DOMAINE LUCIEN LE MOINE Folatieres 1er Cru, Puligny-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.

Olivier Leflaive Vireuils is a wine that is consistently well composed. It offers elegance and finesse, in parallel with zing and definition. The wine is fermented in oak, aged in tank for 6 months, then aged for a further 12 months in oak (20% new). The vineyard is located on the top of the hill, near the village of Auxey Duresses. The wine comes from the blending of vineyards from the parts of Dessus and Dessous (upper and lower). The vineyard spans 16.05 ha, sits at an altitude of 300/350m, and boasts an average vine age of 41 years. ’Vireuil’ derives from the verb ‘vire’ which means to go round, like the path going round the vineyard.

LAURENT PONSOT 1er Cru Cuvée de la Centaurée , Meursault-Charmes

Cuvée du Pandoréa Meursault Six suppliers enable this plush Meursault, built in the traditional mould of ripe stone fruits, buttery viscosity and ample scents of toasted hazelnuts and generous oak. Inimitably of place, this is a wine for those pining for flavour and textural amplitude, in an era of linear expressions. A top tier wine built for cellaring or earlyish approachability, as long as the drinker does not mind a rail of phenolics and salubrious, cinnamon-scented oak. Expressive. Exotic. Absolutely delicious.