The old adage about necessity being the mother of invention springs readily to mind when you hear the story of Jean-Luc Pasquet. In 1970, he took over a Cognac vineyard at Chez Ferchaud, a few kilometres southwest of Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, from his uncle Albert Brisson. Things got off to an excellent start. The weather was glorious and the 1970 harvest was abundant – ideal when your business model is predicated on selling to the big Cognac houses that dominate the industry. Life, in other words, was good. But then came the oil crisis and a downturn that badly affected trade in Cognac, prompting Jean-Luc to think again. Amy Pasquet, his daughter-in-law, takes up the story. ‘He said, “I have some really unique terroir; I’m going to make my own label,”’ she explains. And so, in 1977, Cognac Jean-Luc Pasquet was born. Soon, Jean-Luc’s Cognacs were picked out and praised by a German journalist, prompting interest from Germany, Sweden and the UK – and the company, today run by Amy and her husband, Jean-Luc’s son Jean, hasn’t looked back since. Cognac is replete with individuals like Jean-Luc Pasquet. Often they are the unseen drones of a multibillion-euro industry, toiling in vineyard, winery, distillery and cellar to fuel the engines of the quartet of titans that dominate global trade: Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin and Courvoisier. But to those in the know, they shine a new and very different light on a corner of rural France that continues to produce the finest brandy in the world. ‘Cognac is so artisanal when you go outside of [the big four houses],’ says Amy. ‘I think a lot of people coming from the world of Scotch and other spirits think it’s kind of boring. But you have 250 artisanal brands with their own vines – it’s a joy to explore.’ Cognac is so artisanal when you go outside of the big four houses – it’s a joy to explore – Amy Pasquet As well as being the source of high-quality, excellent-value and sometimes downright quirky Cognacs, these small producers provide enthusiasts with no shortage of fascinating rabbit holes of flavour and provenance down which they can happily vanish. They are the antithesis of the blended VS, VSOP and XO bottlings that dominate shelves and back bars from Shanghai to San Francisco. Jean-Luc Pasquet’s vineyards – 15ha (37 acres) now, spanning the Grande and Petite Champagne crus – are all farmed organically, which is no small feat in this Atlantic-influenced, notoriously humid part of western France. The Pasquets rely heavily on weather stations and apps to ensure the vines get the right treatment at the right time. ‘Our two vineyards are only 5km [3 miles] apart but they have very different microclimates,’ says Amy. As if organics didn’t make life difficult enough, the Pasquets are also huge fans of Folle Blanche, the grape variety that dominated the pre-phylloxera Cognac vineyards but has fallen heavily out of favour since, on account of being fiendishly difficult to farm. (About 98% of Cognac plantings are now Ugni Blanc.) An annual JL Pasquet bottling of a 10-year-old cask of Folle Blanche is a perennial highlight. Jean-Luc Pasquet set up his business as a négociant; this meant he could bottle other people’s Cognacs, as well as his own, though he had no need to do so in the early years. In 2018, however, demand was such that the company ran out of its own aged stock. What resulted was L’Esprit de Famille, later renamed Trésors de Famille single-cask bottlings of Cognacs produced by small grower-distillers – known as bouilleurs de cru. It began with Le Cognac de Bernadette, a 1974 Cognac from Bouteville in Grande Champagne, and it has continued with bottlings of Le Cognac de Paul, Claude and André-all namechecking the producers in question. ‘For me, all of these vintners are the unsung heroes of Cognac’, says Amy Pasquet. ‘They’re selling to big houses, making really fine products and never getting any credit.’ It’s one thing to know that there are many dozens of small producers out there, but quite another to be able to track down their Cognacs, short of conducting your own painstaking tour, cellar door by cellar door, of the Charente region. Here specialist retailers such as The Whisky Exchange are a great place to start, unlike the multiples, they take the trouble and have the space to stock a much broader range of smaller producers and interesting bottles. If this were Scotch whisky, of course, enthusiasts on a quest for obscure single malts would turn to independent bottlers but that concept is far less common in Cognac. The superb selection offered by David Baker’s Hermitage Cognacs has long been an exception to this rule, as are the releases of Cognac Sponge from bottler Decadent Drinks, then there’s Through The Grapevine (TTG), an independent bottling offshoot of French retailer La Maison du Whisky in association with Italian importer Velier. Now managed by Antoine Bouchard, TTG was revamped two years ago, with Bouchard setting out to create a rolling annual release programme of single-cask Cognacs spanning from the 1930s to the 1990s in colour-coded bottles designating the region’s different crus. Unlike most Cognac operators, TTG encourages its partners to minimise any reduction in alcohol, everything is geared to reject homogeneity. ‘The idea of TTG is to unearth the “hidden gems” of the region, not to go towards the big four like Hennessy – although they’re doing a great job, don’t get me wrong’, says Bouchard. ‘We want to emphasise that the big brands are blending subregions, thus erasing, in a way, the identity of the grape and the distillate. Instead, we want to focus on how the soil influences the final product.’ The result, in the most recent round of TTG releases, is an eclectic selection of idiosyncratic Cognacs. There’s everything from a benchmark Grande Champagne from Jean Fillioux (Lot 63, signifying a blend of mainly 1963 eaux de vie with a little 1965) to a totally out-of-the-box Château de Beaulon 1988 Fins Bois. Created by the remarkable Christian Thomas in the far south of the region, close to the Gironde Estuary, it’s bottled at a muscular 55.2% ABV and eschews the ubiquitous Ugni Blanc for a unique blend of obscure grape varieties: Colombard, Montils, Folle Blanche and Folignan. If Beaulon waves the flag for Fins Bois, TTG’s remarkable Mauxion 45 (yes, 45 as in 1945) does the same for the often overlooked Bons Bois cru – although it’s sadly out of stock now. ‘It’s really about showing that there is no subregion inherently better than another’, says Bouchard. ‘To me, Bons Bois Cognacs are amazing and it’s such a shame that Grande Champagne is seen as the greatest cru.’ While a terroir-focused, provenance-rich approach to Cognac remains predominantly the preserve of smaller operators, others are taking note. Delamain – a specialist in long-aged Cognacs of XO grade and above – is now managing its own Grande Champagne vineyard, as is Hine. And Frapin, with its 240ha (600-acre) estate at Château de Fontpinot, has always been rooted in the soil surrounding its vines. Drinkers around the globe are changing and Cognac – ever so slowly – is changing with them The largest operators remain predominantly focused on their core VS, VSOP and XO blends, but the philosophy is shifting here, too. ‘For me, the approach for Cognac has to be much more precise, like the grands crus we have for our wine regions in France,’ says Baptiste Loiseau, cellar master at Rémy Martin. ‘We see more and more small producers going with much more information on the label.’ In 2022, Loiseau released Rémy Martin L’Étape in France, a 7,000-bottle release that blended 14 eaux de vie sourced from growers across Grande and Petite Champagne who have achieved HVE (High Environmental Value) certification – complete with a paper wrapper featuring grower testimonials, a map and a QR code for more information. Rémy Martin Tercet, meanwhile, highlights the respective roles of wine grower, distiller and blender. At Martell, cellar master Christophe Valtaud has created the Martell Single Cru Collection – a six-strong range of Cognacs including three Discovery Edition products (Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois), two Aged Editions (Grande Champagne XO, Borderies XXO) and one Vintage Edition (Borderies 1999). As well as showcasing Martell’s signature Borderies origin, these Cognacs challenge preconceptions, particularly the younger Discovery Edition trio. ‘Before tasting, people think that the Petite Champagne will be the best, but the best Cognac at this stage and the biggest pleasure to drink is the Fins Bois,’ explains Valtaud. ‘Fins Bois eaux de vie find balance more quickly than Petite Champagne, which is more spicy and a little bit less easy to drink. People think that Fins Bois and Bons Bois are not the best, but it’s not always the case.’ Drinkers around the globe are changing and Cognac – ever so slowly – is changing with them. ‘In England, America and China, I see the new generation wanting to know what the size of the cask is, or how many bottles we produced in this special vintage,’ says Delamain cellar master Charles Braastad. ‘I think that this is our time; the world has become more informed and more interested. People just want to know what it is that they are drinking.’

In this 2024 article for Club Oenologique, Richard Woodard speaks to Cognac’s foremost innovators to find out how times are changing for the spirit – propelled by a particular focus on provenance.

In this 2024 article for Club Oenologique, Richard Woodard speaks to Cognac’s foremost innovators to find out how times are changing for the spirit.

Reimagining Cognac from the ground up

The key words that spring to mind when describing Clos des Papes are ‘elegance’ and ‘consistency’. Whilst the common perception of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is (usually correctly) one of power and richness, Clos des Papes possesses a restraint and an almost Burgundian character that very few other wines from the region do.  The consistency of Clos des Papes wines is largely thanks to the stability behind the scenes, and that over the decades there have only been minor tweaks in the approach and philosophy of this great domaine in the Southern Rhône. Winemaker Vincent Avril took over from his father Paul in 1987 and is currently on his 38th vintage. ‘I have changed very little of what my father did. The biggest change has been a deeper focus in the vineyard, as I would say that 80% of the work is done in the vineyard itself. And, of course, the soils are key: we have 24 different plots and 24 different soil types, which is a blessing.’ Clos des Papes possesses a restraint and an almost Burgundian character There has only ever been one red and one white cuvée produced here, with Avril showing no interest in following the trend for cuvée speciale, which all too often can be even more powerful and weightier than the traditional cuvées. One of the more significant changes has been the changing grape mix in the vineyard, with less Grenache and more Mourvèdre. ‘Chateauneuf is the most northern outpost for Mourvèdre in France, and it gives a brightness and wildness and spice to the wines in their youth. We now have around 55% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah and the balance is Counoise and Cinsault.’ According to Avril, the most important thing for his wines is tannin and phenolic maturity. He never picks on sugar content but on tannin ripeness. ‘If your tannins aren’t ripe then you will feel the alcohol far more. If the tannins are ripe then you will automatically have better balance and alcohol integration. I also believe that the quality of tannins is fundamental for the ability to age. For that reason, I also only use old foudres and never any new oak; I don’t want oak tannins in the wine, I want to taste the grapes, the soil and the place.’ At Clos des Papes, the reds are always co-fermented with two varieties together. When I ask what this brings, Avril explains that ‘the wines are just more complete when fermented and blended from the beginning. My father and I did trials every year of single ferments and co-ferments and then we tasted the results; we always chose the co-ferments, they are deeper and more complex.’ As this vertical tasting demonstrated, they are certainly wines with profundity, complexity and an incredible capacity for ageing. On the issue of climate change, it was interesting to hear Avril’s thoughts on the impact it has had on Clos des Papes over the decades. ‘This really hasn’t had a huge amount of difference, especially not compared to places like Burgundy. We are now only harvesting on average two to three days earlier than we were 30-40 years ago. But what we have are more peaks, so we may see a huge downpour of 100mm of rain in an hour, and we certainly see less rainfall in summer. So it is more extremes but not necessarily warming.’ One effect on the winemaking as a result of these changes, however, was the decision made in 1992 to totally de-stem the fruit. With less rain in the summer, the stems do not get fully ripe and therefore would potentially add a greenness to the wines, thus undoing all the hard work of the judicious tannin management. The white wines are somewhat atypical in terms of Châteauneuf for several reasons. Firstly, they are a blend of six varieties, all contributing in different ways. Grenache and Rousanne give richness but can lack acid, Clairette and Picardin add elegance and the freshness comes from Bourboulenc and Picpoul. Secondly there is no oak or malolactic fermentation and the wines are bottled very early, normally in February following harvest. For Avril, the whites nearly always follow the same maturity: ‘The young wines show peach, anis, white flowers, grapefruit and a salinity. As they age, they become more mineral and almost show a Riesling like petrol note. And then heading towards 20 years we see honey, dried apricots and quince appear.’ These are whites that do have a freshness that many other whites from the appellation do not have, yet never at the expense of the textural richness that is integral to their identity. I consider Clos des Papes wines to be extremely good value for money The tasting demonstrated perfectly the trajectory that Clos des Papes wines tend to follow as they age. In their youth, they offer very attractive drinking for two to three or so years after bottling with primary fruit and a suave feel as demonstrated by the 2021, 2022 and 2023. The wines then tend to shut down in bottle, as seen with the 2019, which whilst having a spellbinding nose was quite tight on the palate but with such balance. The 2016 was still somewhat tight but just beginning to unfurl and open up, while the 2010 was drinking just beautifully yet clearly with great potential to develop further. The coup du coeur for me was the quite magnificent 2005, which still maintains such tannic structure and grip but with beautiful fruit, texture and minerality. Again, this seemed to be dipping into a quieter phase as well and I expect it will age gracefully for another 20 years. Clos des Papes is a wine that should be on every Rhône lover’s radar. Firstly, I consider them to be extremely good value for money. They are wines that offer so much pleasure over such a long period of time yet can still be enjoyed in their youth. Each vintage really does speak of the year yet with the hallmark of Clos des Papes, as Avril explains, ‘I compare my job to that of a painter. At the beginning of the year, I get a blank canvas and the weather is what gives me the colours with which to paint the best picture possible. Each year the resulting painting will be different but always with the same signature beneath.’ Vincent Avril is a man that makes it all sound so simple, yet the wines are anything but and offer incredible complexity, elegance and refinement.

Written for Club Oenologique in 2025, Alistair Cooper MW reports on a vertical tasting of Clos des Papes with winemaker Vincent Avril, highlighting some of the best wines from the estate over the last 20 years and explaining why they are must-haves for Rhône collectors.

Written for Club Oenologique in 2025, Alistair Cooper MW reports on a vertical tasting of Clos des Papes with winemaker Vincent Avril.

Clos des Papes 2005-2023

“Time is necessary,” Paul-Etienne Defaix tells me. He should know – he is the 16th generation of his family to make wine in Chablis – and, at Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix, time is everything.  Wine has been made at the Domaine du Vieux Château (the property’s historic name, which still features on the labels today) for eight centuries, and under the Defaix family since 1610. Much has changed in Chablis over the past 400 years, however – and today the estate is a last bastion of the Chablis of yore.   Demand for Chablis was booming by the 1970s, and producers reduced the élevage (the time wine spends in barrel or tank), bottling, releasing and selling the wines earlier. These modern wines, often bottled within six to 12 months, were lean and crisp, but for Paul’s father Daniel-Etienne, they were disappointing – lacking the complexity and ageability of wines that spent longer on their lees (the dead yeast cells). Daniel-Etienne decided to do things differently – to return to making wine the way they had in generations past – and the family hasn’t looked back.  Generally, their approach is to let the wine be – waiting, watching and waiting some more. Fermentation is all with indigenous yeast and notably slow, taking up to six months, with malolactic fermentation left to rumble along on its own timescale, only finishing after up to two years. Their Premier Cru wines then spend up to nine years on their fine lees, while for the Grands Crus it can be up to 15 years, kept at a cool 10-12°C.  During the wines’ extended élevage, autolysis takes place – the enzymatic breakdown of the dead yeast cells, or lees. It’s the same process that takes place in Champagne and other traditional-method sparkling wines aged on their lees, and is the key to the Defaix – and once traditional – style of Chablis, giving the wine a rounder mouth-feel, and lending bready, toasty complexity. It is also, for Paul, “key to revealing terroir”. Although the tiny volumes of Defaix’s Grands Crus and Pinot Noir go into oak, most of the wines are aged exclusively in stainless steel, meaning it is only the site and time that you taste in the bottle. Once deemed ready, the wines are bottled and released into the world.  Ageing its wines in stainless steel tank for not months but years, Defaix creates textural, complex wines that are only released as they reach their drinking window. It is a rebellion, Paul tells me, against “a society of rapid consumption”.  Paul is now in charge of the property’s vineyards and winemaking, although his father is still involved in the business. Paul studied in Beaune, getting experience at a handful of estates – largely focused on Pinot Noir – before returning to the family domaine, working his way from the vines to the cellar. As Daniel-Etienne told him, “You need to learn your soil, your vines, then you can make the wine – and then you try to sell it.”  And, although it’s often the style of winemaking that steals headlines at Defaix, the domaine has some remarkable vineyards. The family farms 28 hectares in total. It has two Grand Cru parcels (0.15 hectares in Blanchot and 0.3 hectares in Grenouilles), but it’s the property’s Premiers Crus that have built its reputation – with four hectares each in Côte de Léchet and Vaillons. From these, they produce three wines: their Côte de Léchet, Les Lys and Vaillon. Importantly, the latter is Vaillon, not plural Les Vaillons – their parcel lying in the historic heart of this Premier Cru, prior to its expansion in 1976. Les Lys is a cooler climat within the larger Vaillons, and is often our favourite of the range, while the Côte de Léchet is drastically steep – with a 45% gradient.  The remaining hectares are largely dedicated to the estate’s village Chablis – their Vieilles Vignes. These vines are all over 45 years old, but some are very old – own-rooted, having survived phylloxera and now 145 years in age. When I ask Paul how this half-hectare has managed to survive ungrafted, he pauses, before saying: “I think God prays for these vines.”. They crop a mere 15hl/ha, but produce beautiful fruit (“For my bank, it’s bad; for my wine, it’s perfect!” Paul jokes) – and are now used for massal selection across the estate.  The final piece of the property is a tiny section of Vaillons planted to Pinot Noir, which is bottled as Bourgogne Rouge (as the land is only classified for Chardonnay production). Comprising less than a hectare, these vines too are ancient, planted in 1900, and still on their own roots.  Their spacious cellars are stocked with back-vintages, carefully maturing – a bank of wine that eases the vagaries of each specific growing season, protecting them from dramatic drops in yield – something that is a constant threat in Chablis. Take 2024, a year that was challenging across much of northern Europe with its wet conditions and high disease pressure, but in Chablis also brought hail that devastated huge swathes of vineyard – including Vaillons.  Global warming might have made it easier to ripen grapes in this marginal region, but it’s also made for more extreme conditions – highs and lows that keep producers on their toes. It’s also, arguably, made Chablis a little less Chablis. With riper fruit, the wines are less steely, taut and lean. Harvest dates are inevitably earlier, Paul notes, to preserve acidity and retain Chablisien backbone, but he also emphasises that the fruit requires not just sugar ripeness, but phenolic ripeness – to give dry extract and allow the wines to age. For him, working with old vines and low yields is key – both to phenolic ripeness and to preserving Chablis’s style.  The 2014 vintage – the first that Paul made – has finally just emerged from the cellar, over a decade after it was produced. It’s been a long wait, but delayed gratification is part of life at Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix.   Explore all current listings of Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix – including the 2014 Vaillon – or read more about Burgundy. 

In many ways, time stands still at Chablis’s Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix. As the latest vintage is released, we caught up with Paul-Etienne Defaix – the 16th generation to take the helm at one of the region’s oldest addresses 

Exploring this traditional Chablis estate and its top Premier and Grand Cru wines with 16th generation winemaker Paul-Etienne Defaix

Worth the wait, Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix’s Chablis wine

Worth the wait: the wines of Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix   

What springs to mind when you think of Bordeaux? Probably châteaux the size of medieval palaces, formal dinners, and rows and rows of pristine vines, neatly manicured rose bushes the only other signs of plant life. What you’re unlikely to be imagining are cow horns stuffed with manure buried in the ground, or horse-drawn ploughs churning through earthworm-rich soil. ‘In the past, in Bordeaux, you were scared to say you were growing biodynamically,’ says Corinne Comme, who manages 10ha of biodynamic vines at Château du Champ des Treilles in Entre-Deux-Mers with her husband Jean-Michel. ‘Now it’s trendy.’ An engineer and geologist, Jean-Michel Comme was behind the first transition of a grand cru classé estate on Bordeaux’s Left Bank to biodynamics. Although he and Corinne first came across the concept in the mid-1990s, he didn’t begin to advocate for the approach at Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac until the early 2000s. ‘Corinne was scared,’ he recalls. ‘She thought they would fire me.’ "Behind the more esoteric elements is a series of principles that have been shown to improve soil health and vine strength" Originally laid out in a series of lectures by Austrian philosopher, scientist and social reformer Rudolf Steiner in 1924, biodynamic farming emerged as a holistic approach to agriculture before quickly evolving into formal certification movements. At its core, biodynamic farming centres on soil health and biodiversity; most distinctively, it operates according to the lunar calendar, with practitioners timing agricultural activities around specific ‘fruit days’, ‘root days’, ‘leaf days’ and ‘flower days’ to align with cosmic rhythms believed to influence plant growth and agricultural processes. For many in Bordeaux – Jean-Michel Comme included – this all sounded a bit wacky. ‘I was young, full of expectations about chemistry; the way biodynamics was presented was so remote that I felt it was crazy,’ Comme says. ‘But with experience, we did change our minds.’ Why? Because behind the more esoteric elements is a series of principles that have been shown to improve soil health and vine strength. In vineyards, biodynamic farming means specific practices such as hand-harvesting, using natural composts made with specific herbal and mineral preparations, avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and treating the entire vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem. In the cellar, there’s an emphasis on minimal intervention, using native yeasts, avoiding commercial additives, keeping sulphur use to under 70ppm, and employing gentle pressing and ageing techniques that respect the wine’s natural development. While biodynamics took root in regions like the Loire and Burgundy in the 1990s, biodynamic winemaking in Bordeaux largely began in the new millennium, with just two early St-Emilion exceptions: Château Meylet, which has been practising it since 1987, and Château Fonroque, experimenting since 1995 with direction from Loire legend Nicolas Joly. This delay largely stemmed from two factors. First, Bordeaux’s humid maritime climate means that vines are especially vulnerable to both downy and powdery mildew, making the avoidance of synthetic fungicides a risky business. Second, large châteaux with multimillioneuro operations were reluctant to abandon the technological viticulture and winemaking that had built their global reputations in the first place. Comme, however, was convinced of the virtues of biodynamics. He began by seeking the assistance of François Bouchet. The Loire Valley winemaker was one of the first in France to pioneer biodynamics, also consulting for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy and Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy. Bouchet guided the transition to biodynamics at Comme’s Château du Champ des Treilles; then, he persuaded Château Pontet-Canet owner Alfred Tesseron of its merits. In 2004, it was trialled on 15ha (about 20% of the estate’s total growing area) of the fifth growth at which Comme was also technical director. A severe mildew outbreak in 2007 led to the use of pesticides, undoing three years of progress, but it then became a crucial lesson that strengthened their long-term commitment to biodynamics. ‘They believed the fruit had more expression, more brightness,’ says the current technical director at Pontet-Canet, Mathieu Bessonnet, who reveals that they converted the whole of the growing area soon after. ‘It’s obviously much more difficult, time-consuming and expensive, so it was very risky,’ he adds. Since then, biodynamic farming has become a significant and growing practice across different classed growths in the region, with some of the most prestigious estates – such as Château Latour and Château Palmer – adopting biodynamic methods (the latter certified). ‘The link between the wines and the place where the fruit came from had become less and less obvious,’ says Château Palmer’s technical director Thomas Duroux, commenting on the region’s turn to the trend. He notes that, since the noughties, many have adopted organic practices in a bid to reverse this perceived drop in terroir definition. ‘Biodynamics is, in a way, the same story as organic farming, but with a larger vision,’ he adds. This shared perspective has led to more cooperation between practitioners. Every spring, the Médoc branch of the Biodynamic Agriculture Movement gathers at Château Ferrière. After unearthing a thousand manure-filled cow horns and replacing them with silica-filled ones (a process reversed in autumn to produce preparations 500 and 501, required for Demeter certification), participants share wines and gardengrown salads. The humus removed from the cow horns is stored in a cold, damp facility and made available to members. ‘We do that for free,’ says Claire Lurton, owner of Château Ferrière. ‘It’s a community.’ Though ‘community’ might be too strong a word for some, these gatherings symbolise a deepening professional exchange that has emerged among estates of all sizes through the practice of biodynamic winemaking. In fact, the shift among the classed growths has happened at the same time as these practices have been adopted by smaller growers arriving in the region. Christophe Landry of Château des Graviers, for example, returned to Arsac in the 1990s and began practising biodynamics around the same time as Comme at Pontet-Canet. He’s consulted for the Lurton estates and other properties. Originally from Minervois in Languedoc, Michel Théron established Clos du Jaugueyron nearby and has been certified biodynamic since 2008, while Laurence Alias and Pascale Choime – who are both from southwest France – established Closerie des Moussis, a patchwork of sites across 2ha, including a 170-year-old pre-phylloxera plot leased from Théron. On the Right Bank, other producers began switching lanes even earlier. Le Puy, owned by the Amoreau family, began practising in 1998, with certification since 2013, and Château Gombaude-Guillot in Pomerol has been certified biodynamic since 2006. While larger estates like Latour and Palmer collaborate on issues like mildew, smaller producers tend to engage more with one another. Shared biodynamic practices, however, are definitely helping to break down barriers. For example, Château Haut-Bages Libéral maintains regular communication with its neighbours at Château Latour, and the son of Théron at Clos du Jaugueyron interned at Château Palmer for two months. Can we speak of a unity of praxis? Not exactly. There is considerable variation in which aspects of biodynamics winemakers emphasise, regardless of estate size. The primary aim across the board is achieving living soil with rich biodiversity to promote deep-rooted vines. In pursuit of this, some winemakers emphasise tree growing or cover cropping (like Haut-Bages Libéral, which also recently planted a variety of local and fruit trees). Others, such as Le Puy, let nature take its course, allowing a diverse array of plants and flowers to sprout from the earth. Whether certified or not, biodynamic practitioners throughout Bordeaux use homeopathic treatments like nettle teas for the vines – they are believed to stimulate soil health, enhance plant immunity and improve nutrient uptake. More important than any of this, however, is the concept of energy. How can the energy of the plant be retained as its raw material transforms into wine? Every winemaker I visited was at least intrigued by the concept – and most were captivated. After a few days in the sometimes eerily flat Médoc, I drive through the verdant hills of St-Emilion to Le Puy, arriving with a raised spirit. Standing before a 5,000-year-old Celtic cromlech, Harold Langlais, the estate’s director, tells me, ‘Le Puy is a place of energy and life,’ pointing to its deep history as an intersection of water springs. At modern-day Le Puy, this philosophy extends from the vines to the cellar. Indeed, many others I speak to express that, since adopting biodynamics, the most striking change in their wines has been an increase in ‘energy’. It’s a term without a precise definition, but according to Château Palmer’s makers, something shifted with the 2015 vintage, the second year after full conversion. ‘You cannot measure it,’ Thomas Duroux says. ‘You can just feel it.’ At Château Durfort-Vivens, where the vineyard was operating under biodynamic principles by 2013 (with full conversion by 2016), owner Gonzague Lurton recalls the 2014 vintage as ‘the first where you really feel the energy of biodynamics’. It’s tactile and warming, with a sophisticated grip and charm. ‘It’s what I love – the linearity of tannins, never weak from start to finish. With many of the estates I visited, their wines showed an immediate appeal, vibrant even in their youth. Is energy just another way of describing freshness? Laurence Alias at Closerie des Moussis trained as an agricultural engineer; for her, energy and vitality are tied to the physical properties of grapes grown biodynamically. ‘We have more acidity, that’s an analytic fact,’ she tells me, standing in front of a newly acquired plot of vines bordered by forest. It might be romantic to think of energy as something ineffable, but it’s also rooted in what remains within the grapes. ‘Our idea of energy is based more on Einstein than Steiner,’ Langlais later qualifies. ‘Energy is matter.’ Biodynamic winemaking in Bordeaux: five to follow Château Pontet-Canet At the 55ha Pontet-Canet estate in Pauillac, an immensely smooth operation is palpable. Winemakers here have spent almost two decades honing their biodynamic craft, continually moving towards a goal of self-sufficiency for the estate. Sturdy Comtois horses, introduced in 2008, now work half the vineyard, preventing soil compaction. Vineyards are sprayed over a single day using compost and herbal teas produced from plants grown in and around the property and processed in the state-of-the-art infusion room. Biodiversity-boosting fruit trees and hedges have been planted. The estate even employs a carpenter who repurposes wood from vats used on the property. Ageing involves custom-made wooden eggs and qvevri-style amphorae, with no fining and minimal filtration. The result? A Pauillac with untypical levels of energy and minerality, and a plush, velvety texture. But it’s more than that – according to Bessonnet, thanks to a low-intervention approach across the board, ‘you can really feel the soil.’ Château Palmer Thomas Duroux’s conviction in biodynamics is based in what he calls a ‘holistic vision’. ‘We started to see the entire place as a living organism,’ he says of Château Palmer, one of the most storied and historically significant third-growth estates in Bordeaux. When converting (a process that started in 2009), the Margaux estate was initially guided by François Bouchet’s son Matthieu, but now it follows its own evolving philosophy, integrating cover crops, animals for fertilisation and estate-grown vegetables and meat. ‘It’s just going back to agricultural common sense,’ Duroux says. ‘That was the way to grow anything before World War II.’ This respect for nature results in wines that are deeply tied to their terroir. ‘If I had to describe the wines how they are today, compared to how they were before, I’ll just say that it’s not a revolution, but we have the feeling that the wines have a better identity,’ says Duroux. He likens biodynamics to restoring an old painting: ‘Suddenly, you see small details that you were not able to see because of the dust.’ The estate uses stainless-steel vats for fermentation and temperature-controlled rooms for barrel-ageing, combined with nativeyeast and low-sulphur winemaking, to produce its esteemed Alter Ego and Château Palmer cuvées; both have been increasingly celebrated among critics and drinkers since the turn to biodynamics. ‘We just think it does help to go a little bit further in the interpretation of the place,’ says Duroux. Château Durfort-Vivens Standing over a rustic sorting table explaining how it used to work, Gonzague Lurton is visibly passionate about the savoir-faire of the past. This sensibility is reflected in the current winemaking practices, too, and in the second-growth Margaux estate’s reputation (and critics’ scores) increasing year on year. The thing to emphasise is that what began with a biodynamic approach in the vineyards led to a series of domino effects that changed the character of the wines. In search of what Lurton calls greater ‘singularity’, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon had already risen to over 90% by 2014 (from around 75%); and with the use of indigenous yeasts during fermentation and the reduction of sulphur levels over time (initially sparked by Demeter’s upper limits of 70mg/l), the wines have become more aromatically complex and expressive. The introduction of amphorae by Italian producer Tava has allowed for microoxidation without overextraction, contributing to a more delicate balance of flavours, with the 2019 estate wine a blend aged one third in amphorae and the rest in barrel. ‘It’s not a big wine,’ says Lurton. ‘And it’s what I was looking for with biodynamics, in terms of style.’ Château des Graviers Christophe Landry’s pioneering status in Margaux stems from an instinct refined over decades at his own estate. He grows medicinal plants — horsetail, absinthe, calendula, chamomile — for vineyard treatments, as well as using the manure from his own cows. ‘What we need to remember is that biodynamics isn’t just a practice,’ he tells me. ‘It’s about finding your own path to self-sufficiency.’ His precision extends to the cellar, where he uses concrete tanks, amphorae and oak barrels (produced according to the biodynamic calendar) tailored to each of the five cépages’ oxygenation needs, then ages the wines for different lengths of time. Timing is everything, with harvest choices also following the biodynamic calendar. Obsessive care for the vines’ life cycles goes hand in hand with the level of precision in the cellar. The outcome is two phenomenal wines that are, as Landry puts it, ‘thirstquenching’. Château des Graviers and Quintessence — which contains a higher proportion of Petit Verdot and is aged longer in barrel and amphorae — are aromatically expressive, velvety and strikingly lively, with the latter offering more depth and an enveloping finish. Expanding to 18ha, Landry has also turned his focus to Clos Dufourg, cultivating vines on previously wild land nearby and hand-building a striking new cellar with cement tanks painted with clay from the surrounding earth. Le Puy For technical director Harold Langlais, the Le Puy estate’s significance lies in how it challenges Bordeaux’s conventional identity. Outside of the region’s traditional focus on appellations and classifications, Le Puy sits on a plateau near St-Emilion. The estate’s land is unusual, with no topsoil but a deep limestone bedrock beneath red-brown clay, which forces the vines to develop deep roots to access the earth’s natural water and nutrients. This is further supported by horse-ploughing and biodynamic sprays made from horsetail, buckthorn and nettles, which grow on the property. ‘Our approach focuses on rooting the vine deep,’ Langlais explains, ‘encouraging it to search out hidden nutrients.’ A vigorous wind circulates around the vines, and Langlais explains the effects of the elements. ‘The beauty of Le Puy is that it’s an acid factory. The whole place creates acidity in the berries.’ The biodynamic philosophy extends to the winemaking, with two different processes applied to their 100% Merlot cuvées. Cuvée Emilien uses a ‘decantation method’, or ‘fermentation by infusion’, while Barthélemy is produced with zero sulphites and a process of lees-stirring called ‘dynamisation’, which is done on fruit days and involves a specific motion to create a vortex in the old barrels it ages in. ‘Barthélemy is much more intense,’ Langlais says. ‘All the matter taken by the plant is in there.’

Written for Club Oenologique in 2025, Joel Hart visits Bordeaux to track the region’s belated embrace of biodynamic winemaking. While other French regions ploughed ahead, Bordeaux had its reasons for delayed adoption. Yet now the practice is booming, and Hart gauges its employment across estates.

Written for Club Oenologique, contributor Joel Hart visits Bordeaux to track the region’s belated embrace of biodynamic winemaking. 

Taking root: the rise of biodynamic winemaking in Bordeaux

Saint-Julien: Vineyards, Cellars, People, and Place is the latest addition to the Académie du Vin Library's Exploring the Appellations of Bordeaux series, written by Marc Bouffard. Compact in geography but outsized in reputation, Saint-Julien is home to some of the Médoc's most celebrated Grands Crus Classés — and this book sets out to explain, with rigour and warmth, exactly why. Bouffard approaches the appellation from the ground up, opening with a meticulous account of Saint-Julien's terroir: the two glacial gravel terraces shaped over 2.5 million years, the moderating influence of the Gironde, and the 17th-century Dutch drainage works that transformed a swampy peninsula into one of the world's great wine regions. He then turns to the human story — the winemakers, the châteaux, and the restless spirit of innovation that has defined Bordeaux from Peynaud's fermentation breakthroughs to today's precision viticulture and climate adaptation. The result is a book that rewards both the curious newcomer and the seasoned Bordeaux enthusiast. It is a portrait not just of an appellation, but of a living community of growers and thinkers who, as Bouffard puts it, are still very much succeeding — vintage after challenging vintage. The two passages below, drawn from different points in the book, offer a taste of both its scope and its spirit: the first plants us firmly in the land itself; the second lifts the gaze toward history, science, and the future. The lie of the land Most readers who decide to open a book dedicated to Saint-Julien will not be novices to Bordeaux, but I think this isn't the worst place to start for those who are. Regardless of the level of expertise, there's some setting of the scene that needs to be done as a basis for the coming focus on Saint-Julien's Grands Crus Classés. This begins with the AOC's terroir. Bordeaux is divided into two banks by the Gironde estuary, itself formed from the rivers Garonne (originating in the Pyrenees) and Dordogne (coming from the Massif Central). Saint-Julien sits on the Left Bank of the Gironde on the Médoc peninsula. The waters of the Gironde play a major influence in the AOC's terroir, cooling it when weather is hot and heating it when weather is cool, with the numerous influences on ripening in moderation, promotion of air flow, and mitigation of threats such as frost. In her excellent work Inside Bordeaux (2020), Jane Anson delivers a wonderful masterclass in geology as it pertains to Bordeaux's formation and soil types. Most pertinent to the understanding of Saint-Julien is that cycles of glacial formation and melting beginning 2.5 million years ago led to sequential periods of erosion in the Pyrenees and deposition of gravel onto the Médoc peninsula. The eras in which these deposits were made bear the names 'Mindel' and 'Günz'; they form two terraces – Terrace 3 and Terrace 4. The latter is closer to the Gironde and is home to the three Léoville châteaux, Langoa Barton, Ducru-Beaucaillou, and Beychevelle. Terrace 3 is home to the estates in the western half of the appellation. The two terraces are gravel-rich, composed of sandy gravels and gravelly sand (so called depending on their proportions). It doesn't seem totally clear that there is a neat division of one terrace being comprised solely one kind of gravel; according to local sources the plateau of Beychevelle is comprised of Günzian gravel and the plateau of Saint-Julien of Mindel (like Pauillac), though both together form Terrace 4. The general trend is to see gravel of shallower depth as one moves westward in the appellation, but there are exceptions, such as at Château Gruaud-Larose. The eastern, southern, and southwestern edges of the more-western Terrace 3 are also hugged by older, deeper soil types at lower altitudes as one comes down off the higher plateaus – these are composed of Molasse du Fronsadais (a particular soft limestone) and clay/limestone. The iron-rich sandstone subsoil, alios, is also found in the vineyards of Château Talbot. To the west of Saint-Julien, there are still patches of Terrace 3 and Grands Crus Classés of the Haut-Médoc indeed sit on them – but the terroir is different and less regular. To the east of the vineyard land – between the easternmost reaches of vineyard and the Gironde – is a wet, grassy area referred to as the palus or palu; it is too wet for vine cultivation here and it floods regularly. This area can become rather dramatically waterlogged; Lilian Barton Sartorius recounts a story about the palus flooding, prompting the need to rescue grazing cattle that were up to their necks in water! Immediately to the south of Beychevelle and Branaire-Ducru (which delimit the southern border of Saint-Julien), there is a broad stretch of palus that separates the Saint-Julien AOC from the next village of Cussac. Most of the Médoc was once as swampy as the palus can be today. The peninsula was drained by Dutch engineers in the 17th century, increasing the amount of arable terroir dramatically. The land that was uncovered was understood from the outset to be of fine quality, particularly for the quality of the wine it would produce. The rapid expansion of vineyard sites producing subtly different wines inspired a kind of 'vine frenzy', with planting increasing rapidly throughout the last part of the 17th century. The drainage ditches (jalles) can still be seen today, augmented by numerous fosses (more recently dug drainage ditches), which keep the Médoc relatively dry. The Jalle de Juillac – its name a charming portmanteau of 'Julien' and 'Pauillac' – demarcates the northern boundary of Saint-Julien where it meets Pauillac, and the Jalle du Nord runs along the appellation's southern boundary. By this point, it may seem clear why blind tasting with a goal of determining a Médoc's village of origin can be difficult, if not outright folly. One AOC, yet two different terraces which extend to neighboring AOCs, with some properties in Saint-Julien overlapping or sitting between the two terraces. My goodness. Nevertheless, Saint-Julien still somehow manages to convey a character of equilibrium, borrowing some of the power of Pauillac and some of the elegance of the better Margaux properties, to create what could reasonably be perceived as an archetype of Bordeaux. Even more meaningful than the character of the appellation as a whole is the individual character of each of Saint-Julien's Grands Crus Classés, their complexity reflecting the geologic complexity of their origin. They are great personalities in the wine world. So, open a bottle of Saint-Julien, pour a glass, and enjoy the long tour. Later in the book, Bouffard turns from the physical foundations of Saint-Julien to the intellectual and human ones — tracing a tradition of scientific curiosity and open-minded innovation that he argues has always set Bordeaux apart. A tradition of innovation One last point is crucial to recognise. Michael Georges at Léoville Las Cases recounted a quote of Emile Peynaud's: 'innovation is Bordeaux's tradition'. So, we must look to the past and to the future simultaneously. Tradition is sometimes right, sometimes wrong. We should learn when to stick with it and when to depart from it. To address new challenges, we should accept the need to test new ideas – even if sometimes we don't like the results and revert to the way things were done. In this regard, Bordeaux has perhaps always led the wine world. Consider Peynaud's own work with Ribéreau-Gayon in understanding the malolactic fermentation. After clarifying that there actually was a second fermentation, it was a struggle to convince many winemakers that malolactic fermentation was a good thing for red Bordeaux! This is long forgotten. Now everyone simply does it for red wines; with malic acid converted to softer lactic acid, harmony is improved, and the drinking window is broadened. When Peynaud was brought in to consult at Léoville Las Cases in 1959, the property sometimes suffered from stuck fermentations, which Professor Peynaud found was to be the result of fermentation temperatures soaring into the 30s Celsius – so hot that the yeasts were killed before they could complete the fermentation. Whereas ice was previously added to the vats to prevent this problem (famously across Bordeaux in 1947), Peynaud counseled careful temperature monitoring and the withdrawal of a portion of wine from the vat to allow it to cool when the must became too hot. At the same time, Las Cases dealt (perhaps paradoxically) with extraction difficulties. Peynaud increased the overall vatting time essentially to the duration it sees today. The wine made first year he consulted – 1959 – was in my opinion a clear step up at the property thanks to these fundamental innovations.  Peynaud was carrying on the legacy of scientific observation and enquiry that had brought Bordeaux through its darkest days in the 19th century. Bordeaux led the way in grafting French vines onto American rootstock to combat phylloxera. In the same era, a cadre of individuals recognized the anti-fungal property of copper. Bouillie Bordelaise – a mix of copper sulfate and quicklime, effective against both downy mildew and powdery mildew (oïdium) – was developed in 1878, forever changing the world of organic farming as a result. The legacy of innovation continues today. It is often assumed that innovation means more technology will be used in winemaking, but many times the opposite is the case. Léoville Las Cases has the largest private oenological laboratory in Bordeaux (perhaps anywhere) and Lagrange and Ducru-Beaucaillou are also particularly innovative places. Cornelis van Leeuwen at the University of Bordeaux has been mentioned far too few times in this book given his important work in helping to understand the science of terroir and of the vine. Despite the research that has been done over the past couple of decades, we have not seen more gadgets but rather fewer. We have seen a better understood and more balanced ecosystem, fewer synthetic interventions, and a lighter touch in the winery and barrel cellar. What we're seeing now is the application of scientific principle to study every decision, and that approach has brought people closer to their terroir and to their vines – not farther from them. Bordeaux is well suited to lead the way in adapting to climate change and Saint-Julien is playing a key role here. Some very hot and sunny growing seasons of the distant past produced ripe wines of only moderate alcohol (the perfectly sun-kissed 1949s, for example). The reasons for this are multifactorial – vineyard health, vine material, canopy heights, picking dates, and vinification choices all likely played a role. Understanding how certain outcomes were reached is helpful; the goal is not to be reactionary, but rather to learn lessons that might be useful today. So much of that wisdom has been lost, and one of the goals of this book is to preserve it for the future. Saint-Julien: Vineyards, Cellars, People, and Place by Marc Bouffard is published by Académie du Vin Library and is available now. FINE+RARE customers receive 15% off all purchases through the Académie du Vin Library website – use your exclusive discount code FINE15 at checkout, valid until 31 January 2027. Learn more about Marc Bouffard's Saint-Julien: Vineyards, Cellars, People, and Place Shop all books from the Académie du Vin Library Visit the Académie du Vin website

From ancient glacial gravels to Dutch-engineered drainage ditches, Saint-Julien's terroir is a story of geology and human ingenuity. Marc Bouffard reveals why this compact Médoc appellation remains the most perfectly balanced archetype of Bordeaux.

Marc Bouffard reveals why Saint-Julien remains the most perfectly balanced archetype of Bordeaux.

Saint-Julien: Vineyards, Cellars, People, and Place

After years of holding out, Brunello di Montalcino may finally be inching towards a greater focus on sub-zoning. The innovative Forma project spearheaded by Italian MWs Gabriele Gorelli and Andrea Lonardi – primarily intended to add greater objectivity to the Consorzio’s vintage rating system – has been instrumental, necessitating the assembly of reams of site-based data that have (inevitably) laid bare the great variability within the denomination. With the ever-shifting climate, the site factor apparently top of mind across the denomination is altitude. Montalcino has always traded on a wine that pushes Sangiovese to generous levels of ripeness without – crucially – losing its balance and an unpredictable climate is hardly conducive to such a sensitive balancing act. Pier Giuseppe d’Alessandro of Poggio Antico, where vineyards rise up to 612m above sea level (asl), says ‘altitude does not mean low temperatures but lower temperatures,’ explaining that during August, the vineyards may be 4-5ºC lower than Montalcino’s lowest sites. The critical factor, he says, is the duration of temperature spikes, which tends to be shorter at altitude, helping avoid vine stress. Read more: The Brunello di Montalcino Report 2024 However, there are several dynamics at play: fog in the valleys tends to make nights warmer but mornings cooler, reducing diurnal variation, whereas sites above the fogline warm more quickly in the morning but cool rapidly at night, preserving critical acidity. This slows ripening overall and extends the harvest, sometimes to a dramatic degree – Luciano Ciolfi of Sanlorenzo notes that in the difficult 2024 vintage they had to wait until mid-October. However, Giancarlo Tommasi and Emilio Falsini, director of Tommasi Family Estates and enologist of the group’s Montalcino property Casisano say their breezy, high-altitude sites facilitate more uniform ripening and thus more aromatic complexity. Finally, Riccardo Campinoti of Le Ragnaie, known for its high-altitude single site wines, likes that altitude can help reduce vigour and naturally limit yields. Yet another factor in Brunello di Montalcino is geology. Acidity-preserving stony calcareous soils dominate at higher altitudes, while richer alluvial soils are common lower down, giving altitude pedological as well as climatic significance. In years where the main problem is not intense heat but abundant rainfall, like 2024, the slopes and well-drained stony soils of higher sites can save the vintage. Montalcino collectively affirmed the importance of altitude in 2015 when it first allowed vineyards above 600m asl into the appellation (whether the region might also have set lower limits on altitude remains an open question). Gianni Pignattai of Pietroso, whose vineyards are mostly between 400 and 500m asl, notes that ripening at these heights was frequently challenging even 10-15 years ago but that they are now his least challenging vineyards to manage, as their lower humidity and greater ventilation allow him to use fewer pesticides. One thing made clear by the handy 3D map produced for the Forma project is that most of the wine world’s (including the Italian wine world’s) mental image of Montalcino as a roughly cone-shaped protuberance sloping uninterrupted to the flat plain below might need updating. The northern slope of Brunello di Montalcino is indeed more uniform, with only small bumps like Montosoli breaking up its descent. However, the southern stretch is much more topographically varied, with high-altitude sites running all the way south-southwest from Montalcino town to Sant’Angelo in Colle (once unfairly lumped in with the much lower-lying Sant’Angelo Scalo) and south-southeast nearly to the town of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, both about 7km away as the crow flies. Blends that incorporate at least some high-altitude elements are a snappy riposte to many low-energy bottlings of the mid-2000s Though multi-site blending remains the norm (and with an increasingly unreliable climate, the blenders may eventually have the last laugh) single site wines from high spots, like Campinoti’s Passo del Lume Spento at 621m asl in Ragnaie, some distance south of Montalcino town, are redefining the upper octaves of Brunello. Meanwhile, blends that incorporate at least some (and often several) high-altitude elements are a snappy riposte to many low-energy bottlings of the mid-2000s. Andrea Cortonesi of Uccelliera based his second brand, Voliero – which, unlike Uccelliera, is blended from across the denomination, including Sant’Angelo in Colle – on the notion that high-altitude sites are linked by consistent (and desirable) characteristics. On the other hand, there is also clearly some variability among high-altitude wines. Some, like Campinoti’s, trend delicate, tart-fruited and herbal, with alcohol levels (~13.5%) to match. Contrast this with Poggio Antico’s wines, including I Poggi, from their highest active vineyard at 550-575m asl, which is a potent 15%, though with great tension from its dynamite acidity. Exposure, slope and airflows have great impact at these heights – Sanlorenzo’s vineyards sit southwest of Montalcino at 500 asl in two valleys that face southwest towards the Mediterranean and its warming breezes, but Ciolfi says they recently planted some north-facing land in the same area and have just started to vinify the results. Antonio Michael Zaccheo of Carpineto, where vineyards run from 470-500m asl, believes they are the only ones at that altitude with vineyards fully exposed to the north and slopes up to 30%; they typically harvest over three weeks after valley vineyards, with low sugars and elevated acidity. The challenge is that, with new Brunello plantings frozen since 1997, opportunities to plant higher are limited. Pignattai says though they would like to plant more high-altitude sites, they haven’t found owners willing to sell. D’Alessandro says ‘we do not have higher land to plant because there is no higher land’– Montalcino, unlike Chianti Classico, has no land above 650m asl. However, he is sanguine that with experimental viticultural practices – more dynamic vineyard architecture that permits rapid response to changing conditions – the advantages of higher altitude can be maximised. Giulia Härri, enologist at Mastrojanni, agrees that cultivation techniques are key to altitude’s effectiveness against climate change; she credits their biodynamic viticulture with helping avoid vine stress. While not a silver bullet, altitude is undoubtedly one factor that may help preserve Brunello’s freshness. Montalcino’s best and brightest are harnessing its power in some of the denomination’s most exciting wines where intense aromatics (and sometime generous ripeness) are offset by gravity-defying acidity. Browse all Brunello di Montalcino listings.

Writing for Club Oenologique in 2025, Sarah Heller MW talks to producers in Montalcino about how altitude has become a key tool in preserving Brunello's freshness and why it might prove critical in protecting the wine's character in the face of climate change

Writing for Club Oenologique in 2025, Sarah Heller MW explores how altitude helps Montalcino’s producers preserve Brunello’s freshness and singular character.

Altitude’s role in the future of Brunello di Montalcino

Steep slopes, high hopes: Altitude’s starring role in the future of Brunello di Montalcino 

There are times when you put a question to a winemaker and he puffs out his cheeks and rubs his chin and you know he’s thinking, ‘Journalists.’ When I ask Promontory’s David Cilli what exactly is meant by ‘interpretation of terroir’, he courteously describes the process of trying to get the wine to reflect the character of the land. But he gives the impression my question was like quizzing Monet on how he got his effects. If you don’t get it, you probably won’t. The character of Promontory, on the day I visit, is quite something. It’s early May and the rain, which has been falling steadily all night, has turned to a lashing downpour that has raindrops bouncing six inches off the windscreen. We’re in a jeep piloted by winegrowing director Cory Empting and since turning off the main road we’ve been climbing steadily through dripping stands of oak with pocket-handkerchief vineyards between them. ‘Shall we stay in the car?’ asks Empting. ‘If we could,’ Will Harlan suggests from the back seat. I’m here with Empting, Cilli and Harlan. Bill Harlan has appeared briefly but I don’t see him again until we sit down to taste. He formally handed over control of Harlan Estate, Promontory, Bond and The Mascot in 2021, appointing 37-year-old Will managing director. Cilli (44) arrived in 2012 and is in charge of vineyard and winemaking at Promontory. Promontory is an 840-acre fastness, a deep valley folded into the foothills of Mount Veeder, on the west side of the Napa Valley. From the highway, you think the looming ridge you’re looking at is the edge of Sonoma. But there’s another ridge beyond and between them this interesting domain. It’s remote, even by Napa standards (contrary to opinion, there are plenty of wild spaces in the county). The ultra-refined French Laundry is a couple of miles away but it might be in Wisconsin for all the relevance it has up here. Bill Harlan had come upon it hiking in the 1980s. ‘I used the Carmelite monastery [we’d passed it on the way up] as a base and just started climbing’. There were no vines but he was intrigued by its seclusion. It might be possible vineland for the Napa project he had in mind. In the end, Harlan Estate was founded less than a mile to the north but for 25 years Harlan kept the idea of that parcel tucked under his hat (he never mentioned it, Will says) before it came on the market in 2007 and he snapped it up. "Vineyards, some a mere half-acre, are etched into towering, wooded hillsides and drop down into cavernous combes dense with oak and fir" The owner – the Harlans don’t reveal who that is – had planted 80-odd acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was neglected, the vines overgrown. Trees had been felled and never collected. ‘It was a mess,’ Will says. ‘It looked like a logging operation.’ But it is magnificent. Vineyards, some a mere half-acre, are etched into towering, wooded hillsides and drop down into cavernous combes dense with oak and fir. The whole estate is thickly forested, the vines often shaded on three sides. An old drovers’ road, running through the woods, will suddenly open out on a wide vista of vineyard and scree. Everything is deeply, lushly green in the steadily falling spring rain. The geology of the land is unusual, in that it rests on two distinct fault lines and consists of all three soil types that are found in Napa: volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic. ‘You get all three in the same soil pit,’ Cilli notes. This, combined with the wild variation in aspect and the microclimate of the valley-within-a-valley, gives credence to Harlan’s claims that this part of Napa is like nowhere else in California. When the celebrated soil scientists Claude and Lydia Bourguignon came, they found the experience ‘novel’. Cilli said he fell in love with Promontory at first sight. It reminded him, in part, of his native Tuscany, but it was the wildness that captivated him, ‘I love that character that you can see in the wines.’ He said it was probably ‘the only project that could keep me in the valley.’ You get the impression none of them can quite believe their luck. ‘It somehow redefined what looks beautiful,’ Will says. It also redefined their ideas of winemaking. He goes on: ‘We were used to control. Harlan in the 1990s was obsessed with organisation and uniformity but Promontory was wild.’ The theme of wildness recurs. Harvest times are key to ‘find a way for it to come through,’ Will says. Empting: ‘Pick too late and you lose the ruggedness.’ Ageing, in the magnificent Howard Backen-designed chai, is all in Stockinger Austrian oak barrels ranging in size from 10,000 to 46,000 litres, for up to 36 months. ‘The fine-yet-tight tannins required longer barrel-ageing but [we] didn’t want the wine to be overpowered by new oak’. It’s a constant process of refinement and improvement – ‘we learn something new each season’. Empting: ‘It has blown every expectation out of the water. We were excited and we were scared. We didn’t know what this beast would be. Our learning curve has been very steep, it remains very steep. At least now we’re starting to get our arms around it but at the beginning, it was like: God, we cannot figure this thing out.” "I found in the 2016 a moment where the various elements come together: the savoury nose, the fine tannins, the weight without heaviness" You have to remember we’re talking about winemaking here, not Wittgenstein. But ‘interpretation of terroir’, if it’s to mean anything at all, should be taken seriously. I’ve seen vineland all over the world – rock-strewn fields in the Andean foothills, rainless Spanish deserts – but I’ve never seen anything like Promontory. Were I to be tasked with bottling the soul of that vineyard, I’d reach for metaphor as well. And so we come to the missing shade of blue. This is the concept propounded by the 18th-century philosopher David Hume, that an idea can be formulated without a previous sensory impression to give rise to it. He asked, Could a shade of blue missing from a spectrum be imagined by an observer? Harlan says (with a smile – he does have a degree in philosophy) that Promontory is the missing shade of red. ‘Until you’ve seen and experienced it, you don’t know that it’s missing. And so for us this was that final piece. The piece that wasn’t there that we had the opportunity to understand and try to translate into the wine.’ The next morning, in gorgeous May sunshine, we gather to taste. It’s almost the same group, though smaller, that did the mighty vertical of Harlan estate from magnum in 2020. Bill Harlan is there (he sweetly thanks the team for allowing him to taste, saying it’s the first full vertical of Promontory he’s ever done), Will, Empting, Cilli and the journalist Elaine Brown. We wonder, at the end, if there is thread that runs through the wines. In my notes the words ‘deceptively light’ recur, as do ‘structure’ and ‘stone’. Reaching for metaphor again, Will Harlan compares the structure of the 2016 to cathedral stone, which has ‘both weight and lightness. It’s intricately carved and light filters through the windows.’ I found in the 2016 a moment where the various elements come together: the savoury nose, the fine tannins, the weight without heaviness. Will Harlan calls this vintage an ‘inflection point’ and notes how the tannins are the ‘main differentiators’. Yes, agrees Cilli, ‘and because of the character of levity and lift, we have to be precise with the tannins.’ The younger vintages have an astonishing latent energy, tannins under tight rein, aromas bursting, the fruit compacted. Brown and I were struck not by the sophistication of these wines but by their honesty. Brown WhatsApped me later. ‘Promontory is the most transparent to place. The wines are impressively well crafted and elegant while still offering an almost wild or primal complex of flavours.’ "The wines are unmistakeably Californian but they are also unlike anything I’ve tasted in Napa" ‘How do we take wine from a wilderness and have sophistication?’ Will asked. It’s a great question – with their resources, the Harlans could do anything they liked with Promontory. After all, they have to make a wine that will please their audience. But this was so unexpected. The tasting revealed a keen focus on the land and the vintage. The difference between the years was often marked – the challenge of 2015 for example showed in the wine – yet we could see that common thread running through, even as the wines increased in elegance. And what of Will’s quest for the missing shade of red? The wines are unmistakeably Californian – that splendid 2017 could come from nowhere else – but they are also unlike anything I’ve tasted in Napa, which is quite a claim, in the world’s most cultivated wine region. Perhaps the last word should go to Bill Harlan, who started the whole thing. He speaks hardly at all during the tasting, his Old Testament face giving little away. At the end of the morning, he talks of his fascination with the ‘ongoing discovery’ of the project. The wines have character, layers and depth, he says, and – by way of praising their authenticity – he notes, ‘You never know what’s coming next.’

Written for Club Oenologique, contributor Adam Lechmere visits California to trace the evolution of Promontory, one of Napa’s most magnificent sites, with a vertical tasting of 14 vintages revealing the wild beauty, elegance and remarkable evolution of its wines.

Written for Club Oenologique, contributor Adam Lechmere visits California to trace the evolution of Promontory, one of Napa’s most magnificent sites.

Wildness captured: tasting 14 vintages of Promontory

After the difficult conditions of 2024, Bordeaux has delivered a vintage that has surprised almost everyone. The 2025 growing season was among the hottest and driest of recent decades, with yields collapsing across much of the region. Yet rather than producing another 2022-style vintage of power and opulence, the wines have emerged with freshness, moderate alcohols and remarkable aromatic precision. Almost every major critic references the same paradox: a year that looked destined to produce massive wines instead yielded bottles of energy, balance and finesse. There is less agreement on where 2025 ultimately sits among Bordeaux's recent great vintages. Some critics compare it to 2016, others to 2019, 2020 or even 1961. What they largely agree on, however, is that the best wines are outstanding – and that this is a vintage where terroir, vineyard management and winemaking decisions matter enormously. William Kelley – Wine Advocate William Kelley sees 2025 as a vintage that reveals rather than conceals. He describes it as a "clarifier" rather than an amplifier, arguing that the wines expose differences in terroir, viticulture and winemaking with unusual transparency. Although the growing season was dominated by heat and drought, Kelley believes the resulting wines are fundamentally different from 2022. Cooler nights, lower alcohols and timely late-season rain produced wines that combine concentration, ripeness and freshness in a way that feels distinctive. He repeatedly returns to the notion that the best 2025s are classically proportioned despite their intensity. Unlike some critics, Kelley is reluctant to identify a single winning appellation. Instead, he sees success as highly estate-specific, with the finest wines distinguished by balance, precision and restraint rather than sheer power. Kelley's highlights: Larcis Ducasse, Jean Faure, Sociando-Mallet, Quinault l'Enclos, Le Pin Beausoleil Explore Kelley's full report, notes and scores on Wine Advocate (subscribers only). Jane Anson – Inside Bordeaux For Jane Anson, 2025 is "the paradox vintage". The best wines are immensely impressive, but she cautions strongly against broad-brush conclusions. Anson places the vintage comfortably ahead of 2017, 2021 and 2024, and broadly alongside 2015 and 2019 in terms of potential. Yet she repeatedly notes that this is not a year where collectors can buy indiscriminately. Low pH levels, high acidity and significant tannic structure mean some wines will require patience, while others may never fully resolve. She sees the strongest performances coming from Bordeaux's great water-regulating terroirs, particularly the limestone and clay soils of Saint-Émilion and the best parts of the Left Bank. Pomerol is more variable, with dramatic differences depending on soil type and water retention. Anson's wine of the vintage is Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse, while Canon, Petrus, Cheval Blanc and Château Margaux all feature prominently among her highest-rated wines. Anson's highlights: Ch. Haut Bailly, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Smith Haut Lafitte, Leoville Las Cases, Petrus, Beauséjour, Vieux Château Certan, Lafleur,  Tertre Roteboeuf, Haut-Brion Blanc, Les Champs Libres, Doisy-Daëne,  Aile d'Argent Blanc, Pavillon Blanc Read Jane Anson’s report on the Left Bank, Right Bank and white wine on Inside Bordeaux (subscribers only). Antonio Galloni – Vinous Antonio Galloni is one of the most enthusiastic commentators on the vintage, describing the finest wines as "nothing short of thrilling". What impresses him most is the combination of concentration and freshness. The summer heat delivered tiny berries and naturally low yields, yet many wines finished with surprisingly moderate alcohol levels and striking aromatic lift. Galloni believes modern viticulture played a critical role, allowing producers to navigate extreme conditions more successfully than would have been possible a generation ago. He identifies Margaux as the appellation of the vintage and describes Pauillac as "jam-packed with great wines". Saint-Émilion's clay-limestone plateau also impressed him enormously. Pomerol, meanwhile, is the region he found most inconsistent. Galloni also highlights several lesser-known estates that he believes overperformed in 2025, noting that some of the vintage's most exciting discoveries may come outside Bordeaux's traditional elite. Galloni's highlights: Beau-Séjour Bécot, Canon, La Gaffelière, Troplong Mondot, La Mission Haut-Brion, L'If, Margaux, Lafite Rothschild Explore Antonio Galloni's full report, notes and scores on Vinous (subscribers only). Neal Martin – Vinous Neal Martin describes 2025 as a vintage that constantly defies expectations. He argues that the late-August rain fundamentally changed the trajectory of the year, turning what appeared destined to become another 2022 into something altogether more nuanced. Martin calls it "a dialled-down and more precise 2010", a comparison that appears repeatedly throughout his report. He finds concentration and structure, but also freshness, restraint and remarkable aromatic detail. Like Galloni, he is highly enthusiastic about the Left Bank, particularly Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe. He also believes several of the greatest successes come from Saint-Émilion's limestone soils, while Pomerol shows more variation than many neighbouring appellations. Perhaps most notably, Martin sees 2025 as one of the strongest recent vintages for Sauternes, praising the purity and freshness of the best sweet wines. Martin's highlights: Montrose, Haut-Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Lafleur, Petrus, Latour Explore Neal Martin's full report, notes and scores on Vinous (subscribers only). James Suckling James Suckling describes 2025 as one of the most exciting Bordeaux vintages he has encountered in more than forty years of tasting barrel samples. He repeatedly returns to the contrast between expectation and reality. On paper, the growing season suggested another powerful, solar vintage. Instead, he found wines with what he calls "unique purity and tension", combining moderate alcohol, vibrant acidity and impressive concentration. For Suckling, 2025 is above all "a great vintage for great terroir". He argues that the region's finest vineyards adapted brilliantly to the challenges of the year, producing wines that are both intensely expressive and remarkably balanced. Although he acknowledges inconsistency across the region, he believes the best wines can stand alongside Bordeaux's leading modern vintages. Suckling's highlights: Château Margaux, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Petrus, Le Pin, Ausone, Angélus, Les Carmes Haut-Brion Read part one and two of James Suckling’s report, along with his full notes and scores on JamesSuckling.com (subscribers only). Georgie Hindle – Decanter Georgie Hindle describes 2025 as both "paradoxical" and "miraculous", two words that neatly capture the mood of many critics tasting the vintage. She notes that almost everything about the growing season pointed towards a rich, powerful vintage. Yet the wines themselves display freshness, poise and balance rather than opulence. The crucial turning point, in her view, was the late-August rain that arrived after months of drought and completely reshaped the vintage's trajectory. Hindle argues that terroir and winemaking decisions were decisive. Producers who adapted extraction techniques and handled the naturally high tannin levels carefully were rewarded with wines of precision and elegance. Others were less successful. While she believes the best wines are exceptional, she is clear that 2025 lacks the broad consistency of 2022 and should be approached selectively. Hindle's highlights: Beauséjour, Cheval Blanc, Haut-Bailly, Haut-Brion, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild, Petrus, Vieux Château Certan Explore Georgie Hindle's coverage on Decanter (subscribers only). Jeb Dunnuck Jeb Dunnuck compares 2025 to a modern-day version of 1961, citing tiny yields, drought conditions and extraordinary concentration. Yet unlike the blockbuster vintages often associated with hot years, Dunnuck finds the wines surprisingly fresh and elegant. He repeatedly highlights the role of cooler nights and late-season rainfall in preserving balance and preventing overripeness. He sees Saint-Émilion as one of the stars of the vintage, while also praising the best wines of Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Pomerol. Like several critics, he believes value-conscious collectors should look closely at Castillon and Fronsac, where some producers delivered outstanding quality relative to price. Dunnuck's highlights: Margaux, Haut-Brion, Léoville Las Cases, Montrose, Le Pin, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Mouton Rothschild, Petrus, Figeac, Beauséjour Explore Jeb Dunnuck's full report, notes and scores on JebDunnuck.com (subscribers only). James Lawther MW – Jancis Robinson James Lawther sees 2025 as one of Bordeaux's most pleasant surprises. He notes that despite being one of the hottest vintages of the last thirty years, the wines possess freshness, moderate alcohol levels and considerable charm. The defining feature for Lawther is the combination of power and approachability — wines that have both concentration and an almost unexpected amiability. Cabernet Sauvignon particularly impressed him, especially in Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe, while Saint-Émilion's limestone-rich soils again proved highly resilient in drought conditions. Pomerol was less straightforward, producing some brilliant wines alongside more uneven results. Lawther is also highly positive about Sauternes, which he considers one of the vintage's major success stories. Lawther's highlights: Palmer, Pavie, Suduiraut, Mouton Rothschild, Cheval Blanc Explore James Lawther MW's full reports, notes and scores on JancisRobinson.com (subscribers only). Read James Lawther MW’s report on the Left Bank, Right Bank and white wine on Inside Bordeaux (subscribers only). Explore Bordeaux 2025

As the Bordeaux 2025 campaign draws to a close, we review the critics' verdicts on one of the decade's most intriguing vintages and the wines that emerged as their standout performers.

Your essential crib-sheet to what the world’s leading wine critics are saying about Bordeaux 2025 en primeur–including Wine Advocate, Vinous and more

Bordeaux 2025 en primeur – what the critics are saying 

Bordeaux 2025: what the critics are saying

Jean Paul Droin

Accounts

Your access is restricted because of your age.

Access forbidden

You must be over the legal age to view this page. Please verify your age to enter.

Are you over the legal age to purchase alcohol?

As a result of the quantity requested for delivery, we recommend using Third Party Shipping. If you proceed with our Shipping, there may be a delay to the selected ship date.

As a result of the quantity requested for delivery, we recommend using Third Party Shipping. If you proceed with our Shipping, you will not be able to define a ship date, and we will get in touch with you to arrange delivery.

Your order request will be cancelled. Are you sure you want to proceed?

Due to the quantity requested for collection, there may be a delay in meeting your requested collection date.

Due to the quantity requested for collection, it is not possible to define a collection date at this stage. Our team will liaise with the warehouse and contact you directly to confirm a suitable pick-up date.

This item has been listed by a collector and is available for storage or immediate delivery

For orders with a high value, we recommend shipping with a third party carrier. Items shipped with third parties will remain in banded OWCs.

Due to the quantity requested, you won’t be able to select a collection date. Please submit your request, and we will liaise with our warehouse and confirm the collection date with you directly.

Due to the quantity requested, you won’t be able to continue the purchase. Please select third party, or change the quantity (maximum 48 is allowed).

Due to the quantity requested, you won’t be able to select a shipping date at checkout. Please submit your request, and we will liaise with our warehouse and confirm the delivery date with you directly.

For up to 499 bottles in storage, the rate is 39¢/bottle per month or a $50 minimum monthly charge (this covers up to 142 bottles). For over 500 bottles, the storage rate is 35¢/bottle per month.

Storage is charged at HKD 40 per 12-bottle case per month. A minimum monthly storage fee of HKD 80 applies, covering up to 24 bottles.

Standard storage rate

By selecting third-party shipping, you will take full responsibility for all aspects of legal compliance and authorize Vinfolio to transfer the items to the party specified in your instructions. Items shipped via third parties will remain in their original packaging.

Collection times are between 8:30am - 12pm & 1:30pm - 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Wines at Will Call, that are not picked up within 10 business days, will be transferred to storage and subject to a $1.50 per bottle stocking fee.

Items to be sourced and shipped to our state-of-the-art fine wine storage facility for the best possible safe-keeping where you can arrange collection from our warehouse address in Napa.

Will Call (Napa)

You entered the incorrect password too many times. Your account has been temporarily locked. Please wait five minutes before trying again.

It seems you are visiting from {country}, we invite you to experience our {nationality} website.

Are you browsing from {country}?

We’re unable to process your order with both event tickets and a wine or spirit product in the same transaction. To proceed, please remove either the event tickets or the item from your basket. You’ll then be able to complete your purchase.

Please review your basket

Forgot Password

We're in the final stages of upgrading to our brand-new trading platform. As part of this transition, we're currently migrating all customer-owned inventory to ensure a smooth and seamless experience.

Our new and improved platform will be ready for you on Friday, April 4.

Thank you for your patience - we can't wait to show you what's next.

Oops, something went wrong

Sign in to your {name} account to buy, store, value and sell fine wine and spirits, and track your order history and account details.

We couldn't find any results to show here.

Please note: delivery, duty and VAT charges may apply

Our website is currently down for maintenance.

Maintenance Mode

Pre-authorizing a Payment Method enables your Account Manager to make payments on your behalf, without payment verification.

Pre-authorize

This transaction has been blocked by authentication failure.

Authentication failure

Your payment card has expired. Please check your details and try again.

Expired card

Insufficient funds to pay your balance. Please check your details and try again.

Insufficient funds

This transaction has been blocked by the payment provider due to possible fraudulent behaviour.

Transaction blocked

Please choose a different payment method and try again.

Unknown error

About description for demonstration purposes

shows all the items you currently store with us. These items can be sold, delivered or transferred.

At {shortName}

Your allocation will be cancelled. Are you sure you want to continue?

Your pre-order item will be deleted. Are you sure you want to continue?

Your delivery request will be cancelled. Are you sure you want to proceed?

represents all the wines that are in your possession and have been consumed.

This is the price you paid for this item.

Cost price

After adding your new address, you'll be redirected back to this page.

Create a new address

Your notification will be deleted. Are you sure you want to continue?

The lowest price you're willing to sell at. If the net price goes below this value your listing will be removed.

shows all the items that you have pre-ordered, including en primeur wines, and all the items on your watchlist.

Futures

You can set a floor price on items you're selling based on a % of current unit net value.

You can set a market price on items you're selling based on a % of current unit net value.

shows all the actions that you have taken on items in your Portfolio.

groups every action by type - Purchase, Sale, Delivery, and Inbound Transfer - so it's clear at a glance what happened to each item.

History

shows all the items that are currently in transit to or from {shortName}.

In transit

Local delivery is free for orders over HK$1,800 (to a single location). For orders below this value, delivery is HK$150 for up to four cases and HK$50 per case thereafter.

Shipping starts from €15 within Italy and €45 to Switzerland and the rest of Europe for up to 48 bottles (75cl). Costs vary by destination. Larger shipments can be quoted on request.

The date shown below is when your order will ship from our local warehouse. Your final delivery date, along with full tracking details, will be provided once our team has processed your request.

You can arrange collection from our Retail store on 22nd Floor, 8 Wyndham Street, Central Hong Kong.
Collection times are between 9:30am-13:00 and 14:00-18:00pm, Monday to Friday. We are closed on public holidays.

You can arranged collection from our warehouse STI INTERNAZIONALE SPA, on Viale del Lavoro, 57, 37051 Bovolone, Verona.
Pick-up hours are between 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM, Monday to Friday. We are closed on public holidays.

This is the current estimated market value for this item.

Manually set prices will be overwritten. Already listed wines are not affected.

Updates all unlisted wines to current market price.

Set all at market

represents all the wines you currently have in your Portfolio that aren't stored with us. Press the

My cellar

Name

Net price

New portfolio available

New portfolio

You do not have any invoices at this time.

shows all the items from your Portfolio that are currently on the market.

On sale

shows all the items you currently have in your Portfolio. You can perform individual actions on them from this page.

Overview

shows any items that are currently awaiting user action.

Pending

This is the dynamic market price of the item with trading margin removed.

This is the amount of profit you will receive if your listing sells.

Pre-authorised payments enable automatic transactions on your behalf, ensuring seamless and hassle-free payments. This allows recurring charges, subscriptions, or scheduled payments to be processed without manual approval each time.

The number of cases you wish to place on sale

Your catalogue item will be archived. Are you sure you want to continue?

Your catalogue items will be archived. Are you sure you want to continue?

Before you request delivery, you can adjust the quantity for each item in your selection below.

*Market price is dynamic and may change. At time of sale a 10% trading fee will be deducted from the final sale price.

Total market price*

The fixed custom price you wish to sell each item for.

Split into {caseSize} individual {bottleSize}cl bottles.

Title

shows all the items you currently store with us. These items can be sold.

Available for sale — items stored with {name} eligible to be listed on the marketplace.

Profile

This item is at FINE+RARE, available for storage, transfer or delivery.
 Most UK deliveries can be made within 3-5 working days, with next day delivery for London;
 an exact date will be available when arranging delivery.
 International deliveries have longer lead-times, please contact us for details.

This item is at FINE+RARE HOME Hong Kong, available for delivery or local pickup. Most Hong Kong deliveries can be made within 3 working days, an exact date will be available when arranging delivery. International deliveries have longer lead-times, please contact us for details.

Wines sold en primeur will be released from the producer after bottling, typically 18 months after the so-called campaign ends. Your wine will then be stored by FINE+RARE in a bonded warehouse until you decide to take delivery.

We will source this item at the guaranteed price from our network of suppliers and arrange expedited shipment to FINE+RARE.
 The lead-time depends on many variables, but 2-4 weeks is typical for expedited sourcing.
 Once your order is confirmed, we'll keep you updated on its ETA.
 Every item is checked on arrival by our expert team, with photographs available on request (please note that charges may apply).

We will source this item at the guaranteed price from our network of suppliers and arrange shipment to FINE+RARE.
 The lead-time depends on many variables, but 6-12 weeks is an average estimate.
 Once your order is confirmed, we'll keep you updated on its ETA.
 Every item is checked on arrival by our expert team, with photographs available on request (please note that charges may apply).

Jean Paul Droin

Filter

Please wait

Related articles