Cuvée du Pandoréa Meursault Six suppliers enable this plush Meursault, built in the traditional mould of ripe stone fruits, buttery viscosity and ample scents of toasted hazelnuts and generous oak. Inimitably of place, this is a wine for those pining for flavour and textural amplitude, in an era of linear expressions. A top tier wine built for cellaring or earlyish approachability, as long as the drinker does not mind a rail of phenolics and salubrious, cinnamon-scented oak. Expressive. Exotic. Absolutely delicious.

Laurent Ponsots new company is a stage in a wide-ranging project that began four decades ago. In this different format, Laurent Ponsot continues to use his experience, his craftsmanship and his passion to serve the terroir of Burgundy. The company Laurent Ponsot is neither a domain nor a maison: its a state of mind. To create an exceptional wine is the equivalent of designing luxury goods. Haute couture is how we have decided to describe these incredible wines, like unique designer pieces, made even more glorious through our experience and craftsmanship. In 775 Emperor Charlemagne donated this vineyard to a Catholic institution in Saulieu, which kept it for the next 1000 years! Laurent Ponsot SAS sources its grapes from these three villages via six different producers, making a wine representative of the appellation whose richness is derived from its diversity. The wines are finely chiselled, precise, and rich with the scent of flowers and minerals. Match with fish, shellfish or a cheese platter to perfectly showcase their qualities.

TRIMBACH Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling, Ribeauville

Théo Dancer is the ambitious and tallented winemaker now heading up the family Domaine Vincent Dancer winery based in Chassagne-Montrachet. Like his father before him, Théo studied at Lycée Viticole de Beaune while working with his father part-time. He joined the domaine full-time in 2021 and is already making a significant impact. In addition to his work with his father, Théo has also taken on an exciting new project in the Mâconnais (Roc Breïa) as well as starting his own micro-négoce, sourcing fruit from several exciting vineyards across northern France. Dancer now sources his Savagnin from a conscientious farmer in Rotalier, the same town as Gavenat and Julien Labet. The vines sit on chalk clay over Bajocian limestone subsoil. Emphasising purity and terroir rather than flor-aging notes, the winemaking involves direct pressing into large oak barrels, with no racking until the completion of fermentation, followed by a settling period in stainless-steel tanks before bottling.

Within Kiedrich’s Gräfenberg Grand Cru lies a small 0.5-hectare parcel once known as the Gräfenberg-Lay. Sitting in one of the steepest portions of the vineyard, the Lay is located at the transition between Gräfenberg and Turmberg and is known for having the highest concentration of phyllite slate on the hill. The vines here are now between 40 and 60 years old. This site was originally purchased by Dr Robert Weil in the 19th century, using the dowry from his marriage to Emilie von Vacano (a descendant of the Vacano family in Lombardy). The wine from this parcel, called Monte Vacano (the Hill of Vacano) was always produced and bottled alone. It was used only for celebratory occasions and never released for sale. Following Weil's death in 1921, the tradition of Monte Vacano fell dormant, and the fruit was incorporated into a regular Gräfenberg bottling. Compared to the Gräfenberg GG, Monte Vacano trades power and richness for exceptional purity, elegance and detail. Resurrecting the old custom, 2021 marks the fourth Riesling in a century made solely from this special lieu-dit. It was harvested in October, and the grapes were whole bunch-pressed into two ancient refurbished Stückfässer (1,200-litre casks) where the wine fermented wild and spent almost two years on lees before bottling.

MAX FERD RICHTER Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling-Beerenauslese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer