We first met Julien Cruchandeau in November 2018 at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Bouzeron getting its village appellation. Julien started making wine in 2003, and was one of the pioneers of Bouzeron. He has since moved up into the hills above Nuits St Georges to pursue what has become an incredibly dynamic career, marking him as one of the great winemakers of his generation.

Julien started producing some masterpiece wines in this relatively unknown zone. His reputation spread quickly, and we heard of him from several of the other young producers that we represent.  So we were pretty sure he is a perfect Elden Selections producer.

Julien Cruchandeau is a champion of ‘lesser appellations’ 
Aligoté is for him a badge of honor.
He planted vines known as ‘massale’, meaning they are from the wood of old vineyards,
something that the pioneer of Burgundy Aligoté, Aubert de Villaine, became famous for.
Julien’s vines are cuttings from the great man’s vineyard.
His Bouzeron Massale is deep and rich, with notes of honey and cinnamon plus a pure, mineral finish.

Mixed case has 4 bottles of each with Ground Shipping Included:

Julien Cruchandeau Bouzeron 'Massale' 2019
Deep, rich and dense with concentrated confit apple acidity, honey and cinnamon spicy. Great body, opulent and fresh.  Classic minerality gives it length and purity. And the complexity...you'd think it's a chablis premier cru!

Julien Cruchandeau Aligote 'Le Village' 2020
From 50 year old vines in the hills above Nuits St Georges, this Aligote is fresh and spicy with green apple acidity.  Bright, crisp almost crunchy fruit and a deep, floral lingering finish carried out long by the limestone minerality.

Julien Cruchandeau Hautes Cotes de Nuits 'Les Cabottes' 2019
Tank raised.  12.5% alcohol. Vineyard in transition: half of it is 60 years old; the other half a new plantation 6 years old. The two parts are fermented separately then assembled in to one cuvee.  2018 gave him lovely phenolic maturity, so he did a slow cold maceration.  The result is enormous fruit and a wine accessible now.  Beautiful Pinot Noir!