Home Winners > Winners 2017 > FRANCE: White Burgundy

Winner Details

FRANCE: White Burgundy

2017 Gold: 8 Silver: 9 Bronze: 3 Commended: 11
2016 Gold: 4 Silver: 7 Bronze: 0 Commended: 2

This might not be enough to make newspaper editors hold the front page, but here, if you needed it, was conclusive proof that sommeliers love white Burgundy. Eight Golds here broke a Sommelier Wine Awards record that has stood since 2013.

Hearteningly (indeed, surprisingly) they weren’t all at the top end of the price range either. All but a handful of medals (and the majority of the Golds) were under £20, which practically counts as entry level for Burgundy these days.

It’s probably not an accident that all the medal winners were from 2014 or 2015 – two good, approachable years for the whites.

The region needs a bit of this consistency. As some panellists pointed out, while it might still be a must-list, the high prices and sometimes variable nature of the region have cost it a few friends over the past 10 years.

STAR PERFORMER

Well done to Louis Jadot. Its showing in its homeland was exemplary this year, with Golds for Beaujolais and white Burgundy backed up by a Silver for a 1er Cru Beaune Rouge as well.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘I think customers feel safe with Burgundy. You have your Pouilly-Fuissé and Mersault drinkers – they’re loyal to the category.’ J Corey Evans, St Swithins Wine Shippers

‘We pair white Burgundy with classic seafood: scallops, langoustines. I have a cod and cauliflower dish on my menu at the moment which is great with white Burgundy.’ Geoffray Bénat, Cépages Wine Bistro

‘At Dabbous, I’ve got some Burgundy for £400 on my list, though most of my Burgundy sales sit around the £80 mark. People are happy to buy Burgundy at that price because they know it’s inherently an expensive wine.’ Charles Pashby-Taylor, Dabbous

‘I thought the mid-range here were average. For £60 or £70 on the list a bottle should stand out. Due to vintage issues, I don’t think customers do trust Burgundy so much at the moment.’ Olivier Marie, team leader 

‘Burgundy is a must-list for me.’ Robert Mason, Cheese at Leadenhall

 

‘This flight was pretty consistent. I like Burgundy and I stock a lot of it at different price points.’ Andre Luis Martins, Cavalry & Guards Club

Award winners

Found 31 wines

France: White Burgundy

Domaine Ferret, Pouilly-Fuissé 2015, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

Offering everything you’d want from white Burgundy, this Gold winner had ‘citrus and red apples, floral and mineral notes on the nose, then a dry and fresh palate, racy and vibrant, more minerals and citrus, in an approachable, easy-to-drink style’, said Hakkasan Group’s Diana Rollan, while team leader Angela Reddin felt it was ‘very delicate in the mouth, but with persistence’. ‘Ripe and generous, without losing its focus, and with a lovely structure. Try it with goat cheeses,’ concluded Chez Bruce’s Sara Bachiorri.

£18.07 Hatch Mansfield

Louis Jadot, Domaine Gagey, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru, Clos des Guettes 2014, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

Team leader Angela Reddin found this bold, characterful Gold Lister to have a ‘rich, fatty, umami nose showing citrus and apple strudel, papaya with lime, nutty oak and mineral touches, followed by a very good palate that keeps flowing with style’. Geoffray Bénat of Cépages Wine Bistro agreed: ‘Nutty, white flower aromas, good body with peach and white flowers, great balance and elegance.’ Equally good with turbot or ossobuco, said team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£21.88 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

Boutinot, Réserve Personelle, Mâcon-Charnay 2015, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

Team leader Laurent Richet MS was impressed with Boutinot’s second Gold’s ‘lovely oyster shell nose and milky undertone, with ripe golden apple fruit on the palate and high minerality’, rating it ‘a beautiful wine, with a touch of oak giving it structure and body’. ‘Floral pear and apple aromas, intense and clean,’ said Luciana Girotto-Beckett of Macellaio RC, enjoying its ‘lovely yellow colour, sapid fruit and nutty character on the palate with good balance’. Team leader Laurent Richet MS also praised its ‘crunchy apple and tangerine – a good by-the-glass option, and a match for sole meunière’.

£8.30 Boutinot

Boutinot, Réserve Personelle, Mâcon-Villages 2015, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

The first of an excellent pair of Golds for Boutinot in this category, it had, according to Charles Pashby-Taylor of Dabbous, ‘nice freshness and an easy-drinking style, with chalky-flinty minerality and good apricot and red apple fruit’, with team leader Olivier Marie also finding ‘ripe stone fruit character with apricot and a creamy texture, nice weight with opulent richness on the palate and lovely substance’. Cavalry & Guards Club’s Andre Luis Martins wanted to see it accompanying Dover sole.

£8.11 Boutinot

Domaine Roux Père & Fils, St-Aubin 1er Cru, La Chatenière 2014, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

Team leader Olivier Marie found this to be a ‘beautiful, textbook Bourgogne’, earning it its spot on the Gold podium. He described ‘ripe and intense concentration of fruit, ripe pear flesh and yellow Mirabelle plums, then a sprinkling of white pepper and underlying minerality’. Dario Barbato of Individual Restaurant also very much enjoyed its ‘hints of butter and nuts on the nose with a touch of herbaceous and balsamic character, great acidity and a good, lingering finish’. Perfect alongside ‘grilled tiger prawns in a light herbal butter sauce’, according to Cavalry & Guards Club’s Andre Luis Martins.

£22.79 Bibendum

Domaine des Crêts, Mâcon-Villages 2014, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

‘A flinty style,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW in praise of this Gold Lister, also noting ‘delicate hazelnuts on the mid-palate with a creamy texture and good length’. Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club found ‘citrus with earthy mineral aromas, nice elderflower with gentle white spices, finishing with light quince jelly notes’. Team leader Laurent Richet MS thought ‘this could work with any fish, but also pork or chicken, with its golden apple and honey notes, not to mention lemon-juice acidity’.

£14.19 Top Selection Ltd

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, Les Dames Huguette, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc 2015, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

‘Clean and youthful with pleasant primary fruit character, with fresh stone fruits mixed with subtle, spicy cardamom and ginger notes,’ all made this a clear Gold winner, according to team leader Olivier Marie, who found it ‘well made, with low acidity and a smoky, steely finish’, while Neil Tabraham of Paris House also felt it was ‘oaky, with a tropical fruit nose, bright and fresh fruit on the palate, soft acidity and a fresh, long finish’. Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks thought this ‘ripe, floral, intense wine would be great with grilled fish’.

£16.91 Top Selection Ltd

Lequin-Colin, Clos Devant, Chassagne-Montrachet 2015, Burgundy, France

Gold medal winner

‘Big toast, broad character, stony flint aromas and a juicy, savoury palate with notes of marzipan, flinty and unctuous with lovely fruit ripeness and minerality,’ said Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin of this Gold winner, while team leader Laurent Richet MS noted ‘a creamy nose with white truffle hints, good intensity, drive, balance and class’, and considered salt-baked sea bass to be the right match here.

£29.31 Top Selection Ltd

Domaine Feuillat-Juillot, Montagny 1er Cru, Les Jardins 2014, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

‘Ripe fruit on both nose and palate, with tangerine and blood orange, some oak structure and some lemon zest to finish,’ thought team leader Laurent Richet MS. Sara Bachiorri of Chez Bruce found this to have ‘tropical notes on the nose, while being lovely and mineral in style overall – pure and precise’.

£14.97 Boutinot

Domaine des Perserons, Le Quartier des Girouettes, St-Véran 2015, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

‘Citrus, mineral and elderflower aromas, then a palate of crispy minerality and a gentle ripe, sweet peach finish,’ began Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club, with impressed team leader Annette Scarfe MW finding it a ‘leaner style, with delicate white flowers and fresh lemons, unoaked and clean’.

£9.50 Boutinot

Domaine Latour-Giraud, Cuvée Charles Maxime, Meursault 2015, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW highlighted ‘lovely use of cedar oak, giving great toasty structure’, finding it ‘concentrated and intense, yet with elegance and poise, and a long citrus finish’, with Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club picking up more complex notes of ‘sour apple with gentle ginger notes, elegant mineral flavours finishing with earthy, balsamic character’.

£34.71 Bibendum

Domaine Jean Rijckaert, Mont Châtelaine, Viré-Clessé 2014, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

Hakkasan Group’s Diana Rollan noted a ‘honeyed nose of quince and mango, dry, ripe and long palate with good acidity and freshness, concentration and tropical papaya character with lemon meringue hints’. ‘Nice oak integration, smoky and almost nutty character already,’ added J Corey Evans of St Swithins Wine Shippers.

£12.32 Bibendum

Oedoria, Accord Majoeur, Réserve Particulière, Blanc 2015, Beaujolais, France

Silver medal winner

Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group enjoyed its ‘restrained nose of fruity and floral notes, rounded palate with melon and notes of tropical fruit’, while Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club highlighted some interesting notes of ‘unripe apple and fresh basil leaves, with gentle white peach and light floral character on the palate’.

£12.95 Bulles Blanc Rouge

Remoissenet Père & Fils, Givry Blanc 2014, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

Plenty going on here for Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall, who highlighted its ‘buttery, nutty, toasted peanuts and toasted bread aromas with hints of peach, nectarine and dried apricot, then a well-integrated concentration of flavours, balanced weight and texture’, adding that it was ‘smooth as a smooth thing and long, very long’.

£17.11 Matthew Clark

Château de Santenay, Clos de la Chaise Dieu Monopole, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc 2015, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

‘Toast, nutty oak, bready lees and slight hints of smoke on the nose,’ began a satisfied Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall, who liked its ‘delicate stone fruits and gentle citrus, with good texture, body and integrated oak flavours, making it a rounded and complex wine with elegance and finesse’.

£13.74 Liberty Wines

Château de Santenay, Chassagne-Montrachet 2015, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

An ‘investment wine’ for team leader Angela Reddin, who found it ‘initially shy, but some nice florals, citrus and orchard blossom on a restrained palate with medium weight and good length’, while Hakkasan Group’sDiana Rollan enjoyed its ‘citrus, red apple, floral and mineral aromas, fresh and lively palate with great flinty mineral character, and elegant balance’.

£36.59 Liberty Wines

Domaine Michel Juillot, Mercurey Blanc 2014, Burgundy, France

Silver medal winner

‘Smoked apple aromas with green tea leaves, light and buttery on the palate with mineral earth notes,’ said Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club, with Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group also noting a ‘restrained nose, a little shy at the moment, but more revealing on the palate with notes of crème pâtissière and a mineral backbone’.

£17.88 Enotria&Coe

Patriarche, Mâcon-Villages 2015, Burgundy, France

Bronze medal winner

‘Elegant and floral with apple blossom character on the nose, and ripe stone fruit with a creamy hazelnut character on the finish,’ said team leader Olivier Marie. ‘Beautiful nose with peach, apple, pear and camomile,’ added Dario Barbato of Individual Restaurant.

£8.80 Castelnau Wine Agencies

Domaine Trouillet, Pouilly-Fuissé 2014, Burgundy, France

Bronze medal winner

‘Preserved lemon and yellow flower aromas with touches of nectarine, this has a deliciousness,’ began team leader Angela Reddin, continuing: ‘It’s fleshy without being blowsy, showing lovely understated oak and a mineral streak.’

£14.52 Bibendum

Château de Santenay, En Vesvau, St-Aubin 2015, Burgundy, France

Bronze medal winner

‘A subtle and elegant style, appley and fresh on nose and palate with zesty character, lemony fruit on the finish with touches of nautical saline minerality,’ said team leader Olivier Marie.

£19.54 Liberty Wines

Domaine Jean-Pierre Sève, Aux Chailloux, Pouilly-Fuissé 2014, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

Domaine de la Jobeline, Macon-Verzé 2015, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

Domaine de la Jobeline, En Prévisy, Macon-Verzé 2015, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

Patriarche, Bourgogne Chardonnay 2015, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

Clos St-Pierre, Le Quartier des Girouettes, Mâcon-Charnay 2015, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

£8.67 Boutinot

Domaine Roux Père & Fils, La Pucelle, St-Aubin 2015, Burgundy , France

Commended medal winner

£16.74 Bibendum

Domaine Fichet, La Crépillionne, Mâcon-Villages 2014, Burgundy , France

Commended medal winner

£9.95 Bibendum

Domaine Robert-Denogent, La Croix, Pouilly-Fuissé 2014, Burgundy , France

Commended medal winner

£20.61 Bibendum

Henri de Villamont, Prestige, Bourgogne Chardonnay 2013, Burgundy, France

Commended medal winner

Château de Santenay, Le Roc Blanc, Mercurey Blanc 2015, Burgundy , France

Commended medal winner

£15.19 Liberty Wines

Domaine Ferrand, Pouilly-Fuissé 2014, Burgundy , France

Commended medal winner