Domaine de Bellene Vieilles Vignes Saint-Romain 2022

A silky and refined, delicate but intensely flavoured Saint Romain made from estate vines, a well-balanced, pure, sapid and savoury, but also generously fruity wine of class and precision. For the money, this is ultra-solid Bourgogne rouge, a sheer delight to sip even at this young stage, forward as the 2022 vintage tends to be, though it will no doubt be comfortable into the early ’30s. It’s an opportunity to trade up and drink classy and sophisticated wine without breaking the bank, relatively speaking, of course. Textbook stuff. Tasted January 2026. (John Szabo, MS,winealign.com)