There’s an endless stream of articles about ‘good value’ Burgundy, but I only take notice of 2 sources before following up with my own research.
- The annual Cave Prestige and
- The Tastevinage ‘Masters.’
Here’s the former list, unveiled yesterday in Beaune – and it’s big list !! You will find many new names – also new to me – and wines that have succeeded through multiple rounds of tastings.
The room was a little too warm (it’s 2026!) and there were too many tasters to properly attack the displayed samples, but I tasted a number, and all rated from ‘great’ to ‘technically completely fine.’
The 2026 Cave Prestige
Click right for the full list…
The Press Release:
The 55th edition of the Burgundy Wine Board’s Prestige Wine List recognised 140 wineries, houses, and estates at its awards ceremony on Wednesday, July 15. This demanding selection honours wines that, each year, embody the high standards, diversity, and expertise of Burgundy winemakers. It will support the Burgundy Wine Committee’s promotional, training, and outreach activities, both in France and internationally.The 2026 line-up has 188 ways to express Burgundy out of 1,491 submitted samples, representing a particularly demanding selection rate of 12.6%.
In total, 140 companies were represented out of 340 participants. This edition also confirms the dynamism of the Burgundy wine region, with 33 companies recognised for the first time or returning to the selection since 2017, representing 23.5% of the winners.
The selection is based on a blind tasting conducted by expert panels composed of technicians, oenologists, and industry professionals. Wines must obtain a minimum score of 16/20 in the initial tasting before being submitted to a “super panel” tasked with confirming their inclusion in the Prestige Cellar. They are then deemed “exceptional.” In 2026, six tastings were organised, involving 200 judges.
The 2023 vintage once again takes first place (101 wines, representing 53.7% of the selection), partly due to production volumes. The much rarer 2024 vintage comes in second place (58 wines, representing 30.8%). As a side note, only one wine from the 2025 vintage appears on the list: the tastings took place in March, and this vintage was only exceptionally bottled at that time.
A diverse Burgundy, from the Mâconnais to the Châtillonnais
The 57 Regional Appellations also reflect the diversity of this essential gateway to Burgundy wines: 28 Bourgogne and Mâcon plus appellation, 20 Crémant de Bourgogne, and 9 Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté, or Coteaux Bourguignons. Let’s not forget that this category represents 50% of total Burgundy wine production.
The geographical distribution of the selected wineries confirms the regional focus of the selection, with 15 from the Mâconnais, 25 from the Côte Chalonnaise and Côtes du Couchois, 55 from the Côte de Beaune, 16 from the Côte de Nuits, 12 from Chablis, 14 from the Grand Auxerrois, and 3 from the Châtillonnais.
A few wines tasted:
Fresh, stony attractive notes. Broad,modestly generous and nicely textured. Delicious easy wine, but also with detail – that’s a great Bourgogne.
2023 Guillemette & Xavier Besson, Givry 1er Les Grands Vignes
A rounder, more woolly cushion to this fruit aroma. Extra scale and dimensions of flavour, with more finishing bitters. Fine but less delicious today – keep it 3 year…
2023 Chanzy, Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise La Fortune
Wide, darker fruit but aromas of clarity and energy. Lovely shape, quite sensual texture in the mouth. Lots of concentration too. A more serious wine than the Jessiaume today, and just a little less delicious – but clearly excellent in a couple of years…
2023 Arnoux Père, Chorey-lès-Beaune
Direct, good depth of aroma. Wide, more stony and structural style but with delicious intensity – yum!
2023 Françoise André, Beaune 1er Les Reversées
Deeper colour. High tones and plenty of aromatic interest. Wide, layered, stony flavours and some structural depth to this flavour too. Really wide finishing – excellent but young wine – wait 3 plus years.
2022 Bachey-Legros, Santenay Les Champs Claudes Vieilles-Vignes
A first attack of high toned freshness. Hmm, concentration that melts over the palate. Flavour-packed, tasty young wine but still accessible – a lovely finish!
A more delicate but detailed nose – very pretty. Open, fluid, flavour packed with a long finish. Top!
2023 Stéphanie Colinot, Irancy La Comme
A rounder, quite delicious impression from this nose. Large in the mouth, concentrated but accessible flavour. Long finishing too – keep it 2 years but this is super…
2023 Jacques Prieur, Corton-Bressandes
Hmm, breadth, depth and a subtle perfume to this large-scaled aromatic – of course, there’s a little oak too. Hmm, a different level of depth, width and sinuously growing flavour – by far the most oak – too much for today, but that’s got great potential – wait 7-8 years, primarily for the oak to be consumed…
And some whites:
2023 Alain Geoffray, Chablis
Subtle, delicate, flowers and fruit. Narrow after a Corton , but delicious mouth-cleansing and moreish. Love…
2024 Chateau du Val de Mercy, Bourgogne Chitry Le Fort
Extra scale and lots of vibrational energy to this nose. More mineral and melting, wider too. Also more structural – delicious wine, just less delicious than the Geoffray today !!
2024 Vignerons d‘Igé, Mâcon-Villages Terroirs des Brigands
The longest name! Breadth of aroma with an extra warmer depth and spice to the flavours. Very attractive wine.
2023 Belleville Rully Les St.Jacques
A nicely direct nose, subtly, attractively fruited and even a little floral. Good scale, some very modest oak flavour today too. The finish is super !!
2024 Guerrin et Fils, Pouilly-Fuissé 1er La Marechaude
Stony white fruit from this more vertical nose. Wide, some minerality to balance a little generosity. A strong finish. Excellent PF !!
2023 Albert Morot, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Bataillère, Clos de la Batalliere
A narrower, more linear nose – clean, pure a very fine invitation. Mouth-filling with a fine blend of structure and shape… Yum !!
2023 La Chablisienne, Chablis 1er Montée de Tonnerre
Here’s a more floral freshness – not large in scale, but it doesn’t need to be. Cool, wide, mineral, everything that it should be. The finish just keeps widening. Better in 1-2 years but a super wine. La Chablisienne is not the cheapest, but in this company it is great value…