William Kelley Bourgogne Aligoté 2021

Limited availability – max. 1 bottle per customer

“I want to make the kind of wines that people were making in the 1920s and 30s – wines with a big personality,” says wine-writer-fast-turning-cult-vigneron William Kelley. Judging by his sensual first releases, he’s right on track.

His role as one of the Wine Advocate's most prolific reviewers has given Kelley unrivalled access to the world’s top vignerons and, long harbouring a desire to join them, he has wasted no time learning as much as possible about how the finest wines are made.

Kelley’s own project began in 2018 with a slice of Chambolle-Musigny ‘Les Fouchères’ – an east-facing lieu-dit planted in the 1950s – to which he has added a cuvée in Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Aux Etelois’ that touches domaines Fourrier and Roty’s Griotte-Chambertin; a Moulin-à-Vent from a plot that’s over a century old; and a Bourgogne Aligoté from 80-year-old vines in Meursault.

Work in the vineyards and at Kelley’s newly-renovated Pommard cellar is – as to be expected – meticulously attended to, but the results are perhaps even more astonishing than anyone had dared to hope. With much of the miniscule production (often no more than a barrel of each cuvée is made) reserved for personal consumption, we’re thrilled to be able to get our hands on a few of these gems.

From two parcels of 80-year-old vines in Meursault. 24 months on lees. Incisive, muscular, and flinty with a hint of Coche-like smoke.