I already named Domaine Edouard Confuron Flavour of the Year in 2026, so naming another estate Flavour of the Year in 2026 would be a breach of protocol. So we need to jump into the future … almost inspired by the very early harvest in 2026.
So here we go … Flavour of the Year 2027
Flavour of the Year 2027
The original Domaine Fornerol is hailing from Corgoloin, and the young lady … Léocadie Benech … who has taken over this exciting domaine in Corgoloin and has now established a new estate in a temporary building in Chorey-Les-Beane.
She is a no-bullshit type … talk from the heart, it seems … and the tasting is both liberating and interesting … not much superficial marketing here … focus is on both the white and the reds, equally interesting and of very good quality.
The ‘to the core’ talk is probably due to her academic background … Ingénieur agronome / Œnologue · French viticulture engineer and enologist from Bordeaux (Bordeaux Sciences Agro/ISVV).
The background
Léocadie Benech took her wine education in Bordeaux … and she has worked at Château Figeac in Bordeaux and in Argentina, where she has some family.
Then there were some estates in Burgundy, Chisa Bize and Dujac, before ending up with Domaine Fornerol in Corgoloin … where Didier Fornerol was running his estate, before he decided to transmit the estate to Léocadie Benech after she worked for a few years. The last vintage at Domaine Fornerol was 2024, and Léocadie Benech also made the 2023 vintage at Fornerol … giving her an insight into the vineyards.
She took over the vineyards in time to make the 2025 vintage and to transfer the viticulture to organic (Bio) in 2024.
First vintage of Leovila is 2025… and the Winehog is here to taste… for sure!
The Flavour of 2027
To me, Leovila is clear-cut Flavour of the year … 2025 might be the first vintage, but the lineup has a very finished and ready feel. No hickups and issues the wines are perfectly executed and refined for the different appellations and plots.
The style is elegant and with quite a lovely reference to the Corgoloin origin … elegant and with sufficient power to promote the Côte de Nuits Village style.
These are lovely Côte de Nuits village wines matching producers like Camille Thiriet and perhaps even Jerome Galayrand.
The wines have a lovely appeal and energy in 2025 … a very good tension that qualifies them as vin d’émotion… we will see how the difficult 2026 vintage turns out.
See the full review of the 2025s here
And the winner is …
This year, the recognition of Winehog Flavour of the Year goes to
Domaine Leovila
Flavour of 2027
The 2027 Flavour of the Year recognition goes to Léocadie Benech at Leovila for the reds and whites made in 2025.
Léocadie Benech has only made 2025 under her own name, but she also did the vinification at Domaine Fornerol before she started her own lineup.
Léocadie Benech has only made 2025 under her own name, but she also did the 2023 and 2024 vinification at Domaine Fornerol before she started her own lineup.
The sweet talk and usual politics …
This recognition is my humble attempt to find new estates and wines that have true quality and a vin d’émotion potential.
These are estates evaluated and “judged” very early … and I take chances putting my neck out … still, mostly, I am proud of my choices, but I am still learning from the criticism I get from good people who are close to me.
The recognition is mainly given for the work done by a young and talented vigneron who gives us more hedonistic wines—vive vin d’émotion.
While I find the work of youngish vignerons like Théo Dancer and Charles Lachaux truly admirable, these well-known producers already have the complete attention of the wine world. Furthermore, they have plenty of great vineyards with which to express themselves.
Finding new talents, new vignerons, and wines is one of the main objectives of the Winehog. Everything should be a question of passion and the love of hedonistic wines … vin d’émotion … the Flavour of the Year should embrace this.
Remember – taste yourself
Let me be very clear: I try to cover a wide range of styles, terroirs and estates … Some, I like more than others, and even my close ones sometimes hate my choices. This is fair, but also a part of the test of time. Sometimes, she is right … or always right – bien sûr!
These are my choices … but taste yourself … Bastian Wolber is not Marthe Henry … and not Cassiopée … some you will love … some you will love to hate. And some new names are hot now … but will also be forgotten!
The flavour of the Year previous winners
Domaine Eduard Confuron in 2026
Charles Boigelot in 2025
Benjamin Benoit – Le Cellier Saint-Benoit in 2024
Bastian Wolber in 2023
Les Horées in 2022
Domaine Cassiopée in 2021
Marthe Henri Boillot in 2019
- A true vin d’émotion – a Burgundy of passion
- A truly hedonistic wine – lively and enjoyable
- A vivacious wine for pure indulgance
- A potential vin d´émotion - frais et léger
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