2019 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Maison Jaffelin

2019 was a dry vintage with a string of heatwaves resulting in fully ripened fruit but considerably lower than average yields, but the resulting quality is undeniable.

The magic starts the moment you pull the cork, aromas start to build as you pour, and the faint mahogany sheen fills the glass, the light catches the surface as you swish, offering a real visual clarity, and a sense of purity and finesse.

Aromas lift with ease from the glass, nothing clumsy here, this is fine and elegant through and through, pure redcurrant and red cherry are first to emerge, gently evolving into subtle notes of polished oak veneer, alongside rough cut old oak, a subtle earthy character, fire cinders and dried herb. Don't rush to taste, take time and savour the aromatics, they're such a big part of the fine wine experience.

But taste you must, and upon doing so you'll experience just what fine red Burgundy is all about; redcurrant, brambly darker fruit, currants, cherry and violets, with a subtle mature poached orchard fruit character with secondary flavours of straw/hay and woody, shitake mushroom balanced with perfectly integrated, fine tannic grip and a deep, fulfilling, near endless velvety finish.

James Russell-Grant | Mr.Wheeler