Jerome Galeyrand

Jerome makes his wines at home, like a true farmer. Much as I suspected when tasting the wines several times over the last year, his vision is really just for us as drinkers to obtain a clear vision of the vineyards he's working with. The grapes are treated with the utmost respect - some whole cluster, but always a delicate extraction so as not to obtain too much stemmy, seedy or astringent flavors. From the Aligoté through to the reds, the wines are focused and never heavily oaked, each and every one having the same attention to detail as me barely makes 2000 cases a year.

For me the shining stars were the Aligoté Le Cran - stunningly snappy, the best touch of reduction and meyer lemon curd; mouth-filling and drool-inducing all in one. Come to find out that I'm not alone, as his Aligotés are highly sought after by all of the people I trust. On the red side of things, Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice is perhaps the most pure example of Pinot Noir I've tasted this year. Brilliant dark pink color, dancing in the glass and right out again as it oozes spice and gorgeous dark cherry aromatics. It is so serious yet playful, commanding a sip one directly after the next. Why these wines are so cheap completely escapes me. I need more!