Domaine Cornu Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Rouge 2024

This was one of those wines that stopped me in my tracks at a wine fair in Paris, in a line-up of hundreds. And once I learned the backstory, it all made sense. Back in the 1980s, Claude Cornu was working at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti - the world’s most famous and mythical Pinot Noir. He was offered the job of cellar master... at the exact same time his father was retiring and needed him back home at the family domaine. What a decision. Claude eventually chose the family, and Domaine Cornu has never looked back. This Pinot comes from the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, right on the edge of the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits - close to Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Corton Grand Cru. The style here is very much on the Beaune side - a touch smoky and structured, but loaded with vivid and intense red fruit. A wine with this pedigree, and from this patch of Burgundy has no business being priced like this - which is exactly why I love finding gems like it for our members.