2023 Claire Naudin, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune

About this wine

The Hautes-Côtes de Beaune were long the poor cousin of the Côte, and Claire Naudin is one of the producers who proved the height is a gift: cooler nights, later picking, more perfume. Her Hautes-Côtes Pinot Noir comes from organically farmed parcels around Magny-lès-Villers, fermented with whole bunches and indigenous yeasts, extracted gently, raised in old barrels and bottled with a whisper of sulfur. 2023 was generous in Burgundy, and the wine has a little more flesh than usual without losing its line.

Expect red cherry and raspberry, rose petal and a stemmy spice, fine tannins, bright acidity and a mineral finish. Serve slightly cool with roast poultry, salmon, mushrooms or charcuterie. Drink now to 2030.

About Claire Naudin

Claire Naudin runs Domaine Naudin-Ferrand in Magny-lès-Villers, on the ridge between the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, an estate her grandfather founded and her father Henri built up. Since taking over in 1994 she has turned it into one of the most quietly radical addresses in Burgundy: organic farming, early picking for freshness, whole clusters, native yeasts, long élevage in old wood and, on the cuvées that carry her own name, no added sulfur at all. The wines are pale, perfumed, low in alcohol and built on the limestone of the high slopes; Orchis Mascula, from old vines, is the one collectors chase.