2024 : An Excellent, Even at Times Great, Year for White Burgundy
Allen Meadows- Burghound
‘I adore these wines. They rank among the finest in the region…’
Neal Martin
‘Every wine is excellent – a tribute.’
Bill Nanson
’The 2024 vintage is studded with gems from across the entire region, not just Pouilly-Fuissé but Saint-Véran…Viré-Clessé and beyond.’
Neal Martin
Kicking off late-season coverage of 2024 White Burgundy – probably the greatest vintage since 2014 – we begin with the absolutely masterful wines from Caroline Gon and her husband Frantz Chagnoleau.
Just like our children we know that we really shouldn’t pick our favourites, but ever since the inception of Brunswick a decade ago, there’s one domaine that has featured as just about closest to our heart – Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau. Goodness we are proud of these wines!
We have watched the deserved ascent of this domaine powered by just the nicest people. They have deservedly gained a crescendo of praise over the years. Chagnoleau now has the most consistent and highest set of ratings, in the region from Neal Martin at Vinous. For across-the-board brilliance we feel there is no-one to touch them.
In spite of the great quality here, the prices here remain tremendously fair. The wines are ‘Meursault quality for the price of Macon’ you could say. With even the most expensive wine in the cellar costing less than £50 per bottle, all in, its no surprise that Neal Martin has declared they ‘punch above their weight and represent outstanding value.’
Other critics have described the wines as category transcending and ‘nigh on perfect’ [The Spectator] but it is the wines, the modesty of the people involved and their evident and passionate connection with the land that we love most.
In their tiny Pierreclos cellar the couple’s talent has demonstrably come to the fore as one might expect from a couple whose ‘apprenticeships’ include Leflaive and Comte Lafon The ethos and expertise gained from working with the greats have stood the couple in great stead. The results are consistently spectacular. 2024 is a brilliantly incisive vintage to put the seal on their mastery.
Organic, strictly-managed vineyards; indigenous yeasts and limited use of large, used French oak are the precepts by which the couple fulfil their dream of producing taut, pure wines to showcase their talents. With fine definition allied to generous fruit, Frantz seems to hit the perfect mid-point between twin influences of his friends Jean-Marc Roulot’s racy incisiveness and Dominique Lafon’s flamboyance.
All wines are in cases of 6×75 except for the single vineyard Macon Clos St Pancras and St Veran Prisse a Chasselas which come in proper, old-fashioned cases of 12. There are also a few magnums of St Veran Montchanins at £86.36 all in, for special occasions!
Best wishes,
Brunswick Team.
Tel/WhatsApp +44 (0)1273 054690
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, Macon Villages, Clos St Pancras
£245 per case in bond (12x75cl)
£336.91 per case inc. taxes
‘The 2024 Mâcon-Villages Clos Saint-Pancras has a reserved, quite elegant bouquet, just veering on the austere side at the moment. The palate is much more expressive with crisp acidity, tensile and steely with a twist of sour lemon that enlivens and sharpens the finish. Very fine. Drink 2026-2033.’
90 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, Vire Clesse Raspillieres
£169 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£224.26 per case inc. taxes
‘The 2024 Viré-Clessé Les Raspillères was the last parcel to be picked (as usual), the vines located at 360 metres and oriented towards the east. The nose is quite intense, a little petrolly in style; Riesling comes to the Mâconnais! The palate is well balanced with ample weight and just a perfectly judged reduction, whilst maintaining poise and energy on the spicy finish. Viré-Clessé does not get much better. Drink 2026-2035.’
92 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, St Veran de Prisse a Chasselas
£298 per case in bond (12x75cl)
£400.51 per case inc. taxes
‘Impressively rich and long on the palate, with a compelling aroma of mandarin, green apple and pear, and a texture that parses both richness and vibrant tension. The grapes are a blend of two parcels in Prissé, on thin, rocky soils, and two in Chasselas, on deeper clay soils, both averaging 350m in elevation. The combination of the two produces a wine with exquisite balance and depth, aged partly in large barrels and partly in foudres. Drink 2028-2040.’
93 points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, St Veran La Fournaise
£169 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£224.26 per case inc. taxes
‘The 2024 Saint-Véran La Fournaise was picked on the same day as the Montchanins and undergoes exactly the same maturation in 600-litre barrels. The aromatics are very reduced at the moment and difficult to read. The palate is saline and lightly spiced on the entry, with slightly more extract than the Montchanin, whilst the limestone soils define the pepperiness and tension on the finish. Excellent. Drink 2027-2039.’
91 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, St Veran Montchanins
£169 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£224.26 per case inc. taxes
plus single magnums available at £86.36 inc. taxes
‘Matured entirely in used demi-muids, the 2024 Saint-Véran Les Montchanins has a taut, stony, verging on warm slate-like bouquet that opens with aeration. The palate is very well defined with crisp salinity. Very pure in style, it builds wonderfully and gradually in the mouth, then fans out supremely well on the finish. Bon vin! Drink 2026-2036.’
93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, St Veran a La Cote
£175 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£231.46 per case inc. taxes
‘The 2024 Saint-Véran à la Côte, from red ferrous soils and aged in 600-litre used barrels, is notably marine-like on the nose. It opens wonderfully in the glass. The palate offers hints of candied orange peel, even light mentholé elements on the entry. With fine weight and a silver thread of acidity, it just tapers a little towards the finish. Otherwise, this is very fine, very classy. Drink 2028-2040.’
91+ points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, St Veran La Roche
£185 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£243.46 per case inc. taxes
‘The 2024 Saint-Véran La Roche comes from the middle of the slope and is the only cuvée raised in pièces. The aromatics are very closed on the nose and clearly require some time. The palate is well balanced with impressive minéralité, very harmonious and poised, with just the right amount of spice and hints of mint and liquorice towards the captivating finish. Superb. Drink 2027-2042.’
93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, Pouilly Fuisse Pastoral
£198 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£259.06 per case inc. taxes
‘From vines located in Vergisson, the 2024 Pouilly-Fuissé Pastoral is raised one-third in demi-muids and the remainder in pièces. Again, this is quite reductive on the nose, which is difficult to read at the moment. The palate is fresh and very lively on the entry (as if compensating for the aromatics) with stem ginger and peppery notes. Very harmonious, complex and long in the mouth, this has huge potential, though it will require some patience. Drink 2029-2044.’
93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
‘This superb Pouilly-Fuissé boasts aromas ranging from grapefruit and mandarin to green apple and gooseberry, with a note of acacia flowers and a hint of flinty minerality. The texture is lively and fresh but not lacking depth. The grapes are from two parcels in Vergisson: one faces south, the other north; both are planted with 60-year-old vines. The former is fermented in demi-muids; the latter in 228-litre barrels. Ideally, give this five to 10 years in the bottle before opening. Drink 2030-2050.’
94 points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter
2024 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau, Pouilly Fuisse Madrigal
£229 per case in bond (6x75cl)
£296.26 per case inc. taxes
‘A combination of two small south-facing parcels, the 2024 Pouilly-Fuissé Madrigal has an entrancing, walnut- and hazelnut-scented nose that is like a distant cousin of a Meursault. The palate is spicy and mentholé on the entry, very powerful, gaining depth towards the second half with a hint of Szechuan peppers tingling in the mouth on the finish. Wonderful. Drink 2028-2044.’
93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
