Burgundy, France

Like all good stories in wine, this one starts with a tasty (Cloudwater) beer on the back of a chartered bus in Beaune on a warm and sunny late afternoon in October 2023. Andrew and Emma Nielsen — husband and wife and masterminds behind the incredible ‘Le Grappin’ domaine — have long been an important part of the independent wine scene in London. For many years, they were going back and forth from London and Beaune — making wines from grapes farmed by friends and vignerons they respect — and selling them the rest of the year to thirsty sommeliers and drinkers in the UK. We have long been following their journey and enjoying their wines but it wasn’t until that very bus ride that Andrew casually offered ‘if you’re around later that week, stop by and come taste at our new cellar’ that we finally made it to what confidently can be described as ‘Le Grappin’ Chapter 2 — as their beautiful winery and domaine in the hills of Meloisey takes form.

As we arrived, Andrew took us to their cellar showing the 2022s that were, at the time, still in barrel. One after the other we realised how refined and grown up all of their wines have become — from their humble (and delicious!) Aligoté, to the fluid and lightning Côte de Brouilly, all the way to the more contemplative wines made from amazing parcels in Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune, Vezelay, Montagny and Monthelie.