“Disciplined viticulture and ambitiously precise vinification puts these two young men leagues ahead of the competition and promises to keep them there.” Bettane and Desseauve’s Guide to the Wines of France “Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret's wines are certainly not on the cheap side for the Mâcon region, then again, they are cheaper than a lot of Côte de Beaune whites and the care and dedication equals any grower you will find there… overall these remain some of the benchmarks of Mâconnais.” Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate “Domaine La Soufrandière is the family estate of dynamic brothers Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret where they produce beautifully satiny, pure wines…” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate “So long an outstanding producer – their 2021s only reinforce that – some truly great wines for their labels.” Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report View the full available range from La Soufrandière and Bret Brothers here. Burgundy lovers will be bracing themselves for a fight to source their favourite wines this year. The shortage particularly applies to the white wines, as Chardonnay took the biggest hit from France’s unprecedented April freeze. To add some perspective, Burgundy produced less than one million hectolitres in 2021—less than half what used to be termed an “average” vintage. However, the picture is not black and white. In Chablis, where the right back fared much better than the left, Virgine Moreau (Moreau-Naudet) was 75% down on volumes. At the opposite end of Burgundy, Jean-Phillipe Bret knows he got off lightly; at 30% losses, many in the Mâconnais were not so fortunate. Jean-Phillipe is a call-it-like-you-see kind of winegrower, so when he calls 2021 a “magic” vintage, it pays to prick up your ears. Bret talks of a return to a classic style of 20 years ago, to “a more cool-climate citric style.” We don’t think you have to travel quite far back as that—there’s an element of 2010’s tension and tonic freshness, notwithstanding lower sugar levels—but Jean-Phillipe would know best! Harvested from 22 September onwards, Les Frères Bret has crafted a scintillating collection of wines this year. With alcohol levels weighing in at 12% to 12.5%, these are not the heavy hitters of the previous handful of vintages. Instead, they are alluringly silky, medium-bodied and lightning-fresh white Burgundies imbued with pure, detailed flavours of fresh citrus and ripe stone fruits and carried by plenty of mineral/stony undertow. A beautiful collection of wines that once again demonstrates that when the growing gets tough, the tough get growing. As we have said from our soapbox many times before, there are countless more expensive wines from more famous terroirs in the Côte de Beaune that would suffer in comparison to the wines offered below. Given the eye-watering tariffs coming out of the Côte d’Or and Chablis, the pricing below should make these outstanding wines even more enticing to lovers of great white Burgundy. Canny buyers should not hesitate.