2021 Prosper Maufoux Domaine Vigne Au Roy Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits 750 ml

Our first introduction to the Domaine Vigne au Roy came at a glitzy high-rise affair in Dallas, where a big-name art collector was pouring a few rarities from her storied wine cellar. On the table were more Insta-worthy labels than we could count, including a 1999 Domaine Armand Rousseau and a 2001 Clos Vougeot. Yet it was this seductive ruby number from Prosper Maufoux, poured freely throughout the night, that triggered our dealmaking instincts.

This is an ageworthy gem from one of the most restricted and tightly allocated wine markets in the world. Sourced from the hautes côtes (“high slopes”) of Pinot Noir’s spiritual home, the nose shows unmistakable Old World pedigree. From a benchmark Burgundy estate founded in 1860, this bottle brings hillside concentration and limestone purity direct from the heart of Hautes Côtes de Nuits—not far from the great properties of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Forty-four acres of Pinot vines in the Vigne au Roy Vineyard furnished the grapes for this bottle, where topsoil is thin to the point of being almost nonexistent, allowing the clay-limestone soils to absorb warmth and maintain excellent drainage. 2021—a classic vintage with bottlings Wine Advocate acclaimed as “classically proportioned, pure and fine-boned”—makes this even more exciting. The growing season that year started off with widespread frost, slashing yields and distressing growers across Burgundy. But the summer was cool, allowing for a late harvest and “crunchy,” bright, minerally wines. 

Dislodging this bottle from its native habitat in the north of the Côte d’Or took all our charm and patience, and it has paid off big time.