Tasted with Antoine Lepetit de la Bigne in Beaune, 08 July 2024.

La Pierre Ronde
10 rue Jean-François Champollion
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 6 16 65 67 97
www.lapierreronde.com
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Antoine on 2022:
“The 2022s are all bottled – done in December. It was an ‘easy’ vintage for me as I just purchased the grapes – so no time in the vineyards. It was my second vintage and, of course, the volume doubled as there was no frost – I have made 20k bottles in this vintage. Of course, the young vines suffered in the dryness and brought a lot more concentration. A vintage that was so different to this year, where there are so many different ways to lose some crop!
“2022 is a vintage that I adore – to start I thought the 21s a great vintage, but the 22s have ‘something!’ Yes, they are seductive but they also have such a fine balance – it’s just that they are almost too easy to start with – but great wines don’t have to start with austerity…”

The wines…

I noted ‘delicious’ so often with these wines. What a consistently excellent range !!

“I do not want to be classed as a ‘natural’ winemaker but the level of sulfur in the wines is lower than some who like to take that name. I also prefer to protect the wines more physically – ie with wax and DIAM³⁰ – than with lots of sulfur”:

2022 Bourgogne Aligoté
From the same plot as the previous wine, in fact, the majority of this vineyard is planted to aligoté but it’s still very young – this bottled in August.
More vibrant and mineral in style, but it shows more perfumed and delicious flavours than the nose suggests. That’s a delicious wine – strict aromas but gorgeously flavoured – I love it !!

2022 Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles-Vignes
15 months of ageing for this and a portion has been kept back for another year to ‘see what I gain or lose…’ At the base of the hill of Corton in Ladoix
A broader, more supple aromatic, certainly less strict. In the mouth too a little extra supple character – a generosity – and a fine and deliciously zesty flavour profile. So good !!

2022 Bourgogne Huates Côtes de Beaune
At 410 metres but still a lot of limestone in the soil. This bottled in August
Fine high-toned breadth of aroma. More intense, also with super depth to its aromas aroma. Sweet – boiled sweets – ‘bonbons anglaise.’ Quiet long – just a delicious wine with a hint of richness but lots of energy too – completely delicious…

2022 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
A single block of vines in St.Aubin
Extra width of aroma – a slightly more complex and golden fruit. Fine acid energy but silky and quite concentrated too – it’s slightly strict, but I like strict. A tighter structure to this wine but with delicious flavour.

2022 Rully Fromange
On the plateau near Mercurey – a cold place, picked 2 weeks after the 1er cru. White, shallow soil.
A vibrant width, almost cushioned too. Hmm, that slips into the mouth in silken fashion, easy, melting, supple, softly finishing and still quite long…

2022 Ladoix 1er Les Grechons
A larger nose that’s supple and deep – a lovely apple blossom aroma too. Extra structure, I love this shape – a little stricter – more mineral, more powerful. Vibrant finishing – almost electric finishing before slowly fading – still a hint of ripe pear fruit. Really extra long – that’s a super wine!

2022 Meursault Malpoiriers
From the bottom of Meursault – near the winery of Jacques Prieur – almost no slope, lots of soil depth and clay.
A deep nose, faintly grained complexity, faintly spiced fruit. Really mouth-filling, classically Meursault – spiced but ultra-delicious.

2022 Meursault Les Perchots
Next to En la Barre but on a deeper soil and from 70-year-old vines
Extra width – a more sappy wood impression to the nose, attractively austere I might say. Extra freshness and energy in the mouth – mouth-filling with energy – sappy finishing too, and long. I’d wait a little longer for this wine – delicious but there’s more instant, easy, gratification from the Malpoiriers…