The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves had been bottled the previous week along with the Clos du Roi. It has a more forward and you might say, "boisterous" bouquet vis-à-vis the Clos du Roi, albeit without quite the same degree of precision. The palate is a little angular on the entry, the 100% whole bunch addition more tangible here, but it does lend a lovely spiciness and edginess to the finish that leaves the tongue tingling thanks to its sappiness. Give this a couple of years in bottle to smooth out the edges.

The 2014 Beaune 1er Cru les Grèves, reduced by two-thirds of the crop, has a rather earthy bouquet, the fruit subdued by the impact of the hail. It just feels a touch out of breath. The palate is actually better with a pleasing sharpness on the entry. The acidic thread drives this along, red merging into blacker fruit towards the finish that is not complex, but at least it feels harmonious. This is a decent effort given the circumstances, although there are better vintages from the domaine.

There are usually six barrels of the Beaune 1er Cru les Grèves, but in 2013 there are only three because of (you guessed it) hail. It has a pointed red cherry and fresh strawberry bouquet, nicely defined and interwoven with the one-third new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with raspberry, strawberry and a pinch of spice. There is an appreciable sense of energy here with more persistence than expected. Very fine.

The 2012 Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves comes from a 0.33-hectare parcels of vines planted in 1978 and 1979 and this blend contains 50% whole bunch fruit. There is good intensity and volume on the nose: a mixture of red and black fruit cloaked in nicely interwoven new oak. The palate is fleshy and forward on the entry with fine tannins, the oak carrying the finish and imparting chocolate notes, but there is tangibly satisfactory fruite underneath. This is appealing. Domaine de la Vougeraie was founded in 1998 when the domaines of Claudine Deschamps, Pierre Ponnelle, Louis Voilland and L’Heritier-Guyot were merged. I remember it well because at the time I was exporting L’Heritier-Guyot’s wines to Japan (to be frank, they were quite ordinary back then.) The man behind the venture was Jean-Claude Boisset, whose own considerable holdings meant that Domaine de la Vougeraie became a significant player in the Cote d’Or, with 37 hectares of prime vineyard including seven grand crus to their name. I have to be honest and say that like many others, I liked the first few vintages of their wine, but found them a little predictable and seemed to struggle for charm and personality. Perhaps that was a reflection of former winemaker Pascal Marchand applying the practices he had learned at Comte Armand: a lot of new oak with 100% de-stemmed fruit – not really my bag. When he departed for pastures new, incoming winemaker Pierre Vincent seemed to apply a gentler touch. The new oak is still part of the wines’ character, but there is certainly a more considered approach, plus he is more open to using whole cluster fruit. Managing such an array of wines with a relatively small team cannot be easy in challenging vintages such as 2012, or for that matter 2013. Pierre told me that his average yields were 22 hectoliters per hectare, though for the grand crus, they were down to 17 hectoliters per hectare. Importer: Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA; tel. (800) 878-1123

The 2010 Beaune Greves impresses for its textural depth, richness and overall complexity. There is plenty of volume in the fruit in the style of the vintage, but with plenty of underlying minerality. All in all, this is a terrific Greves well worth considering. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022. This is stunning set of wines from Pierre Vincent and Domaine de la Vougeraie. It is impossible to miss the attention to detail at this impeccably run domaine. No expense is spared. It takes 80 people to work the vineyards during harvest and another 20 in the cellar to take it from there. Production in 2010 was of course down significantly as it was everywhere else. Yields came in at 24 hectoliters per hectare for the Pinot and 29 for the Chardonnay. Vincent used between 30-80% whole bunches, depending on the wine. Readers who want to learn more might want to check out my video interview with Pierre Vincent on www.erobertparker.com. I will report on the domaine’s 2009s in the April issue. For now let me just say the 2009 Musigny is one of the wines of the vintage. Importer: Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA; tel. (800) 878-1123 1