Producer note: I met with both co-president Erwan Faiveley and technical director Jérôme Flous, who commented that "while the 2021 growing season will always be remembered as one hit hard by the April frosts, especially for the whites, it doesn't mean that some really good wines weren't made. Nonetheless, the frost was in fact exceptionally damaging in certain sectors, and in particular Puligny La Garenne, Corton-Charlemagne and Gevrey Les Cazetiers while damage elsewhere was variable. We protected some of the grand crus with warming candles and while they certainly helped, we still noticed that even those parcels were less resistant to stress. The growing season had frequent rain but usually with enough time in between for the vineyards to dry out enough where we could get equipment into them. Disease pressure was also variable with mildew being a problem at several points, and oidium was a major problem for the chardonnay. There was a rainstorm on the 20th of September that dropped about 30 mm, and it was evident that it diluted the berries. Moreover, it also meant that we were seriously worried about an attack of botrytis but thankfully in the end it never really materialized. Even so, it put us in the position of worrying about purity versus maturity in terms of harvest dates. In the end, we chose to begin picking our ripest parcels on the 21st of September and there was actually less sorting than we expected though this is not to say none. Harvest conditions weren't great in the beginning, but we finished under bright sunshine. Yields were largely very low with only 17 to 18 hl/ha in white and scarcely better in red at 22 to 23 hl/ha. Potential alcohols were actually quite good at between 12 and 13% so there was very little chaptalization for most wines. With the exception of the Musigny, we used no whole clusters for the vinifications though interestingly, the wines taste like they were in fact made with them. We also chose to use more new wood than usual to help give the wines body. As to the wines, the reds are much more interesting than the whites and the Côte de Nuits fared better than the Côte de Beaune. We believe that among recent vintages, the 2021s are better than 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 vintages. Stylistically, the reds remind us of our 2007s." Though it wasn't presented as it hadn't yet been assembled, there will be a Clos de Bèze Cuvée Les Ouvrées Rodin. (Frederick Wildman, www.frederickwildman.com, NY, USA; Altaya Wines, www.altayawines.com, Hong Kong; there are many sources in the UK, among them John Armit Wines, www.armit.co.uk, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, Howard Ripley, www.howardripley.com, Haynes, Hanson & Clark, www.hhandc.co.uk, Clarion Wines, www.clarionwines.co.uk, Lea & Sandeman, www.leaandsandeman.co.uk and Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com).