Maison Caroline Lestimé Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Rouge Clos Bortier 2022
£33.25
The wine
Clos Bortier is a walled parcel in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, the hills rising behind the main slope, several hundred metres higher and correspondingly cooler.
That altitude was a handicap for most of the appellation history and has become an advantage as the climate has warmed, giving fresher wines with lower alcohol than the Côte below. A clos is a parcel enclosed by walls, usually because someone long ago judged it worth the expense. Caroline Lestimé buys fruit rather than owning vines, but manages the vineyards herself and makes every picking decision, which is closer to a domaine than most négociant arrangements.
The producer
Maison Caroline Lestimé
View all Maison Caroline Lestimé winesCaroline Lestimé is one of Chassagne-Montrachet's most admired winemakers, long at the helm of the historic Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard. Her house brings her refined, precise touch to a selection of white and red Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune.
Rooted in Chassagne, Lestimé's approach favours purity, balance and restraint. Careful farming and a light hand in the cellar allow the celebrated limestone terroirs of the Côte to express themselves with clarity and tension.
The range gathers characterful whites, from a nutty, mineral Savigny-lès-Beaune to serious Chassagne-Montrachet from the Champ Derrière and Les Chaumes lieux-dits, alongside a charming Hautes Côtes de Beaune red. Each carries her signature elegance.
Detailed, poised and finely judged, the wines of Caroline Lestimé are white Burgundy of real class. They reward the patient with grace and complexity.
