Vinous (96+)

The 2019 Chambertin Grand Cru, under the négoce label, is a debut release from just 500 square meters of ancient vine acquired from a distant relative of the family; Pierre Duroché manages the vineyard and harvests the crop. This is aged in one new 150-liter barrel. It has a really entrancing bouquet that soars from the glass, offering pure red cherries, crushed strawberry, minerals and rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, filigreed tannins. There is an unerring symmetry about this Chambertin, which is one of the best you will find in 2019. The persistence is astounding, though that is partially driven by the new wood. This will be fascinating to taste in bottle.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Barrel sample. Mid crimson. Less sweet-smelling than the Clos de Vougeot, with plenty of open, dark-red fruit and also a light herbal note, which lifts it and adds freshness. Firm and dry on the palate, dry yet elegant, the fruit filling out the core. Chalk-fine texture. A little constrained at the moment.

Wine Advocate (93-95)

Aromas of cassis, orange rind, smoked meats and loamy soil introduce Faiveley's 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, a medium to full-bodied, layered and demonstrative wine that's concentrated and succulent, with an ample core of ripe fruit framed by velvety tannins and lively acids. This is another especially fine cuvée this year.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru includes 20% whole bunches, matured in one-third new oak. It has a gorgeous bouquet of cranberry and raspberry fruit with veins of cassis; later, brown spices emerge. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, good depth and fine grip, perhaps just missing a little precision toward the finish but still very fine.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Très Vieilles Vignes has turned out even better than I anticipated, unfurling in the glass with a magical bouquet of cassis, plums and blackberries mingled with dark chocolate, spices, sweet soil tones, licorice and black truffle. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's extraordinarily sumptuous and concentrated, framed by velvety tannins that caress the palate, and underpinned by lively acids, concluding with a long and expansive finish. Pierre-Jean Roty compares it to the 2012 and 2009 renditions, which readers who follow this domaine will know is high praise indeed.

Burghound (92-94)

This is cool and pure to the point of being almost timid with its restrained array of red currant, pomegranate, earthy and softly sauvage-inflected nose. There is fine intensity to the sleek and satin-textured flavors that are muscular yet dance across the palate on the saline and wonderfully refreshing finish. This is clearly built-to-age yet it's already inviting.

The Stephane Magnien Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017 is the epitome of fine Burgundy wine, crafted by the fourth-generation vintner, Stephane Magnien. Cultivated in the renowned vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin, this luxurious Grand Cru elegantly embodies the region's famed terroir. The wine’s cultivation is traditional, with the vineyards possessing an average age of 65 years, ensuring deep root growth and contributing a distinctive complexity to the wine.

The vinification processes involve thoughtful, gentle extraction techniques to preserve the wine's unique, full-bodied flavour. Matured in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months, it develops an irresistible blend with notes of wild berries, earthiness and compelling spices.

The Stephane Magnien Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017 is an exceptional representation of Magnien's commitment to authenticity and his ability to subtly translate the vineyard's specificity into this spectacular cuvée. This collectable wine brings together tradition and sophistication, offering connoisseurs an extraordinary tasting experience.

Wine Advocate (93-95)

The 2015 Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru has an expressive bouquet with redcurrant, raspberry coulis, a touch of honey and a hint of Seville orange marmalade. It opens nicely in the glass, though does not slip into fifth gear at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, cohesive in the mouth and quite saline and spicy. There is generosity here, a trait of Charmes-Chambertin, with the mineral core surfacing right at the finish as it fans out. This is an impressive follow-up to the superb 2014 and it should give 20+ years of pleasure.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-95)

Rich, exuberant purple. A cheerful nose, flamboyantly perfumed which is as Charmes should be. I very much like the balance of this, which is all in red fruit, succulent strawberry and raspberry, good acidity, no feeling of excess heat. 14.1% but holds it without difficulty. Tasted: December 2021

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin Les Mazoyeres comes across a big, powerful and super intense. It bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, freshly cut flowers, tar and licorice, all of which come together with notable intensity. The 2009 shows off superb textural richness all the way through to the finish. The Charmes is young, young, young. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2015 Charmes Chambertin les Mazoyeres Grand Cru offers up notes of red and black fruit, beetroot, earth and whole cluster spice. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and silky, with an expansive attack, a layered mid-palate and a long, saline finish. This is quite stylized, marked by whole cluster fermentation which seems to give it a high pH feel, but for admirers of this particular aesthetic—a perspective my score reflects—this should offer two decades of rewarding drinking.

Wine Advocate (94)

From low-yielding Cabernet Franc vines that average 45 years of age and root in the silex clay soils of the côte, the 2019 Bourgueil Le Grand Clos opens with a pure, fine and intense, concentrated but also aromatic and fragrant bouquet of dark and red fruits and crushed stones along with refreshing lemony and spicy notes. Round and very elegant on the palate, this is a beautifully balanced Grand Clos with a concentrated finish with tight but fine tannins and a fresh acidity that gives a positive astringency. The aftertaste is long and intense but always in balance and underlines the remarkable finesse of this wine that aged for 12 to 18 months in 400-liter tonneaux. Tasted in June 2021.

Wine Advocate (93+)

From vines averaging 45 years of age on the slopes of the Coteau and aged in oak barrels for 20 months, the 2018 Bourgueil Les Quartiers opens with a deep, intense and toasty bouquet of ripe, black berries and blackcurrants intermixed with spicy tones, cigar box and graphite. Silky, refined and fresh on the palate, this is an elegant, tight but vivacious, silky-textured Cabernet Franc with crystalline tannins and a long finish that is still oak-influenced in its flavors, but the structure, finesse and intensity and the very delicate raspberry flavor in the aftertaste indicate excellent aging potential. Personally, I prefer the crus that were partly aged in stoneware (amphorae) and also for a shorter period, whereas Les Quartiers represents the old Amirault style, before 2014.