Burgundy 2018 – E–F

Nicolas Faure

For the rest of these alphabetically grouped tasting articles, and more general articles on Burgundy 2018, see our guide. Nicolas Faure, who works with and is married to Amélie Berthaut in Fixin but also makes his own wines in Meuilly, is pictured here in his very cold cellar.

The wines are grouped alphabetically by producer (sur)name and within those groups are ordered whites before reds, ascending from generic through village, premiers and grands crus. You can change the order as you prefer using the menu below.

Domaine de l'Enclos (Chablis)

Dom de L'Enclos 2018 Chablis

Intriguing style – very youthful, paint-type fermentation aromas, but a sense of slight skin contact too, from the orange-peel aromas. Ripe, soft texture. I'm not sure I'd guess this was Chablis, although I like the style. (RH)

Drink
2020
2022
£26.99 RRP imported by Liberty Wines
16

Dom de L'Enclos, Beauroy Premier Cru 2018 Chablis

Fleshy and spiced on the palate, although not from new oak, I suspect. There's a touch of musky mousiness on the finish, which makes me question the stability in the long term. (RH)

Drink
2020
2024
£35.99 RRP imported by Liberty Wines
16

Dom de L'Enclos, Montmains Premier Cru 2018 Chablis

Excellent clarity of fruit, in a far more conventional Chablis mode than their Beauroy. Full body with fairly low acidity giving a glossy texture. (RH)

Drink
2020
2028
£38.99 RRP imported by Liberty Wines
16.5

Dom de L'Enclos, Vaudésir 2018 Chablis Grand Cru

10% new oak.
Accomplished combination of fresh acid with full body and very subtle oak spice in the background. Not the fruitiest number, but makes up for it with savoury saltiness and loads of flesh. (RH)

Drink
2020
2030
£63.99 RRP imported by Liberty Wines
17

Dom de L'Enclos, Le Clos 2018 Chablis Grand Cru

Full-bodied, powerful and thick in texture. Clearly the product of a ripe vintage, but it maintains balance and savoury fruit. Generous and genuine for Chablis Grand Cru in this vintage. (RH)

Drink
2021
2028
£75.99 RRP imported by Liberty Wines
17.5

Domaine Arnaud Ente (Meursault)

Dom Arnaud Ente 2018 Bourgogne

This comes from two vineyards, two-thirds from Puligny and one-third from Meursault. More Puligny because the yields are higher there. Vinified in demi-muids. Tank sample.
Focused citrus on the nose, super-precise with just a touch of creamy oak spice. Fully ripe and yet so tightly coiled and fresh. Fabulous Bourgogne Blanc. Impressive concentration of tight, bright fruit. Mouth-watering. So persistent. (JH)

Drink
2021
2028
17

Dom Arnaud Ente 2018 Bourgogne Aligoté

Planted in 1938. Fermented in demi-muids and cuve. Lots of hydric stress – so much so that they did not pick the fruit from the younger vines, which did not ripen properly. Tank sample.
Ripe but steely, with minerally spice and herbs. Intense and yet very high acid. Powerful, dry and still full in the mouth. Fabulous length. Chewy and dense but a on a high wire. (JH)

Drink
2021
2028
17

Dom Arnaud Ente 2018 Meursault

60% fruit from En l’Ormeau and 40% from Les Casse-Têtes lieux-dits. Barrels, demi-muids and foudres. Tank sample.
Herbs and green fruits nose. Incredible tension that feels like pétillance on the palate but isn’t, it’s just tension, freshness and purity – direct citrus. Not fruity but has fruit at its deepest core. Mouth-watering and long. Stunning directness and length in a village wine. (JH)

Drink
2022
2032
17

Dom Arnaud Ente, Clos des Ambres 2018 Meursault

This is a selection from En l’Ormeau. Tank sample.
Tight, bright discreet cedary lime. Very precise, mouth-watering, linear but with a covering of fruit around the shaft of the arrow. Firm and almost chewy on the finish. Salty too and mouth-watering. Not full in fruit but extreme in length and salty precision. Almost eye-watering in its tension. (JH)

Drink
2024
2032
17.5

Dom Arnaud Ente, Les Petits Charrons 2018 Meursault

This parcel is between Les Grands Charrons and Les Chevalières lieux-dits. All barrels, 15% new. Tank sample.
Deeper fruited on the nose compared with the Clos des Ambres, rich aroma. Lightly spiced. Deeper and more intense citrus here, great intensity all wound up with pure zingy citrus. At the core is an arrow of tension and freshness, as in the Clos des Ambres. A high-wire act but the wire is clothed in fruit. Like a pipe cleaner. Long, spicy finish that spreads across the palate. Endless. (JH)

Drink
2024
2033
18

Dom Arnaud Ente, La Sève du Clos 2018 Meursault

A selection from En l’Ormeau. Vines more than 120 years old. Average yield under 30 hl/ha and the total quantity keeps decreasing. Light racking a month ago. Tank sample.
Deep minerally spice and great depth of fruit. A very very slight reduction that enhances the mineral character. ‘I want it to disappear at bottling’, says Ente. ‘It’s fleeting. Reduction must be discreet.’ Salty, smoky, mouth-watering and with a core of fruit that only old vines can deliver. Deep in fruit without being fruity. Dramatic intensity without being showy. Mouth-watering. Power as in a coiled spring. Salty mineral finish. (JH)

Drink
2025
2035
18.5

Dom Arnaud Ente 2018 Puligny-Montrachet

Fruit from young vines in Les Referts, which he did not make in 2018, because all the old vines were pulled out. Tank sample.
Smells riper and spicier than the Meursault village wine, more open. A more sunny site, apparently. Aromatics of a young wine, like a puppy. More ‘excitable’. Higher pH on young vines. Softer and more rounded, with that lower acid. Gentle and fruity. Firm on the finish but not the same tension as in Ente’s best wines. (JH)

Drink
2021
2026
16.5

Dom Arnaud Ente, Les Gouttes d'Or Premier Cru 2018 Meursault

20% new oak. Tank sample.
Bright creamy citrus aroma, so much more obvious fruit than in the La Sève du Clos just tasted. More spicy than La Sève though it was so hard to move on from that wine. This wine is probably the most likely to cope with the tasting order, says Ente. Deep and full-fruited, creamy texture, fuller in the mouth but has less dramatic power than the Sève. More rounded but still incredibly fresh, more generous in its fruit. More seductive. (JH)

Drink
2024
2034
18

Dom Arnaud Ente, Champ Gain Premier Cru 2018 Puligny-Montrachet

2014 was his first vintage of this wine. Vines were worked by his younger brother Benoît Ente. Tank sample.
Bright citrus and spice that I thought might have been new oak (but isn’t) and the pure citrus fruit opens up to a bright light of intensity. Almost floral in its lifted scent, then more mineral and savoury on the palate. Super-complex and deep. Gentle in its creamy texture. Generous, rich, spicy and rounded yet still with a tight mouth-watering finish that pulls everything in like a belt. Amazing length. (JH)

Drink
2025
2035
19

Dom Arnaud Ente 2018 Bourgogne

Meursault (Les Magny). No oak, ever, on this wine. ‘I treat it like the whites and rack before harvest’, explains Ente. Tank sample.
Essence of sweet pure cherry fruit, tangy rather than overly sweet. There’s spice too and a hint of orange. More savoury on the palate, sweet and creamy tannin texture complementing the freshness. Vivacious and deep. Savoury spice on the finish. (JH)

Drink
2021
2026
16.5

Dom Arnaud Ente, Santenots du Milieu Premier Cru 2018 Volnay

Aged in one-year-old demi-muid.
A little less expressive than the Bourgogne though deeper in fruit, a little darker in character and still with seductive fruit sweetness. Spicy on the palate and has a little more grip but still beautifully rounded. Opens to perfume and length. Firm on the finish then washes back to fruit, to and fro. Beautiful balance and length. (JH)

Drink
2023
2028
17

Domaine Frédéric Esmonin (Gevrey-Chambertin)

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