06 Jan 2022

Our Burgundy 2020 en primeur offers for the New Year begin with the superb value white and red burgundies from brothers Laurent and Pascal Borgeot.  Every year we tell you what great value their wines are, but recent warm vintages have particularly favoured this domaine.  With the 2021 vintage so drastically reduced, we recommend filling your cellar with their 2020 vintage while stock is available.

Laurent and Pascal's wines are firm favourites with many of our customers, but if they are new to you, do read the profile below.  Laurent is usually a whirlwind of energy and it can be impossible to get him to stand still for more than a moment, so we were delighted this year to get a photo of him with a smile on his face, as he presented his 2020s. 

A great success of last year's en primeurs was the Bourgogne Blanc 'Clos de la Carbonade', from a walled vineyard in Bouzeron, a monopole, owned exclusively by the domaine.  Finding really exceptional Bourgognes Blancs and Rouges is one of the most rewarding aspects of our cask tasting visits.  The best domaines produce mostly higher-level (village and premier cru) wines and there is usually precious little Bourgogne to be had.  Previous vintages of Clos Carbonade have been even better in bottle than from cask, so if the 2020 barrel sample is anything to go by, this will be superb when bottled, with tonnes of energy and a pithy texture balancing the beautifully ripe orchard and stone fruit character. 

The Borgeot's humble Bourgogne Rouge, from 3 parcels of vines in Santenay, is also star in its own right.  We have been drinking the 2019 vintage at home and were delighted at how well it stood up to some left-over rib of beef this Christmas, revealing hidden depths.  The 2020 cask sample was tremendously fresh and almost classical in style, but still has excellent concentration and ripeness to the fruit. 

The Santenay Vieilles Vignes is quite different in style to the red Santenays from Bachey Legros; more savoury and with aromas of herbs and wood on the nose ('like breaking a twig' commented one taster).  At just £185 per dozen in bond, or £21.18 per bottle after all taxes, this is a great riposte to anyone who thinks that great burgundy needs to be ruinously expensive.

While the Borgeots excel in making great value wines, their top wines from Chassagne-Montrachet are very fine and stand up to tasting alongside the best from that village.  The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes had splendid ripeness and intensity, whilst the 1er Cru Clos St Jean managed to balance elegant aromas of white flowers with impressive 'matière'...a weighty texture in the glass. 

We will probably repeat this numerous times over the course of our 2020 offers, but white burgundies of this quality are likely to become more expensive and harder to find over the next few years, so we recommend adding them to your cellar now.

Offered en primeur, landing autumn 2022.

Producer Profile

Domaine Borgeot, Remigny

Pascal and Laurent Borgeot are among the hardest working winemakers we know in Burgundy.  Each year, their reds stand out for their value and for their sturdy, structured style.

This is a no-frills domaine, located in the little-known village of Remigny, in between Santenay and Chassagne.  With no appellation of its own, Remigny has an off the beaten track air, which adds to its authenticity.  Pascal and Laurent have the robust character of farmers, with Laurent, in particular, focused on the land and the vines.  Established in 1903, the brothers are the fourth generation of the family to run the domaine, although they have expanded it greatly since they took over in 1985.  They now have 23 hectares of vines, with holdings in Bouzeron, Santenay, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.  Pascal's daughter Julia is now increasingly involved in the winemaking.  The Borgeot's are very well-respected by many of their more famous neighbours, some of whom have sent their children to work with them as stagiaires.    

A form of lutte raisonnée is practised in the vineyards, with only organic fertilisers used.  The wines are fermented in a combination of temperature-controlled, stainless-steel vats and oak barrels to give complexity while retaining the primary fruit aromas.   Laurent uses up to 25% new oak in the village and premier cru-level white wines.  

Santenay Rouge is a speciality and the wines from this village are our first port of call for good value but serious Côte-d'Or burgundy.  At the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, Santenay is benefiting from climate change and Borgeot's reds have a ripeness and a concentration in recent vintages which remind us of the Côte de Nuits, whilst remaining true to their terroir.  The Bourgogne Blanc 'Clos de la Carbonade' is from a walled vineyard in Bouzeron, a monopole for the domaine.  This is brilliant value, a 'house' white burgundy for many of customers (and for us too!).  The Bourgogne Rouge has bright fruit, but also offers firm tannins and structure which make it a textbook example of red burgundy.  The Chassagne Vieilles Vignes and 1er Cru Clos St Jean are also outstanding value.

Laurent Borgeot