Wines

Bouzeron, the northernmost village in the Côte Chalonnaise, is situated just five kilometers south of the grand crus of Chassagne-Montrachet. This unique appellation is solely for Aligoté—specifically, a local strain known as Aligoté Doré which tends to be spicier, rounder, and more complex than the more commonly planted Aligoté Vert. Notably, Aligoté in the appellation of Bouzeron is planted exclusively on slopes, whereas in many other parts of Burgundy it is relegated to the flatlands. Nathalie owns 0.45 hectares worth of Aligoté here split among two parcels, one planted in the 1980s and the other in the 1950s, and she ages it on its fine lees for a full year entirely in stainless steel (she dislikes oak influence on Aligoté). Generously textured but with ample tension, it displays seashell-like minerality beneath fruit that veers between citrussy and borderline exotic.

Nathalie owns a well-situated parcel of Chardonnay in the commune of Saint-Aubin, just outside the appellation delimitation: a 0.37-hectare planting on a west-facing slope abutting Saint-Aubin’s Champ Tirant vineyard. Fermented spontaneously and aged 12 months in barrels three years or more of age, this is a generous, straightforward, well-balanced white Burgundy full of ripe citrus notes and streaked with cleansing minerality.

Nathalie owns a 0.5-hectare parcel of early-1980s-planted Pinot Noir in the village of Fontaines, bordering Mercurey’s northeast corner and abutting the well-known premier cru Clos des Myglands (a monopole of Domaine Faiveley). Her just-so touch with extraction is evident here, as this is breezy without being slight, presenting its pretty Pinot fruit with tenderness yet also possessing enough depth and structure to tie the earth-kissed flavors into a nice clean package. This spends 18 months in 20% new oak.

Nathalie’s 0.40 hectares worth of Pinot Noir in La Justice—near the border of Saint-Aubin and La Rochepot—is split among two parcels, one 60 years of age and the other 25 years of age. Her just-so touch is on full display in this wine, which leads with clean, ripe, bright red cherry fruit framed by soft, polite tannins. Raised entirely in used barrels, it bears no trace of oak vanilla on its beautifully balanced palate.

This well-situated vineyard in the commune of Cheilly-les-Maranges is nestled in the southeast corner of Maranges very close to the border of Santenay, and Nathalie owns a 0.4-hectare parcel of Pinot Noir here. Aged for 18 months in 20% new oak, “Les Regains” displays an iron-tinged minerality and a muscularity of structure not unlike that of a Nuits-Saint-Georges, yet its black fruit is delivered with energy, tension, and lift. Tannins are punchy but not rude, and the overall balance is noteworthy, particularly for an appellation prone to rusticity.

Nathalie owns 1.4 hectares of Pinot Noir in Santenay, split among three parcels: Les Vaux Dessus, Les Charmes Dessus, and Bievaux. Her Santenay Rouge, aged for a year and a half in 20% new barrels, is the kind of effortlessly soulful, meat-and-potatoes red Burgundy that can only be made by a grower who knows how and when to get out of the way of the terroir. It shows terrific balance; it is pure of fruit without feeling fussily pristine; its telltale sous-bois notes are well-integrated and rendered with clarity; and its acidity is pert and true.

The premier cru Beauregard sits mid-slope in the northeast part of Santenay near the border of Chassagne-Montrachet, and Nathalie owns 0.3 hectares of Pinot Noir here. If her village-level Santenay is a case study in pure Burgundian Pinot Noir, Beauregard is—as one would expect—more particular in its personality: darker and more somber in its fruit (yet still fresh), with a more succulent texture and a tinge of smoke. Typically yielding four barrels of wine, this sees slightly more new oak (25%, or one out of four new casks) than the other red wines but is in no way unbalanced by it.

Nathalie owns a 0.15-hectare sliver in the southern-Côte de Beaune village of Auxey-Duresses, nestled against Volnay and Meursault in the direction of Saint-Romain. This village’s more powerful signature of iron-tinged earth is well suited to a heartier elevage, and Nathalie employs 25% new oak for this wine’s 18-month stint in barrel. Richly textured but gentle in its extraction, this wine allows the power of the appellation to shine through without leaning into, and the oak’s subtle grace note adds a hint of appealing suaveness.