DOMAINE LUCIEN LE MOINE 1er Cru Grandes Ruchottes, Chassagne-Montrachet Lucien Le Moine is a unique négocianthaute couture is often how they are described. Husband and wife, Mounir and Rotem Saouma source small parcels of wine from many producers. Their contribution to the wine is in the elevage, esoteric regime which changes each vintage relying on Mounirs sensory talents forged in a Trappist monastery in Lebanon and honed in their vaulted cellars in the Cote dOr. Working with the best (Jupilles, FRA), fine-grained new oak, the Saoumas produce a staggering number of Grands and 1er Crus cuvees.

One of the longest-lived white wines in France, the extremely rare M.Chapoutier Ermitage de lOrée is a single varietal Marsanne sourced from a single vineyard Murets plot at the eastern edge of the Hill of Hermitage. Orée means edge in French and is also a reference to the colour of the wine as or in French means gold. Rich, full-bodied and immensely complex, Ermitage de lOrée has the structure and concentration to age often well beyond 50 years.

Grand Cru Cuvée du Kalimeris Corton-Charlemagne Driven by a predilection that deems the sum far greater than its individual parts, Laurent Ponsot has blended across plots on this venerated hillside, all Grand Cru, to deliver a masterpiece. The essence of the terroir, as he sees it. Loads of toasted nuts, nougatine and the inflection of lemon oil, yellow plum and lime curd that so often defines the finest Corton-Charlemagne. A confluence of precise mineral vibrato and almost unctuous power, melded as a curvaceous whole of thrilling length. Make no mistake, this should be buried in the cellar.