AUXEY-DURESSES LA MACABRÉE

A site adjacent to Meursault Vireuils and one which often behaves as if it knows the company it keeps, La Macabrée has long felt like a kind of mini-Meursault, though with it sown lifted, mineral accent. Its name is linked etymologically to marais and marécage — marshland — likely a reference to deep calcareous clays that retain moisture, an increasingly valuable trait in warmer, drier seasons. In 2025 those soils again seem to have played a decisive role, helping top reserve acidity and balance through the heat. The wine opens with a fresh, incisive attack, moving into smoky creaminess and baked pear–apple fruit. Beautifully put together, finely balanced, it shows a comforting note of noble reduction on the nose and a vertical, mineralline that keeps the creaminess in proportion. It has that composed, well brought-up air which often marks out the better Auxeys — quietly impressive, generous yet taut, with a poised, lingering finish.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2027–2031
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£210/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

PERNAND-VERGELESSES

From the north-west facing parcel of Les Pins, a cooler zone where rain tends to linger and the temperament is correspondingly brisker, this is very much one of the ‘whiter’ white Burgundies in the range. There is a sense of calm to this wine, with its may blossom nose, fine orchard fruit and faintly stony, chalk-accented line, the finish poised rather than showy. This is not a wine that kicks the door down; it is more civilised than that. And in a warm year, that restraint is absolutely part of the attraction — a Pernand more about clarity and nuance than sheer volume, and all the more interesting for it.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2027–2031
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£215/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

SAINT-AUBIN 1ER CRULES MURGERS DES DENTS DE CHIEN

Now labelled Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, this premier cru parcel takes its rather poetic name from the murgers — the piles of stones and traditional dry-stone walls created by the vignerons clearing their soils for planting — while dents de chien (‘dog’s teeth’) refers to the limestone rocks jutting from the soils. The site tends to give wines of breadth and mineral force, and in 2025 that character is very much in evidence.
The wine is ripe and expressive, with baked pear fruit and plenty of matière, the palate long and enveloping, with enough shape and stony definition to suggest the wine will gather itself very well in bottle. While more generous than the most incisive Saint-Aubins, it carries its weight with conviction, and should reward a little patience.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2027–2031
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£285/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
£320/CASE OF 12 HALVES, IN BOND UK

MEURSAULT CLOS DE LA VELLE

Clos de la Velle, a monopole with balanced clay-limestone soils, did not require especially early picking in 2025; the site’s natural balance allowed the team to wait for full maturity without compromising freshness. One can some how taste that calm in the wine. The palate is ripe yet composed: silky, mineral, properly centred, and with curves in all the right places, Clos de la Velle is more upright than many a Meursault with grander pretensions — avoiding any ‘looseness’ or excess weight that can creep into warmer-vintage Meursault. Perfectly judged this year: generous without ‘blur’, and with the line and balance to age comfortably while gaining complexity.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2027–2031
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£375/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

PULIGNY-MONTRACHET LES MEIX 

Les Meix, the longstanding Corney & Barrow exclusive lying directly beneath Pucelles, is once again one of the real stars of this particular show. It is arguably the wine on which Olivier Leflaive’s estate and reputation were built, from a site that consistently delivers wines of purity and precision.  The 2025 shows that pedigree with particular clarity. The nose is all perfume and promise, with may blossom, jasmine, wisteria… bright but not merely pretty, with just enough exotic allure to make you pay attention. On the palate it is expansive, almost flirtatious, but then comes that very Puligny moment when the wine seems to draw breath, gather itself and race off in a more tensile direction, unfurling in waves its cool, lithe fruit and thrilling stony acids. This is a terrific Les Meix — luminous, long-line, and very clearly of its place.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5 - 19
Recommended drinking from 2027–2033+
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027 
£440/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

SANTENAY

Olivier Leflaive’s Santenay blends two complementary parcels — the warmer, clay-rich slope of Les Prarons, with that of Les Crays, a limestone plot higher in the village. The resulting wine is generous yet grounded, with succulence and shape.
On the nose, there is an immediately appealing potpourri and gentle spice. The palate is juicy and inviting, with soft morello cherry, raspberry fruit and a bright bite of pomegranate. There is enough structure to keep everything in line, the tannins fine and lightly framing rather than stern, while the finish is supple, fresh and gently persistent. It comes across as a pretty but not trivial Santenay — engaging, aromatic and very likeable. This is above all a wine of charm: not every wine needs to look as though it has spent the morning reading Schopenhauer.

Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2027–2032+
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£175/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
£210/CASE OF 12 HALVES, IN BOND UK

PERNAND-VERGELESSES 1ER CRU LES FICHOTS

Les Fichots, lying below the grand cru of Corton on clay-limestone soils, was harvested at the very start of September in 2025, towards the cooler end of the red picking window, to preserve tension and definition. The site tends to give wines of structure and grip rather than mere charm, and 2025 is no exception.
The nose marries dark cherry and small red berries with a discreet spice and a hint of earth. On the palate, the fruit is vivid but pure, the tannins present yet finely etched, giving a clear, vertical line and a gently tapering, savoury length. This is very much a Pernand to grow into: structured yet not austere, with the balance and delicacy to develop greater nuance over the next few years.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5
Recommended drinking from 2028–2033+
Estimated arrival UK: Late Spring/early Summer 2027
£200/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK