Vincent Couche, Pinot Noir, Coteaux Bourguignons, 'Symbiose'

Truly great Pinot Noir is something we treasure. The perfume, lift, and indescribable pleasure you get when everything hits keeps us chasing that dream. Most of the world’s greatest expressions come from Burgundy—typically in the heart of the Côte de Nuits. But today’s truly exceptional Pinot Noir comes from the furthest north of Burgundy, right up against the border of Champagne, and from a grower whose obsessive attention to soil places him in rare company. Under the guidance of renowned soil specialist Claude Bourguignon—whose résumé includes Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Dujac, Leflaive, Selosse, Dagueneau, and Chave—Vincent Couche replanted and rethought his vineyards from the ground up, focusing on living soils and true vine balance. His 2023 Pinot Noir—whole-cluster fermented from a carefully tended parcel in this cool northern pocket—absolutely blew a group of us away. There’s something about the climate here, Vincent’s selected clones, and the precision of the vintage that produced a wine every Pinot lover should try. At $35, you’re going to be stoked. Delicate and refined like great Vosne-Romanée or Chambolle-Musigny, with a unique perfume of gorgeous fruit, savory nuance, and acidity that can only be described as pitch-perfect. This is exactly the kind of Pinot Noir I hope to get when I buy Burgundy—and finds like this are getting harder by the day.

The Coteaux Bourguignons appellation is one of Burgundy’s most expansive—and most misunderstood—designations. Stretching from the northern edge of Burgundy near Champagne all the way south into Beaujolais, it encompasses an enormous range of soils, exposures, and quality levels. In the right hands, from the right village, it can quietly deliver extraordinary wines of place and value. Vincent’s vines are located in Molesme, a small historic village just over the border from Champagne, yet deeply tied to Burgundy’s viticultural past. It’s so close that Vincent can literally drive his tractor from his Champagne vineyards straight to these Pinot Noir vines. This far-northern location brings cooler temperatures, slower ripening, and naturally high acidity—qualities that translate into aromatic lift, finesse, and clarity when yields are low and farming is precise.

For Vincent, distance from Champagne’s traditional power centers has been a source of freedom rather than limitation. A third-generation vigneron, he took over the family domaine in 1999 and immediately began a wholesale transformation of both vineyard and cellar. With Bourguignon’s guidance, Vincent replanted according to soil life and root health rather than convenience, committing fully to biodynamic farming from the very beginning. Certification takes time, and in 2008 the domaine became the first in all of Champagne to receive full Demeter certification for both vineyards and cellar. Vincent harvests late—often a full week after his neighbors—picking by taste and touch rather than numbers. He ferments with native yeasts, adds nothing in the cellar, and allows the wines to find their own natural balance. This Pinot Noir is a pure extension of that philosophy: transparent, alive, and deeply expressive of place.

In the glass, the 2023 Coteaux Bourguignons is beautifully perfumed and precise. The nose opens with just-ripened strawberry, goji berry, and wild red berries, followed by wet wildflowers, forest floor, damp autumn leaves, and a delicate crushed-stone minerality. On the palate, it’s light on its feet yet quietly persistent—pure fruit framed by savory nuance and perfectly balanced acidity that carries the wine effortlessly through the finish. Keep the pairings local: roast chicken or guinea hen, pork loin with herbs, lentils, mushroom dishes, jambon persillé, or simple grilled sausages. Serve slightly cool, in Burgundy stems, and let this bottle remind you why we keep chasing Pinot Noir in the first place. This is some of the best price-to-quality Pinot Noir on earth right now.