Founded in 1864 by Pierre Bourée, Vallet Frères is now in the hands of the fourth generation of the family, Jean-Christophe Vallet. The family owns vineyards in Gevrey-Chambertin including the entire monopole of Clos de la Justice and in the Grand Cru of Charmes-Chambertin. Vallet Frères also act as a négociant sourcing the best grapes from growers in other parts of Burgundy, with whom it has worked closely for decades.

The wines they produce are complex, fine and authentic examples of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Vallet family's wines have been imported by Boutinot for over 40 years and are distributed to top independent wine merchants and Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the UK.

One of a handful of producers in the Côte d'Or who continue to use ultra-traditional winemaking techniques. Grapes are selected from vines of a minimum 15 years of age

After pressing the juice is decanted then fermented in open wooden casks using only natural yeasts and no temperature control. The wine is left on its lees for an extended period and put into French oak barrels, where it matures for a minimum of two years with racking off two or three times a year (to gently remove natural deposits). They don't have a fancy bottling line here - usually a pipe is inserted into each barrel which is joined to four taps, and the wine flows by gravity straight from barrel into the bottles without any filtration and just a candle to check that it's clear!

Given the labour-intensive traditional methods used to produce this Corton Charlemagne, a ying and yang approach to accompanying dishes should be adopted i.e. simply grilled lobster, snails in herb butter, or pike dumplings in a sorrel sauce.