The 2018 Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Boutonniers is the most complete of Domaine d'Auvenay's three Auxey bottlings, exhibiting aromas of citrus zest, crisp stone fruit, white flowers and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, textural and enveloping, it's layered and complete, with racy acids and a long, chalky finish. From the estate's oldest vines, this is a wine that transcends the traditional hierarchy of appellations.

From the domaine's oldest vines, the 2016 Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Boutonniers is extraordinary, soaring from the glass with a stunning bouquet of smoky yellow orchard fruit, honeycomb, green pear and iodine. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, immensely layered and concentrated, with an elegantly satiny attack, tangy balancing acids and an abundance of dry extract, concluding with a lingering finish. It's hard to say what is more striking: the wine's incredible intensity, its ineffable completeness or its energy. This is always one of my favorite bottlings from Domaine d'Auvenay, but the 2016 rendition is especially good.

Bottled in February 2017, the extraordinary 2015 Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Boutonniers hails from vines that are over 80 years old. The wine unfurls in the glass with a youthfully reserved but incipiently complex bouquet of citrus oil, green orchard fruit, smoke and dried flowers. On the palate, it's full-bodied, complete and multidimensional, with an ample but deep, stony core and stunning levels of concentration, concluding with a long, searingly mineral finish. This is an Auxey-Duresses that would embarrass many grands crus from lesser producers.

The astonishing 2011 Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonnieres comes from some of Lalou's oldest vines planted way back in 1921. It has a bewitching bouquet that is a little more marine-influenced that the domaine's other Auxey-Duresses '11s, with hints of the sea-spray coming forth. The palate is beautifully balanced with a fine line of acidity. There is a sorbet-like freshness defining the finish that simply enlivens the mouth, as if it has been dowsed in minerals. You would be hard-pressed to find an Auxery-Duresses Blanc better than this elixir. Drink now-2022. Having tasted the complete range of Domaine Leroy-s wines in Vosne, Lalou Bize-Leroy hopped in her Toyota with her constantly quarreling canines and we follow her down to the back and beyond of Saint Romain to taste her complete range of Domaine d-Auvenay 2011s: two reds outnumbered by the whites. Most of us have more chance of spotting a yeti dining with a dodo at Ma Cuisine than drinking a wine from Domaine d'Auvenay, since the wines are produced in microscopic quantities and only fools would choose to resell them. To put that into perspective, when I visited the picturesque estate tucked away behind a leafy glade, Lalou pointed to what looked like a tin bucket and explained that I was looking at the entire production of last year's Criots-Batard-Montrachet, all 75-litres of it. But there is something magical that shrouds Domaine d'Auvenay and my few encounters have been memorable. Just last year, her Meursault Narvaux 1999 had the hubris to outshine a Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury, and it remains the greatest white village cru that is likely to ever pass my lips. The 2011s were extremely good, but you probably know that already. What I appreciated was that they are very honest wines, respective of their terroirs, not all implicitly the greatest whites you will ever taste, but each adorned with individuality. I have few experiences of mature wines from Domaine d'Auvenay, but they do have an ex

The 2010 Auxey-Duresses Les Boutonniers literally hovers on the palate with unmistakable grace and finesse. The Boutonniers is all about feminine grace and understatement. Yellow stone fruits, flowers and a subtle hint of spice meld together in the glass. This is a hugely delicious wine from the very first taste. Anticipated maturity: 2014+. Do you want the good news or the bad news? Lalou Bize-Leroy’s 2010s at Domaine D’Auvenay – both white and red – are off the charts. That is the good news. The bad news is that the wines won’t be released for at least a few more years. Aging white Burgundy these days requires a strong stomach but D’Auvenay is one of the few domaines where the wines actually need a few years in bottle to show well. With time, the D’Auvenay whites often blossom into extraordinary wines with few peers anywhere in the world. I also include notes on the 2010 reds, which are equally, if not more, impressive than the whites. I find the D’Auvenay 2010 reds just a bit more refined than Bize-Leroy’s 2010 reds at Domaine Leroy. In any event, these remain some of the most riveting wines on the planet. The only problem is finding them. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040