The 2014 Marsannay Blanc is a blend of several parcels on the lowers slopes - the first time that they have been vinified separately. It has a simple bouquet with primal grapefruit aromas that to be honest, need to develop more nuance. I have to be frank - it feels a bit "dumbed down." Nevertheless, the palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity, easy drinking with a touch of pink grapefruit on the finish. I was seeking more.

The 2013 Marsannay Blanc has a lifted lime flower and bruised-apple bouquet. The palate is fresh on the entry, a little gas for me to contend with, but bridled with an easygoing brioche-tinged finish.

The 2012 Marsannay Village had a struck match note when I tasted the sample. But the palate is clean and imbued with a pleasant waxy texture with grapefruit and pear informing the light but clean finish. Fine. It was a balmy, sunny June morning when I last visited Domaine Bruno Clair to take a peek at their 2011s, but it was different arriving to taste their 2012s, the mercury struggling above zero, snow draped over vines. It was a pleasure to meet Bruno and Philippe Brun again, the “Batman and Robin” of Marsannay, Bruno sporting his favorite lumberjack jacket ready to cut down a few trees. At least he was warm. After some reminiscing about his good friend Patrick Bize, we set about the new arrivals. The 2012s were picked between 20 September and 1 October. His village crus are raised in new oak until racking in early September and then transferred into 15-hectolitre foudres to moderate the impact of the wood. Usually they de-stem the entire crop, but the ripeness of the stems meant that his top crus include 20% whole cluster this year. They both seemed enthusiastic about the vintage and rightly so – this is a domaine that shifted up a gear and vies for the village’s leading domaine (even though their Gevrey holdings make the synonymous with the village further south.) Bruno and Philippe just appear to have found the knack of creating wines with finesse and character, a more prudent approach that has fostered more terroir-driven Pinot Noirs. Their Clos Saint Jacques was once and “also ran”. Now it is up there with the likes of Fourrier and Rousseau. Importer: A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808, Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, The Source, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 621-6151. Also through Justerini & Brooks and other merchants in the UK.