The 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves has also turned out very well, displaying notes of cherries, orange rind, warm spices and loamy soil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety and supple palate that's charming and nicely concentrated, with a sweet core of fruit and succulent acids. This is a precocious young Grèves that will show well young—and old.

The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves has a really quite beautiful bouquet with kirsch, crushed strawberry and blackcurrant pastilles. The palate is medium-bodied with silky smooth tannins, a fine bead of acidity with the structure you want from this vineyard. Give this two or three years and you will have a very fine Grèves.

The 2014 Beaune 1er Cru les Grèves, which is from the estate's own holding, has quite a complex bouquet: bright red berry fruit with subtle gravelly scents that are all well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin and feels quite masculine in the mouth with grippy tannin that lends some austerity towards the finish. This is just a classic Beaune Grèves to drink over the next 8-10 years.

The 2013 Beaune 1er Cru les Grèves, which is a domaine wine, has a slight reduction on the nose, underneath lies blackcurrant and raspberry pastilles, hints of crème de cassis developing with time. The palate is fresh on the entry with crisp acidity, nicely structured with a succulent, sorbet-fresh finish that leaves spicy aftertaste. Fine.

The 2012 Beaune 1er Cru Greves is an estate bottling. The nose does not quite have the composure of the other premier crus, needing a few moments to really coalesce. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the opening. It builds nicely in the mouth with plenty of spicy red berry fruit; touches of white pepper with that spicy note towards the tightly wound Tiptree jam finish. You may have heard of Pierre-Antoine Rovani. One of Burgundy’s most shy and retiring members, he was his usual taciturn self, uttering all but one or two words during my Sunday afternoon tasting of 2012s in Remoissenet’s 14th century cellars, just off the Beaune peripherique. You know the story here: the name reborn in 2005 when outside investors prompted a Damascene resurrection of what had fundamentally been an also-ran bottling operation, into a quality-driven concern and vinifying wines themselves. Their policy is to buy at premium in order to acquire the best fruit, except for the 2.5-hectare of vineyard that they own themselves. With general manager and former Louis Jadot president Bernard Repolt, winemaker Claudine Jobard and chef de culture Fred Le Prince (a wonderful name that sounds like a lost bassist from Funkadelic), this has been one of the region’s recent success stories. They recently purchased the cuverie at Chateau de Chorey to make the Bourgogne Rouge and Givry Village. They use “342s” as Pierre Antoine referred to them i.e. 342-litre barrels casks for vinifying most of their wines. They have a large portfolio of both domaine and negociant wines that I tasted at a leisurely pace on a Sunday afternoon. And I must say, I was impressed by their 2012s. Sure, not everything hits the spot with such a comprehensive and diverse array of wines, but the fact is that many crus showed very well. As Rovani mentioned, there is a gap in the market for affordable Burgundy, one that will surely expand as the top names become prohibitively expensive for mere mortals. That is where Remoissenet can fit in and having overhauled their reds, it sounds as if they will be working on ameliorating their whites in future years, not that they are anything to be ashamed of now. Hey, and you know what? Even Pierre-Antoine was beginning to lose his inhibition and comes out of his shell by the end of the tasting. Importers: Simon N Cellars, Charlottesville, VA; tel. (434) 977-4476, Bertin Henri Selections, Doral, FL; tel. (305) 392 6995, Cavatappi Distribuzione, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 292 5226, Dark Star Imports, New York, NY; tel. (646) 312 8921, Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; tel. (781) 862-0515, United Wine and Spirits, Houston, TX; tel. (713) 696-9463, D.G.L. Distributors, Northbrook, IL; tel. (847) 291- 1110, The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 603-1460. Also available through Avery’s Wine Merchants in Bristol (UK).