The best bottle for your budget
Considering the best of white Burgundy MUST BUYs across five different price points, these potential picks gain high WL scores and are all approaching or within their drinking window parameters. Wine Lister’s MUST BUY algorithm produces initial recommendations through considering a wine’s quality and value within its vintage and appellation.
White burgundy MUST BUY picks per price bracket (per bottle, in-bond)
Which are the best white Burgundy wines for my budget?
Notorious for housing wines of high quality with equally high demand, Burgundy has seen some extreme price rises over the last few years. Below we explore top white Burgundies with availability across a range of prices.
With a history of winemaking in his family dating back to the 15th century, Rémi Jobard took over his namesake estate from his father in 1996, and has since overseen many developments. As well as converting to an organic practice in 2008 (and gaining certification in 2011), Rémi introduced cover crop growth across his seven vineyards to encourage the 60+ year old vines to grow deeper to find nutrients. Harbouring a naturally limited yield through cordon-pruning, Rémi Jobard produced just 2,700 bottles of Meursault Le Ponuzot-Dessus in 2015. Despite this, there is still some available of the vintage for under £100, which can be purchased from Lea & Sandeman at around £66 a bottle.
Since taking over the helm of his family property in 2005, fifth-generation wine maker, Henri Boillot has implemented several changes at Domaine Boillot. As well as a focus on sustainable farming methods, including the avoidance of chemicals, and manual harvesting, the team conducts heavy pruning to limit yields, and harvests fruit as late as possible to ensure maximum phenolic maturity. White grapes are crushed gently to avoid bitterness, and fermented in larger barrels than the typical Burgundy “pièce” (350l, vs. 228) to ensure that purity and freshness is unencumbered. Achieving a WL score of 94, the 2016 vintage can be enjoyed at its best for another 10 years, and is available to buy from Fine+Rare at £116 a bottle.
The Leflaive family legacy has been propelled into a modern era, under the founder’s great-grandson and fourth generation leader, Brice de La Morandière since 2015. As part of increased investment into refining its practice, Leflaive introduced a new type of cork in 2016, from natural cork to DIAM (made from broken down natural cork, cleaned with carbon dioxide), which increases the longevity of its bottles. MUST BUY Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 2014 achieves a WL score of 94, and can be found at Corney & Barrow from £275 a bottle.
The son of Burgundy’s infamous Marc Colin (whose domain expands across 30 different appellations in the region), Pierre-Yves established his own project in 2005 from vineyards he inherited from his father. He deviates from traditional Burgundian vinification methods, utilising larger demi-muid barrels (600l) to moderate the influence of oak on the wine and preserve the purity of fruit. Gaining Buzz Brand and Investment Staple status, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne 2018 has WL score of 95, and provides a solid bet for top-quality white Burgundy to lay down for the future. It can be sourced from Berry Bros. & Rudd at £317 a bottle.
Produced by négociant house Joseph Drouhin with grapes sourced from vineyards owned by the Laguiche family of the Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche estate, Joseph Drouhin’s Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche 2013 is a MUST BUY at the premium end of white Burgundy offerings. Founded in 1880 by 22-year-old Joseph Drouhin himself, the legacy of its founder’s production has been carried through generations, with the property now under the helm of his four grandchildren, Fréderique, Véronique, Philippe, and Laurent. Receiving a WL score of 96 at around £508 a bottle, the 2013 has 10 more years left of enjoyment. To get your hands on this vintage, you can place a bid for it on the Berry Bros & Rudd online marketplace, BBX.
N.B. All prices are quoted per bottle, in-bond and are correct at the time of publication (19th August 2021).
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As well as gaining top scores across its reds, Bordeaux 2020 was successful for dry whites, notably at the highest level. Helping you to discover some of the leading examples, we explore the top five Bordeaux 2020 dry white wines by WL score.
The top dry Bordeaux whites of the 2020 vintage, displayed in order of WL score
Will 2020 be a good vintage in Bordeaux for dry white wines?
Despite another exceedingly warm growing season in 2020, Bordeaux’s earlier-ripening white grapes fared well across many of the region’s top blanc producers. Having seen one of the earliest harvests on record, the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes were picked on the 14th of August, and all fruit destined for dry whites was harvested by early September. The white Bordeaux vintage therefore avoided high temperatures during the rest of the month, maintaining balance and freshness.
With a remarkably small production of just c.600 cases per annum, Haut-Brion Blanc remains one of the most sought-after Bordeaux dry whites. To combat the warm summer temperatures, the team conducted pre-dawn harvesting, picking grapes during the cooler night-time climate to ensure better levels of acidity and freshness. Wine Lister CEO, Ella Lister, found Haut-Brion Blanc to show “an almost Burgundian minerality accompanying its unmistakable Pessac green and yellow-fruit character”. With a WL score of 94, it champions the leader board of Bordeaux dry whites for the last four vintages, and there is still some of the 2020 available to purchase en primeur at IG Wines for £600 per bottle (in-bond).
Haut-Brion’s sibling estate, La Mission Haut-Brion’s white is characterised by a Sémillon-dominated blend – a grape with naturally low acidity compared to Bordeaux’s other white varietals. With soaring summer temperatures in 2020, the team therefore increased the percentage of Sauvignon Blanc in its blend to 54.7% (up from 30.1% in 2019) to ensure balance. Ella notes the impact of the increased Sauvignon on the wine’s acidity, describing a “zippy acidity, zingy energy, [with a] peach stone finish.” La Mission Haut-Brion’s white gains a WL score of 94 for the 2020 vintage, and can be found at Justerini & Brooks for £480 per bottle (in-bond).
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc’s white vines are planted just behind the château to the north, where they benefit from a cooler microclimate that withstood high temperatures in 2020. Technical Director, Fabien Teitgen found a “nice balance and liveliness” in the grapes after harvest, while Ella characterises the 2020 as “subtle and flirtatious, building slowly into notes of white pepper and lime, as well as pure white fruit”. Gaining a WL score of 93, Smith Haut Lafitte blanc 2020 is available at Honest Grapes for £96 per bottle (in-bond).
Located at the heart of the Landes pine forest, Domaine de Chevalier’s vines are also subject to a cooler microclimate as a result of the surrounding woodland, which was certainly welcomed in 2020. When sampling the latest release at the estate, Ella enjoyed the richness of the vintage, noting “Aromas of tangerine, white flowers, custard, and acacia honey” and a palate that is “creamy and caressing […] with a lift of tension and a savoury bite.” Receiving a WL score of 93, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2020 can be acquired from Berry Bros & Rudd for £68 per bottle (in-bond).
Though First Growth Margaux has been producing a dry white for over 300 years, Pavillon Blanc 2020 marks the 100th anniversary under its current name. The only non-Pessac pick to feature in the top-five ranking, the success of the latest release was not without its challenges. Tasting alongside Margaux’s Managing Director, Philippe Bascaules, and Business Development Director, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, Ella was informed of the high mildew pressure as a result of a hot wet spring in 2020, which risked affecting the Sauvignon Blanc grapes of their single-varietal wine. Nevertheless, their 2020 receives a WL score of 93, with Ella describing a “Really rich, mouthcoating texture on entering the mouth – almost a Chardonnay-esque opulence”, and declaring the wine “Delicious.” Pavillon Blanc 2020 can be purchased en primeur from Goedhuis & Co for £180 per bottle (in-bond).
Wine Lister has put together a selection of MUST BUYs that have reached the perfect point of maturity in 2021. With a minimum score of 93, these picks take into account wines entering their apogee on the basis of Wine Lister partner critics’ drinking windows, and our own assessment of the optimum point with them, depending on region, grape variety, and style.
Read more below to discover some top wines that are at the peak of their drinking windows, or see more Wine Lister MUST BUYs here.
One of two Bordeaux 2000s that feature in our selection, Latour’s second wine, Les Forts de Latour aptly illustrates the success of a vintage that is widely considered one Bordeaux’s recent bests. With over 20 years of ageing under its belt, the 2000 Les Forts de Latour has a WL score of 94, and is described by Wine Lister partner critic, Jancis Robinson, as possessing a “minerality and lusciousness-yet-dryness on the finish”. With 10 more years to enjoy it, it is available to purchase from Lay & Wheeler Wine Merchants for £198 per bottle (in-bond).
In Burgundy, Michel Lafarge’s 2011 Volnay Les Caillerets is currently at the peak of its drinking window, and is noted by Jancis Robinson as offering “rich, round and charming red fruits” that “firm up on the end of the palate”. With a WL score of 94, it has four more years of optimum drinking (Jancis notes there is “lots of fun to be had”), and can be purchased from Goedhuis & Co for £95 per bottle (in-bond).
At just £28 per bottle (in-bond), the Rhône’s Château Sixtine achieves a WL score of 95 with its 2010 Cuvée du Vatican. Writing for Vinous.com (another Wine Lister partner critic outfit), Josh Raynolds describes its “explosive perfumed bouquet [that]evokes dark berry preserves, incense, licorice and candied flowers”. Currently drinking at its best, this Value Pick is worth snapping up (by the case of 12, from Bordeaux Index).
Crossing into Italy, Roagna’s 2009 Barbaresco Paje is one of four selected MUST BUYs from Piedmont that can be enjoyed at their best in 2021. “The 2009 is gorgeous. Sweet tobacco, brown spices, dried cherries, menthol and leather are some of the notes that take shape in the glass” writes our partner critic, Antonio Galloni (Vinous). The Buzz Brand is available from Bordeaux Index for £75 per bottle (in-bond).
Two New World reds feature in the selection, including Penfold’s 2005 St. Henri. The vintage saw favourable weather conditions, with particularly mild temperatures, and moderate rainfall. Available in magnum form from Cru World Wine for £144 per bottle (in-bond), it is described by Jancis Robinson as “very round, polished and gorgeous”, offering “warm, super-fruity mulberry fruit”.
Wine Lister’s selection of white MUST BUYs drinking best in 2021 includes five Burgundian picks from a range of vintages. Vincent Dauvissat’s 2012 Chablis Vaillons is a new MUST BUY, and achieves a WL score of 93. A great year for the appellation, Chablis has an average WL score of 95 across its top wines in 2012 (explore Wine Lister’s Vintage Chart here). Antonio Galloni notes that Dauvissat’s Chablis Vaillons “opens with the most exquisite, expressive aromatics imaginable. Weightless and totally gracious in the glass, […] a wine of sublime understatement”. It can be purchased from Latimer Vintners for £80 per bottle (in-bond).
View all Wine Lister MUST BUYs here, or explore our Vintage Chart to access the top wines per year.
In 2004, WL partner critic Jancis Robinson published an article, “Pink champagne – fashionable but too often dire”, whose title summarises the contemporaneous consensus surrounding rosé Champagne. Long-regarded by Champagne producers as a subsidiary wine – one without the required levels of attention placed on their primary project – its quality often fell short.
15 years later, in September 2019, Robinson conversely wrote a piece titled “Pink champagne – a serious wine now”, outlining the attentive methods of production, and the consequential calibre of rosé Champagne amongst its top producers.
This week’s blog post investigates the victorious return of rosé Champagne, as we examine the upward quality and price trends across 10 of its top brands when compared to their white counterparts.
The chart above shows the average WL Score and average price for “pairs” of wines from 10 top rosé Champagne producers whose range includes a rosé.
An initial look at the selected wines reveals the recurrent pattern of rosé Champagnes costing more than their white counterparts, with the exception of Krug Rosé, Bollinger Grande Année Rosé, and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé. The mean price difference between the two styles of the respective wines is substantial nonetheless, with rosé Champagne costing 46% more on average than its white equivalent (an average of £195 for rosé and £134 for white).
Excluding Pol Roger’s Rosé and Bollinger’s Grande Année Rosé (whose white equivalents supersede them by one WL point), the rosé Champagnes featured above achieve equivalent or higher WL Scores than their white counterparts.
Cristal Rosé is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay grapes. With a WL Score of 96, at an average price of £401 (per bottle in-bond), this wine is almost double the price of Cristal, which has a WL Score of 95 at £203. Consequential of the generally lower yields of Pinot Noir in continental conditions, Cristal Rosé is Louis Roederer’s rarest and thus most expensive wine, produced solely in years when the grapes have attained perfect maturity.
Similarly made in only exceptional vintages, Dom Pérignon Rosé is considered by its producer to characterise its growing year, hence the fluctuating ratio of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from vintage to vintage. With a WL Score of 96, at an average price of £277 (per bottle in-bond), Dom Pérignon Rosé is over double the price of its white counterpart. Dom Pérignon Vintage Brut has an average price of £131 and has one less WL Score point than its corresponding rosé wine.
As indicated by its Vintage Value Identifier chart, the 2002 Dom Perignon Rosé exhibits significant quality and value, with a WL Score of 98. Jancis Robinson awarded this wine 20/20 (a rare occurrence), describing it as “pungent and composed with massive energy” – a far cry from her 2004 article. Rosé Champagne has most definitely made a comeback.
The 2002 Dom Pérignon Rosé can be purchased from Berry Bros & Rudd, where a case of three starts at £1,200 (in-bond).