Happy Monday and April Fools, with a high-end White Burgundy so affordable that it looks like a joke. Except it’s not…

Frédéric Magnien is back today with a very, very rare one. Anyone who knows Burgundy knows that Morey-Saint-Denis is renowned for its sublime Grand Cru reds from Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, Clos Saint-Denis, Clos de la Roche, and Bonnes-Mares. After all, we are in the heart of the Côte de Nuits where reds are all that there is. Except it’s not. Barely 5% of what’s made here is white, and this is one of those unicorns!

Whites are so rare in these parts that they used 3 vineyards to put this exquisite cuvée together. First is the Premier Cru of Monts Luisants made famous by Domaine Ponsot. Two other tiny lieu dits of Les Larrets and Les Herbuottes make it in there too, allowing for just a couple of barrels of this outlier to be. A very impressive array of white peaches and melon with gently savory, nougat-like influence, leads to smooth melon and pastry-like nuances on the palate. Intense, bright, and very pure, delicious now!

Frédéric and his dad Michel are megastars. Master of Wine and Burgundy specialist Jasper Morris profiles them well: “Frédéric Magnien is widely regarded as one of the shrewdest and sharpest young winemakers working in the Côte d’Or today. His father Michel Magnien is a well-respected vigneron who produces wine in his own right, as well as being responsible for the vineyard management of Maison Louis Latour. Frédéric Magnien is the fifth generation of his family in Morey-St-Denis. Having worked with his father after wine school, and then traveled to work with Pinot producers in California and Australia, Fréderic rejoined his father in 1993 and two years later created his own négociant label, which has proved one of the recent success stories in Burgundy.”

When Vinous remarked a decade ago that “Fréd Magnien, who seems to have been making wine forever but is still only 38 years old, continues to take his wines to ever-higher levels” they did not see wines THIS GOOD coming. Add to that the fact that, the 2019 white Burgundy vintage, according to Burghound yielded “ripe yet very fresh… at once concentrated, powerful, serious and for the most part well-balanced” wines just like this gem of a find.

Just a few cases, while they last.

91 Points – Burghound

“Outstanding. Pretty aromas of citrus and essence of apple display a floral top note. There is fine volume and evident minerality on the energetic and intense middle weight flavors that are not especially refined but they are refreshing on the clean and nicely dry finale. This is worth considering.”