The Connoisseur's Five — Vol. I: La Brunelle

Five rare bottles from three of the most quietly revered estates in France: Clos Rougeard from the Loire, Élise Dechannes from the Aube, and Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa from Burgundy. Centred on Koji and Jae Hwa's village Gevrey-Chambertin from the lieu-dit La Brunelle.

There are only a handful of estates whose names cause sommeliers to lower their voices. This set assembles five bottles from three of them — none of which produce in large quantities, all of which sell out on allocation. Two single-vineyard Saumur-Champigny from the legendary final-Foucault-era Clos Rougeard 2015. Two Élise Dechannes natural Champagnes from one of the Aube's most sought-after small growers. And, at the centre, Koji and Jae Hwa's village Gevrey from La Brunelle — a lieu-dit they have made their own.

Set Contents (5 bottles)

Élise Dechannes Champagne "Françoise²" NV

A small-grower Champagne from the Côte des Bar, in the southern reaches of the appellation. Élise Dechannes farms her family vines biodynamically and works with extremely low dosage and indigenous yeast. "Françoise²" is the estate's prestige cuvée — a single-vineyard, single-vintage expression of Pinot Noir-led Champagne that tends to be released in tiny allocations. Quietly worshipped by Tokyo sommeliers; rarely seen at retail.

Élise Dechannes Champagne Chardonnay NV

A pure Chardonnay Champagne from a producer better known for Pinot Noir-driven cuvées. The Aube is not the obvious source for great Champagne Chardonnay, which makes this a particularly intriguing bottle: Dechannes's farming and élevage bring a luminous, gently saline Chardonnay with the chalky tension of much more famous addresses, at a fraction of the noise.

Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Gevrey-Chambertin "La Brunelle" 2023

A village Gevrey-Chambertin from the lieu-dit La Brunelle. Koji and Jae Hwa farm a small parcel here and vinify in the same low-intervention style that has made the domaine one of the most discussed new estates in Burgundy. La Brunelle gives a Gevrey of perfumed red fruit and elegant structure — a counterpoint to the more powerful Cuvée Nature from La Platière. Production is tightly limited.

Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny "Le Bourg" 2015

The crown of the Loire Valley. "Le Bourg" is Clos Rougeard's flagship single-vineyard Cabernet Franc — old vines on tuffeau, vinified by the Foucault brothers in the meticulous, slow-extraction style that made this estate one of the most celebrated red-wine houses in France. The 2015 vintage is among the last vintages of the Foucault era before the estate's transition to new ownership, and 2015 itself is widely regarded as one of the great Loire vintages of the decade. A wine that drinks gloriously now and will continue to evolve for another fifteen-plus years.

Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny "Les Poyeux" 2015

Clos Rougeard's other single-vineyard Cabernet Franc, from the Les Poyeux lieu-dit. More aromatic and lifted than Le Bourg's deeper structure — the lyrical companion to its more powerful sibling. Together, Le Bourg and Les Poyeux are the definitive vertical of what Cabernet Franc can achieve in the Loire.

Five bottles. Two grower Champagnes, one allocation-only Burgundy, and the two single-vineyard wines that put Clos Rougeard among the world's great red-wine estates.