This is only the third vintage from Domaine des Croix’s Combe Bazin, a steep, stony site on white soils. Croix’s parcel covers a single hectare. The vines deliver microscopic yields, and Croix is replanting most of the vineyard with mass-selection cuttings. The two barrels from 2022 come from the finest 15% of the vines.

The grapes were lightly crushed, followed by a gentle, three-hour press. The wine fermented spontaneously and aged for a year on lees in used 500-litre barrels before another six months in concrete. Croix notes that the archetypal Combe Bazin is a Saint-Romain that “fills out the palate”, and that is precisely what you get here: generosity balanced with juicy freshness, mineral chalkiness and coolness from the terroir’s altitude and shallow limestone soils.

he has regularly shown that he is a master of Chardonnay with this striking, luminous Corton-Charlemagne. For several years, it has been a hidden gem in our portfolio. The fruit comes from two high parcels totalling just 0.25 hectares, both in the white marls of Le Charlemagne (above the historical holdings of Bonneau du Martray). These plots (alternately west- and north-facing, on both sides of Le Charlemagne) were planted in 1984/85 and 1988/89 respectively, and the vines have been organically managed since 2008. Both parcels are prone to millerandage, producing tiny bunches of ripe, golden berries. The 2022 fermented and aged in used barrel this year before being racked to Wine Globe for another 12 months. A brilliant example of the appellation: powerful and intense yet linear and another stunning, supercharged CC from the ‘Hand of Croix’.

Lying just under Les Marconnets, Les Peuillets shares a border with Beaune’s Blanche Fleur vineyard. If you’ve ever visited Savigny, you would have passed the vineyard on your left as you enter the valley heading towards the village. The domaine tends a 0.57-hectare parcel of 1971-planted vines. A lot of sand runs through the argilo-calcaire here, which is partly responsible for the wine’s finesse and its seductive core of sweet, red and dark cherry fruit. The 2022 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Peuillets 1er Cru was picked on September 3rd and crafted with 55% bunches. Loads of fruit but also terrific energy—a super suave Savigny of great class.

Les Cent Vignes is one of the first vineyards you encounter if you’re heading west out of Beaune. It’s unofficially divided into two sections: the upper slope, with its brown clays and gravel (grèze litée), and the lower part, with well-drained alluvial soils. Domaine des Croix farms four parcels of old vines on both terroirs (covering just over one hectare in total), planted in 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1968. The 2022 Cent Vignes incorporated 50% whole bunches, with Croix keeping them at the bottom of the fermenter so they remained intact during the punch-downs. He also did not trim a lot of the vines here in a tressage trial. It’s an incredible wine that speaks loudly of the value this producer offers. It’s super-fine and perfumed (roses!) and with a sexy, super-fresh palate. Beaune rhymes with Vosne!

Les Tuvilains joined the Domaine des Croix portfolio in the 2016 harvest, taking the tally of Beaune terroirs to 10 (including the village parcels). It’s in the southern part of Beaune on the lower slope, and Croix’s 0.36 hectares of very old vines are spread over two parcels planted in the 1930s. Destemmed and matured for 15 months (with 20% new oak), this is a denser expression of Beaune that reflects the clay soils of the terroir. By the way, Jasper Morris’s macabre description of the origins of the vineyard’s name in Inside Burgundy is worth a read. A great expression of a clay-rich terroir: dense and layered yet very polished.  

Along with Beaune Grèves, this vineyard shares its name with a Grand Cru vineyard on the nearby hill of Corton. It is no coincidence that these two vineyards regularly produce Beaune’s finest wines. David Croix’s vines sit high on the slope above Beaune at 300 metres on a 25-degree incline. It’s steep enough that Croix has to cultivate part of it by horse. He is lucky enough to farm 0.88 hectares of mature plots in this legendary terroir, spread across three parcels planted in 1983, 1987 and 1991. All face east on thin, gravelly soils and have been farmed organically for over a decade. The fruit was half destemmed and carefully extracted before aging in used casks. Although it has the fruit weight of the year, this is a mineral, rocky, earthy wine. A terrific wine to sit with, sip and meditate. Give it air if drinking young.

Pertuisots lies mid-slope on the Pommard side of the appellation. The domaine farms half a hectare of vines spread across two parcels: Petite Pertuisots, planted in 1971, and Grande Pertuisots, planted in 1987. Both lie on brown clay topsoils similar to Pommard over a bedrock of Jurassic limestone. For the Inside Burgundy enthusiasts, Jasper Morris MW holds a minority shareholding in the vineyard. Fermented with one-third bunches and raised with minimal new oak, the cooler and shallower Pertuisots terroir gives David Croix’s most mineral Beaune 1er Cru this year. This is so good: deep, aromatic and hedonistic. Already delicious, it will age magnificently (as this vineyard always does). This is one of Beaune’s grand cru-quality vineyards; the fact Croix prices this wine on a level with Bressandes tells you all you need to know!  

Here we have the confusing situation of a producer making both 1er and Grand Cru Grèves! What are you going to do? Of course, both are great terroirs in their respective communes. The Grand Cru example grows on the Corton hill’s mid-slope with an ideal southeast exposition. It is widely considered one of Corton’s finest red terroirs, with soils of reddish clay peppered with a type of Jurassic limestone known as Ladoix (after the nearby village), as well as some flint. Domaine des Croix purchased a 0.55-hectare parcel of 1960-planted vines in 2009 and has farmed them organically since then. The whole-bunch component was 30% this year, adding lift and fresh, savoury notes that balance the wine’s deep iron-and-blood fruit. Compact and rich in dry extract, this will repay 10 years in your cellar.