Domaine de l'Arlot Cote de Nuits Villages Clos du Chapeau 2016

Comblanchien sits at the southern edge of the Côte de Nuits, a village better known for its quarries than its labels, and the chalk that made it famous runs straight through this wine. Fifty-plus-year-old vines, de-stemmed and fermented on indigenous yeast, then eleven months in barrel, only 30% new, so the fruit stays in front and the oak knows its place. Biodynamic Burgundy with real mid-palate tension and a fine chalky grip on the finish; this is what village-level Pinot looks like when nobody's dressing it up.