What's New From Bellenos

This trio of wines confirms that Nicholas Potel is clearly on his way to crushing it with this wine line, just as I suspected last year. As it says on the rosé wine label, the Bellenos wines are "Burgundy from the Heart and Sol", sol being earth. The wines all taste definitively Burgundian, but the very gentle prices don't look Burgundian at all. 

89
Bellenos 2017 Côteaux Bourguignons Cuvée Blanc 12% $15
Hailing from Chardonnay parcels in the sunny Beaujolais region, this Cuvée Blanc has delightfully smoky overtones, a bracing, salty palate and a solid, minerally finish. Moderate in body but powerful in flavor, this wine also has a grippy perkiness that commands attention. Savory and toothsome, this is a wine for food. Of the Bellenos wines I have tasted so far, this is the most dazzling!
Drink: 2020-23 

87
Bellenos NV Crémant de Bourgogne 12% $25
A delightfully eclectic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Aligoté from various parts of Burgundy, this sees its primary and malolactic fermentations in stainless steel. After its second fermentation to 5.5 bars of pressure in bottle, the bubbly wine rests on its lees for 12-18 months before disgorgement.  

The aromas are youthful and light with a touch of heather and baby's breath. As the wine warms, toasted brioche and poached apples surface. The palate follows on with the same. But it is here that a deeply earthy, dusty and gauze-like flavor emerges. Lithe with graceful bubbles, the powerful acidity gives an aspirin-like bitterness, despite the 12 g/L residual sugar. Definitely a wine for food, and a very good one with freshly-shucked oysters, mussels, clams and other bivalves.
Drink: 2020-21

87
Bellenos 2018 Coteaux Bourguignons Rosé of Gamay Noir 12% $15
Shy on nose, there are hints of dusty rocks and strawberry hull. The clean and precise palate tastes of rhubarb and kirsch. This is a tart and tangy rosé. It has a good, medium body framed by lightly gruff tannins that pleasantly dry the modest finish. Definitely a wine for the table thanks to its foursquare structure. A dry rosé with a frisky attitude!
Drink: 2020-21