Although we are not proud to admit it, many of our clients will hardly have heard of this cult Burgundy producer. This is understandable. At just 6.2-hectres this Chasssagne-based Domaine is tiny. Then we must factor in the extremely low yields. Dancer’s strictly organic viticulture naturally brings in a small crop, and these miserly volumes have been further reduced by a litany of frost and hail damage since the catastrophic 2016 vintage. The result, inevitably, is one of our smallest allocations coming out of Burgundy: Dancer’s white wines are as rare as a sheep with five legs, as the French might say.

So, what are we missing? Simply, some of the most riveting white Burgundies you could hope to taste. The style of wine produced by Dancer is reminiscent of his peer Olivier Lamy (of Domaine Hubert Lamy)—ultra-pure and thrillingly racy yet with terroirs that are naturally more powerful. With an artistic eye (Vincent is also a very talented photographer) Dancer coaxes mineral-driven, ultra fine white Burgundies with the emphasis firmly pointed towards elegance and refinement. From a superb collection of sites in Meursault and Chassagne, the wines are an incisive counter point to what Jefford has termed the “kind of cheese-paste, farm-straw richness of traditional funky white Burgundy.”

“Vincent Dancer is one of Burgundy's talented and gifted winemakers. Open and perfectionist, he produces wines of great purity,” La Revue du Vins de France

Dancer’s work in the vineyards can only be describes as meticulous. In 2012, he became first producer in Chassagne-Montrachet to receive organic certification, and although the practice is more common today, he’s still one of just a few. Now working with his son, Theo, he is now farming many of his parcels biodynamically and is using horse to cultivate all his 1er cru vineyards. In the cellar, Dancer’s work is the definition of artisanal, with all the qualities that his entails at a top Burgundian estate. All fermentations are done with native yeasts, malolactic fermentation occurs naturally, and there is no batonnage, fining, or filtering of the wines. It is worth noting that there has been no new oak purchased at the Domaine since 2019 and more and more 350- and 600-litre casks are being used as Dancer seeks to further reduced the oak impact on his wines.

Outside of France, Vincent Dancer is known almost exclusively for his whites. Dancer’s red terroirs total just 1.8 hectares and we’ve long been admirers of Dancer’s reds and we have repeatedly requested an allocation. To this Dancer has always responded that when the time was right, namely when he had a vintage that allowed him to produce some more volume, he would indeed oblige us. The stars have now aligned, and we can now offer a selection of Dancer’s outstanding reds to go with the whites. How good it feels to write those words! These are wonderfully bright and deliciously perfumed red Burgundies with the kind of supple depth and transparency that reflect both low yields and his meticulous work in the vines.