2022 Domaine Cottenceau Les Vercheres Burgundy

Maxime Cottenceau braids the tops of his vines by hand, the way you might braid hair, instead of running a trimmer over them. He farms every row by the lunar calendar. He rests even this humble Bourgogne with the patience most growers save for their grandest barrels.

That obsession explains a small marvel. In Burgundy itself, one merchant's scallop-pairing guide runs from this bottle straight up the ladder to Puligny-Montrachet, and calls the parcel a knockout.

Les Verchères is the entry-door into his range, and the humble Bourgogne label is exactly the point. The appellation is modest. The farming and the cellar work behind it are not, and that gap is your discount. He works in the style Burgundians call noble reduction, a flinty, struck-match tension that rewards a little air now and repays a few years of waiting.

The glass shows opulent fruit and the coiled, mineral-driven energy you'd expect from a bottle 3x the price: lemon and white peach, fresh-cut grass, and a flinty spark. Pour it with scallops, roast chicken, or a good Comté.

Great Burgundy addresses always begin somewhere. This is where his begins. Start here.