Robert Ampeau's Perfectly Aged Burgundy Pre-Arrival
11/24/25 -
One of, if not the most unique domaine in Burgundy is Domaine Robert Ampeau. While we have been receiving mainly the 2023 vintage (and a few 2024s) over the past 6 months, the current release from Ampeau ranges from 1996-2005. Each year it is quite a mystery of which cuvees and which vintages will be available from the domaine. Due to there being so many new additions to this year's release, I was quite excited when their importer held a tasting recently, opening up every single cuvee! The white wines showed power, purity, and finesse while the reds were elegant, perfumed, and bursting with freshness. I think Chris McGowan of Fleet Street puts it best when he says, "What’s most remarkable about the Ampeau wines is their ability to age effortlessly over the course of decades while maintaining incredible aromatic complexity, purity of fruit, and just crackling tension. Stored in what is probably the coldest cellar I’ve ever been in, the wines remain in suspended animation, only beginning to show themselves off after 45 minutes in a decanter. The last glass is almost always the best one."
Aside from the prestigious vineyards that Robert Ampeau, and his son Michael farm, the family holds six cellars in and around the village of Meursault. Each one holds around 15 years worth of 1-2 appellations. Jim Weinrott of Fleet Street has described them as some of the coldest cellars he has ever visited. Incredibly hard working, Robert typically waited a lot longer to release vintages then his peers and when he sadly passed away in 2004, he left behind a time-capsule of Burgundies. Today his son Michael manages the estate and continues his father's legacy of very thoughtfully and slowly releasing beautifully aged wines from their cellar. I am really excited to offer a selection of these wines today from the 1999, 2000, 20002, and 2004 vintage. The wines are currently in transit and are expected to arrive before Christmas. These are rare wines and we are not sure if they will released again so I would grab these while you can.
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
