The 2016 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru was the more "fermé" of the three Cortons that I tried from the domaine, though gradually subtle floral/white flower aromas emerge. The palate is very well balanced and much more expressive with ebullient blackberry and bilberry fruit, plenty of sappiness that gets the saliva flowing on the finish. Sporting the best length of the three Cortons, this is the pick from the domaine in 2016.

The 2015 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, which contains 50% sélection massale, has a beguiling bouquet with pixelated red and black fruit that conveys more mineralité than its fellow two Cortons. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well-judged acidity, harmonious from start to finish with delicately spiced, clove-tinged red fruit towards the persistent finish. This may end up being the pick of Christine's 2015s. Superb!

The 2014 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru come from vines that were planted in the 1960s and over the last six to ten years. It has a refined bouquet, quite floral with wilted rose petals infusing the citrus-fresh, red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very tensile and focused, and there are tons of minerals towards the finish that is detailed and precise. This should turn out to the best of the domaine's three Corton Grand Cru.

The 2013 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, the vines next to those belonging to the Hospices, is more austere on the nose than the Corton Bressandes with raspberry preserve and hints of wild strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a little grainy in texture, quite refined and feminine, even if it does not quite possess the persistence of a more benevolent vintage. Drink over the next decade.

The 2012 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru comes from 0.60-hectare of vine located just next to the Hospices’ vines. It has a more feminine, slightly more rounded bouquet compared to the Bressandes at the moment, the fruit leaning a little more to the red. The palate is very well balanced with a firm backbone. There is plenty of spice tinged black and red fruit with a generous sprinkle of white pepper over the long, tender finish. Excellent. My first visit of my fortnight stint in Burgundy was to a grower whose wines I have frequently enjoyed in recent years, but whose Pernand-Vergelesses winery I had never visited: Dubreuil-Fontaine. Most people have probably driven past in on their way up to Bonneau du Martray, but my advice is to take time and visit, because the wines make it all worthwhile. Christine Gruere Dubreuil started working with her father Bernard in 1991, tending holdings in Pommard, Volnay and Beaune that were handed down from her mother’s side of the family. The winery itself was built in 1985. She took sole responsibility for the winemaking in 2000, the fifth generation to do so. She currently looks after around 20-hectares of vine tended under lutte raisonnee principles scattered over 20 lieux-dits around Pernand-Vergelesses and Corton, plus nearby appellations. “It was a difficult vintage with the weather,” she told me in her superb English learned from her time in California. “We got hail in Volnay, Pommard and Beaune but in Pernand-Vergelesses it was fine. However yields were not high because of the cold weather during flowering, but finally the grapes looked good and there was no grey rot. We started the harvest around the 20 September and we did not need much sorting. We are happy with the vintage. The whites were just bottled just before crush and the reds will be bottled between December and March. We made pigeage twice daily during fermentation with some remontage towards the end depending on cru. I don’t like to extract too much.” I tasted most of the wines with Christine. I had wanted to return to finish them off but I ran out of time that day. But I thoroughly enjoyed what I did taste. These wines are clean and fresh, adept at expressing their unique terroirs, making the use of their old vine parcels. The use of oak here is nicely judged, around 25% for the village crus and around 30 to 35% for the grand cru. Prices look very reasonable compared to others and I certainly would be stocking up with Christine’s whites and reds in 2012. Importer: APS Wine & Spirits, 9401 San Leandro St, Oakland, CA 94603 Tel; 510 638 5200 and DB Wines in Boston. Also available through Avery’s and Laithwaites/Direct Wines in UK.