Thank goodness the Chauvenet estate isn`t just a few pocket handkerchief size bits of land scattered round the region, because this is another address where the yields are falling year on year at the moment. Despite this, Christophe still has wine to sell. A witty but reserved man with an appealing combination of confidence and humility, his wines, which in some respects pay homage to Henri Jayer, though less obtrusively oaked, continue in the ageworthy mould.

There hasn`t been a revolution here, but Christophe has been making subtle changes over the past few years that have made the wines more graceful, more approachable and retaining more of the character. Building on the classic approach, he has introduced a more gravity fed approach to the winery, including the use of mechanical `girafes` to get the grapes up to the top of the process and much reduced pumping. So the wines retain their body and weight, while keeping more perfume, flavour and a better balance. (CW 18/11/14)