Tasted by Drinks Trade: the best of Beaune pinot noir

As part of my ongoing digital series exploring Bourgogne, the birthplace of chardonnay and pinot noir, I have compiled a shortlist of the Côte de Beaune pinot noirs I personally believe present the greatest opportunity to Australia's drinks trade.

This article follows my feature exploring the key sub-regions/appellations of the southern half of the Côte d'Or, which should be read first. A spotlight on the best chardonnays will also soon follow.

Each of the nine wines below was tasted at the biennial trade tasting in March and chosen from the 78 Côte de Beaune wines I reviewed, which itself was a shortlist of the much-larger number of wines tasted.