The 2013 Beaune 1er Cru Aigrots, for which there are just four growers, has an intense, mineral-laden bouquet that dials in directly to your senses and whisks you away to the vineyard. The palate is very well structured, very pure with slightly dark fruit than the Volnay Vendange Selectionée. There is real energy here and a touch of white pepper adorning the long finish. Frédéric Lafarge told me he lost 95% of this crop due to hail so there are just two barrels instead of the normal dozen. Good luck tracking a bottle down.

(production here was just five hectoliters per hectares due to severe hail damage, according to Frédéric Lafarge): Bright red. Black cherry, earth and a hint of leather on the nose. In a distinctly cool style and a bit lacking in give. Shows a medicinal cast to its dark fruit and earth flavors and less purity than the Volnays here. Harmonious in its own terms but finishes dry.