You could consider Seiichi Saito a mico-negociant - he's got a small section of his own vineyards in the "streets with no names" of sorts...that is, not the famous vineyards of La Tache and Romanee-Conti, but on the slopes of the Haute Cotes-de-Nuits and other remote regions; he also purchases fruit from friends with whom he shares a vision on farming. You can feel the passion in the wines - they are textural, full of soul and not the oaky style of Burgundy we got to know for so long. The wines are perfectly ripe and supple, but oozing with personality and minerality.

Petit-Roy

Perhaps you've been as blown away as we have by the seemingly sudden influx of young winemaking talent across France in particular; we don't take anything at face value - we have to taste to believe it. What is of incredible value to us, however, is the experience each new winemaker has garnered before setting out on their own. As much as any of us have thought at some point through our lives that we could do our jobs better than our superiors, it is the hours, days, months, years, decades of experience is what helps a professional mold their own vision with more clarity. That's why experience alongside Patrick Bize, Freddy Mugnier, Rousseau and Leflaive caught after our eye on the well-documented CV of Seiichi Saito of Petit-Roy. After successfully operating a restaurant in Beaune that was a hot ticket for many a gourmand, Seiichi longed to return to the vineyard and did so by purchasing 2.1 hectares of lesser-known appellations in Burgundy. His contacts from his aforementioned time with famous Burgundians allowed him to purchase grapes from friends who had a similarly keen eye for healthy farming practices. Obviously, Seiichi's well-honed chef's palate only serves to heighten the sensation of his wines - they are at once savory, saline and beautifully ripe. Gulpable but more than demanding of taking a second to savor and contemplate - god, what is that taste, and why does it change with each sip, each bit of food?

The main attention goes to the Bourgogne Aligote as well as the reds, but the whole range is worth exploring. The Altesse comes from Bugey in Savoie, planted to limestone and marl soils. It's a local grape, slightly nutty with smoky tones complementing some citrus, flowers and tea-like aromatics laced with saline. That's not too dissimilar from the delicious Aligote, which is more bountiful in its aromas of lime, citrus blossom, hints of butter and a toasty, salty edge. You could take a step up into the Bourgogne Blanc Aux Boutieres, from the same plot as the Aligote. Chardonnay from the clay soils gets beautifully ripe, bringing out more meyer lemon and apricot, even hints of tropical fruits with that chalky minerality underneath.

The reds are stunning as well, such as the Bourgogne Les Lormes and de Sousa - both from Pommard, Les Lormes from the younger vines and de Sousa from the oldest vines. Lormes is de-stemmed to reveal a bit more richness and playful quality, whereas de Sousa, from vines planted in 1949 is left whole cluster for the press, revealing more spark of spice and lifted minerality.

There is the dual bottling of Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, with one bottled without sulfur marked "SS". Pressed without removal of stems, this becomes incredibly spicy and deep, coming from the slopes above Pommard.

I think the most pertinent other wine to touch on is the Monthelie Le Meix Bataille, from a vineyard directly next to Meursault. This is also a whole-cluster wine, redolent in spicy tones, black fruits and fine tannins. This is one of the more powerful wines of the bunch, deep and thought-provoking. It reminds you of a great Bize wine, both savory and sweet.

A native of Champagne, Anne-Sophie fell in love with Gamay and sought out old-vine vineyards where she could essentially get out of the way of the wine practically making itself. Her time in Burgundy gave her the knowledge to find perfect ripeness, and her wines all carry great soul and purity. Above all, delicacy is the name of the game in fermentations - gravity flow, no harsh pressings.

Anne-Sophie Dubois

Her focus in the vineyard has been incredibly labor-intensive, focusing firmly on vine health - there is much work done to keep airflow between the clusters and aerating the soil as well, all in an effort to reduce any need for treatment of the vines. The entire Domaine has been certified organic since 2019, with high-density plantings on the steep-sloped pink-granite soils classic to Fleurie.

Once the grapes reach the winery, the juice is moved via gravity, with much whole-cluster maintained for tension and complexity. There isn't much in terms of punching-down, as the fully ripe grapes already have great depth of fruit character. On occasion there is the classic carbonic maceration employed, though she isn't shy of utilizing a full-on Burgundian style especially with Les Labourons..

How this estate remains off the radar for so many is a wonder - the Balthazar family has been crafting wines for nearly a century, the vines largely at least that old, with a further bump in quality when Franck purchased Noël Verset's ancient vineyard upon his retirement.

Franck Balthazar

A single-man production largely, the grapes are fermented whole-cluster, with some punching down and pumping over; the goal is purity of fruit, each vineyard plot vinified separately in large (600L) casks.

The Crozes-Hermitage comes from "younger" vines - about 40 years of age, and spends about 20 months in barrel. Long, spicy and complex.

Franck will bottle 3 different Cornas wines; first, the "Casimir" is a young plot of vines planted to granite soils, generating beautiful spice and length to the Syrah. He will create a Sans Soufre (no sulfur added) cuvée from similarly young vines, allowing for a wine that is effusive and ready to drink immediately. Finally, the big boy, Cornas Chaillot, from vines planted in 1911 and 1913...wow. This is the Verset plot which Franck ferments whole-cluster before moving the juice to the demi-muids for about 18 months. There is no new oak here at all!