The 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Les Marconnets mingles scents of cherries and plums with deeper-pitched nuances of forest floor, dark chocolate and spice. Medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, it's deep and layered, with refined tannins and fine length on the finish.

The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Les Marconnets has a very pretty redcurrant and cranberry scented bouquet with hints of blueberry tucked underneath. The palate is fleshy on the entry with darker fruit than Remoissenet's other 2015 Beaunes, exerting a gentle grip on the saline finish. This is superb.

Apparently, the 2014 Beaune 1er Cru les Marconnets was the least hailed of the Beaune crus. That shows in the aromatics that display the most purity and delineation, quite floral in style, the oak nicely integrated here. The palate is well balanced with succulent ripe fruit, mineral-driven and tensile, cohesive with lovely blueberry and cassis notes towards the finish. This is excellent, with the substance to repay bottle age.

The 2013 Beaune 1er Cru les Marconnets has a rather “distant” nose with dark cherries, iodine and blueberry scents. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, slightly chalky tannins. There is a sense of symmetry here with fine mineralité and tension on the finish. This may actually surpass the Beaune Greves this year.

The 2012 Beaune 1er Cru Marconnets, also estate bottled, lies directly across from the Savigny version from 40 to 70-year old vines. The nose is difficult to assess due to some reduction, whilst the palate is chewy on the entry with sappy red berries, but it needs a little more delineation towards the 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).