I'm writing this from Paris, on my way back home after visiting (amongst others) Bastian Wolber. His talents are fresh on my mind and, perfectly, his wines also just landed. - Chris Leon

By appearances, wearing a boy-meets-world letter jacket and beanie, Bastian presents as a young man cutting his teeth. But after tasting the wines and learning his story, that impression disappears. Now with his own facility (and many of his own vines), he’s taking what he learned with Jean-Yves Bizot and applying it with his own, gentler approach, producing a stellar set of wines.

Bastian's background is well documented but worth knowing (lots of info on the Becky Wasserman site here). But in short, after falling for wine in his home country of Germany, he followed his brother Christoph's (of Wasenhaus) footsteps; studying in Dijon, interning at Leflaive and eventually working in the seminal cellar of whole-cluster aficianado Jean Yves Bizot. In 2019 he started making a small amount of wine from purchased fruit.

When you fast forward to today, Basti has gone to owning 50% of his vines, split between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and almost exclusively in the Cotes-de-Beaune. And, in a huge step for a young grower, he now has his own facility; it’s tucked just outside of Pommard and packed to the brim (and proudly displaying empty bottles of his old employer, his brother's wine and his first vintage).

Those who sell him fruit are peers and friends. He speaks fluidly about who’s helped and offered over the vintages; though he’s quick to point out that he will only be purchasing fruit from now on with the intention of consistently making wine for that site. He politely laments not being offered fruit from one well-known producer who had reached out in previous vintages. In short: no one-offs and everything must be organic.

Fermentations are native, using whole clusters in tank for the reds; the tank is sealed until the berries burst and fermentation has finished before barreling down. Interestingly – and I heard this throughout the trip – ‘24 is full of lazy, slow fermentations (due to a lack of nitrogen in the vintage). Basti heats a warm glass globe and gently presses it into tanks needing a push through fermentation. A natural, unique solution.

We tasted through countless barrels and could argue the wines feel philosophically Juran: adding an extra year of élevage on whites (ideally – some are bottled with the reds for space) while the reds (and a very good rosè) spend 10-11 months in barrel, providing freshness in the bottle. You can’t help notice his barrel of Spätburgunder which he admits might not last as he focuses more and more on his domaine wines. Notable, as it’s part of the below release.

The wines that have landed are simply more finessed and pure-fruited than any of the past releases; pointing to the control he’s adopted in his own space and knowledge of working his particular sites for several vintages now.

The future is very bright with Bastian, a meaningful benchmark for Burgundy’s newest generation. - Chris

SHOP BASTIAN WOLBER