2023 Vincent Dancer Pommard Les Perrieres, Cote de Beaune

Aromas of sweet red berries, orange zest and spices introduce the 2023 Pommard Les Perrières, a medium-bodied, bright and vibrant wine that's pure and mineral.

Théo Dancer bottled all his 2023s in October under Diam 30 (in 2022, everything was bottled under Diam except the Chevalier-Montrachet), since he is beginning construction of a new winery, sacrificing a bit of Chassagne-Montrachet to expand the size of his cellars. It has been several years now since Théo took the reins here, and the evolutions continue. An agroforestry project in the Hautes-Côtes is underway, combining vineyard development with fruit trees and flowering verges. Along the Côte, Dancer is now pruning without a cane and attaching his vines to individual "échalas" stakes, reducing cultivation of the soils to the bare minimum. In the cellar, Théo has banished all new oak (never an important presence, in any case, at this address), instead preferring to purchase used larger-format barrels from another winemaker. The cellar has also been given a thorough cleaning. The 2023s are a strong follow-up to the 2022s, exhibiting good depth and cut, and while Dancer was a little concerned about comparatively high turbidity in some cuvées, given their earlier-than-usual bottling, I didn't see anything to cause concern.

90 points robertparker.com

Vincent Dancer Pommard Les Perrières from the Côte de Beaune is a soulful, finely tuned Burgundy from one of the most revered minimalist winemakers in the region. Dancer, based in Meursault, brings a thoughtful, almost meditative touch to his wines, and his take on Pommard is anything but the muscular, rustic stereotype. Instead, Les Perrières is lifted, precise and quietly powerful.

The vineyard site itself, Perrières, is on the northern side of Pommard near the Volnay border, where soils are lighter and more limestone-rich than deeper down in the village. That gives this wine a certain finesse and mineral edge, a sense of perfume and purity that sets it apart from broader, denser Pommards.

Dancer works organically and with very low intervention. Whole bunches are used when the fruit and stems are right, fermentation is wild, and there’s no fining or filtration. The result is a wine that hums with energy. Expect aromas of red cherry, raspberry, rose petal, forest floor and a touch of clove. The palate is silken but structured, with bright acidity, elegant tannins and a savoury mineral finish that lingers and evolves.

Pair with duck breast, roast quail, or wild mushroom risotto. It’s a wine that deserves air, time, and a big Burgundy glass. Cellaring potential is excellent, with 10 to 15 years ahead for those who can wait.