BEAUJOLAIS LANTIGNé JEAN-MARC BURGAUD 2021

PARKER : 91

Now labeled as the 2021 Beaujolais-Lantignié rather than as Beaujolais-Villages, with a view to further foreground its Lantignié origins, this cuvée is once again a notable success. Offering up aromas of smoky berries, spices and petals, it's medium-bodied, supple and seamless, with lively acids and a charming, giving profile.

For several years running, I've observed that Jean-Marc Burgaud is a winemaker at the peak of his powers, and the success with which he has met the challenges of the 2021 vintage are only further evidence in support of that contention. These are some of the most consistently delicious wines being produced in the region today, and they're all the better for the fact that Burgaud has abandoned new oak in favor of seasoned wood and pursues gentler extraction than in the past, with his classical semi-carbonic macerations ranging from between seven and 15 days in duration, depending on the cuvée. And there's just one bottling of each wine, making for rare homogeneity—even for his 4.3-hectare holdings in Beaujolais-Lantignié (one of the region's finest values, incidentally). 2021 marks a return to a succulent, perfumed, lighter-bodied style of Beaujolais at this address, as elsewhere, and Burgaud has capitalized on its possibilities to produce a portfolio of purity and charm.