Wednesday Wines – Episode 266 – A review of the ultra-rare 2023 Domaine Caroline Frey Burgundies

The remarkable, ultra-rare wines from Domaine Caroline Frey are all examples of how great wines can be made in the most ordinary vintages.

Whites

2023 Meursault, Les Narvaux

The fruit is gorgeously agrume, with hints of raw zest, fine herbs, and more familiar, luxurious, ripe Chardonnay tones.  This is a rare 2023 Meursault with genuinely refreshing acidity and balance.  There is a lovely, creamy silkiness behind the bright, crystalline exoskeleton, and it shows almondy smoothness and a rare sense of flair.  This stunning wine captures the minerality of its lieu-dit while avoiding some of the unwanted effects of the 2023 sunshine.  It is impressive and delicious in equal measure.  18.5/20

2023 Corton, Grand Cru Blanc  

Corton is often an unsmiling Grand Cru, especially in cooler vintages.  The 2023 season offered all Cortons the chance to let loose and perform at their highest levels, and, in my experience, only a few took notice of this opportunity. This wine, however, has managed to add a magical sheen to its fruit, and the decision to embrace oak only for nine months is crucial in this wine’s civilised and welcoming demeanour.  This decision has granted freedom of movement and musicality to the whole.  Balance is (always) everything, and in a wine with such strident minerality, it is important to offset this with layers of discreet fruit, and this wine does this with tarte au citron splendour!  18.5+/20

2023 Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru  

Picking dates were critical in 2023, and on the great sites, it was easy to feel emboldened into ignoring the calendar and leaving the ripening curve in the lap of the Gods.  However, I have tasted too many 2023 CCs with almost red wine weight, blunt fruit notes, heavy oaking and ultimately joyless expressions in the glass.  This wine was harvested on September 4th, capturing the acidity needed to give it bounce and energy.  Despite the scale of the flavours, a mille-feuille template of complex nuances comes to mind.  With a mere smattering of oak imprint, this is a gloriously elegant and ravishingly luxurious wine built over a slender frame and not a hulking behemoth, endeavouring to pass itself off as a beauty.  The balance is such that it will drink well by the middle of 2026 and roll forward for a further decade with careful cellaring.  Sensational.  19+/20

Reds

2023 Bourgogne Pinot Noir  

Bold, bright, layered and intricately detailed, I cannot remember tasting such a beautifully engineered BR in this vintage.  The core parcels, from Ladoix, Savigny-lès-Beaune and Monthélie, are clearly of the highest order, and the blend, which was hard to imagine before tasting this wine, is stunningly harmonious. Neat and crisp on the finish, with every element ordered and aligned, this thrilling wine belies its label.  In short, it is a must-buy for fans of vibrant, plummy, silky-smooth, refreshing Pinot.  17.5/20

2023 Auxey-Duresses, 1er Cru Le Val  

With a resonant nose of delicate flowers and sour cherries, Le Val has a haunting feel, and the palate backs this up with a sense of reluctance and shyness.   Just as you think it will all shut down, there is a boost of energy in the mid-palate, and it gets a second lease of life, which drives the flavour onwards.  The finish is shimmering with spice and fine-grained tannins, warning the drinker not to open a second bottle too early!  I like the coolness and intricacy on the palate here, which harks back to a bygone era when Burgundy’s Pinots were more civilised and elegant.  17.5+/20

2023 Pommard  

This Pommard is immediately more expressive and confident than the Auxey above, with a larger-framed wine and handfuls of earth intermingling with the wild red and black cherry fruit.  There is muscle here and scale, reminding us that Pommard is the King of Reds in the Côte de Beaune.  Despite the stunning fruit’s proportions and impact, there is keen-edged freshness throughout, and this seam of liveliness brings momentum and verve to this excellent wine.  I am mightily impressed because while most modern-day Pommards seem to get blacker and blacker as the years pass, this wine has kept a perfect balance between red notes and darker, earthier tones, making it an unmitigated success.  18.5+/20

2023 Aloxe-Corton  

There is a wild rose and herb note on the top of the perfume here that is captivating, and as you dive into the middle of the wine, there is a lot more weight and succulence than expected.  The finish is bright and clean, and the tannins are certainly present, but the link between the fabulous nose and the palate ensures this cuvée’s success.  One must ultimately be patient because the tannins are combative and drying, but there is no need to worry because the fruit needs a couple of years to unfurl, and when it does, this will be a wine that plays far above its village status.  18+/20

2023 Aloxe-Corton, 1er Cru Les Petites Lolières  

The gates are closed and locked on this brooding wine.  Even with vigorous swirling, it is hard to awaken the forces deep in its core.  There is no doubt the fruit is beautiful, and while the oak masks some of the more elegant tones, it will doubtless emerge given time.  The main action is found at the back of the palate, where a swirling vortex of ripe earth and Pinot skins cavort, conspiring to decide which party will win the day.  My money is on the fruit, but today (April 2025), the earth is edging it!  17.5++/20

2023 Aloxe-Corton, 1er Cru Les Paulands

This time, the nose appears open and convivial, yet the palate doesn’t merely close the door; it slams it shut!  This is a malevolent Aloxe with a glint in its eye, and it is in control. No matter how much air you force into the glass, it sits there stubbornly, glaring back at you.  Given the nose is so flattering, I think this is the chink in its armour, and I know it will crack and reveal a gorgeous beast in time.  The finish is crisp, clean, energetic and nervy, so these traits will serve this wine well when the mid-palate unbuttons its corset and allows the fruit to spill out.  When will this happen?  My best guess is in a few years, but don’t hold me to this.  The wines from Aloxe-Corton have a timeline of their own, so let’s wait and see.  18.5+/20

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MATTHEW JUKES SCORE CONVERSION CHART

As a wine taster and writer, I prefer you to read my words rather than focus on my scores.  This is why I rarely score wines unless I write an extensive report like this one.  I believe that scores taken from the context of tasting notes are essentially meaningless.  I describe my featured wines fully so you can imagine the aroma, shape, and flavour.  Scores don’t help with this.  You will know that several different scoring methods are used in the global wine trade.  Most of my wine-writing colleagues have been tempted to the dark side, using the 100-point rating system.  A few, usually older types, cling to the venerable five-star rating.  As you know, I favour the 20-point score.  It’s how I was taught and dovetails nicely with how I judge wines.  For those unfamiliar with the 20-point scoring system, here is a table that translates it into various other formats.