2023 Domaine Vincent Wengier Bourgogne Rouge 'Les Ardillers'

Here's the one most people miss: Vincent Wengier makes Chablis, but he also makes a red.

'Les Ardillers' is 100% Pinot Noir grown on the edge of the Chablis vineyard, on the same Kimmeridgian limestone — the fossil-packed clay that gives the whites their tension.

Vincent and his wife Sophie farm this estate out of Préhy and put their own name on the bottle in 2018.

The plots sit on south-facing slopes, so the Pinot actually ripens — no small thing this far north. The soil does the rest: clay and Kimmeridgian limestone, the reason this red carries a mineral edge you don't usually find at the price.

They farm it certified organic (2023) and HVE-certified, the same hands-on way they work the Chardonnay.

About twelve days on the skins with gentle pump-overs, then close to a year in Burgundy barrels — little new oak, so the fruit and the stone lead, not the wood. Decanter gave the 2023 91 points.

Expect red cherry and morello, a savory undertone, and supple, melted tannins. This is honest grower Burgundy — the kind of Pinot that reminds you why the region is worth the search.