92-94 Point Wines

wines

A touch more yellow than the Perrières. A very fine nose, with the weight of Charmes but the sheer class of Perrières. Really impressive once again. With exceptional intensity to finish. You can’t call this as coming from a frozen minor vintage, chortles Stéphane, with some reason. Drink from 2027-2032.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMA broad-ranging nose features notes of roasted nuts, petrol, white flower, Asian style spiced tea, apple and a subtle but still easily perceptible application of oak. The dense, serious and palate saturating flavors possess evident power and excellent minerality on the sappy, powerful and strikingly persistent finish. This is quite impressive, indeed like the Perrières the word classy comes to mind. A beautiful Charmes.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2021 Meursault Les Charmes Dessus 1er Cru is focused and delineated on the nose, apple blossom mixed with grilled walnut and a touch of smoke. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, maybe just missing a bit of concentration, though there is satisfying mineralité on the finish. Drink over the next decade.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Firm reduction and a whiff of oak dominate the nose at present. Much more interesting are the beautifully textured, racy and detailed medium weight flavors that also possess a highly sophisticated mouthfeel while exhibiting stunningly good length on the bitter zest-inflected finish that goes on and on. This is terrific and easily delivers grand cru quality.Burghound | 94-96 BHMid lemon colour. As always, the bouquet rises above the others. I feel the need to keep on sniffing this! Brings a smile to the face. The 2021 Domaine Leflaive Pucelles offers such a complex mix of fruits, fresh apricot along with a mix of quality citrus, good density but above all a stylishness that expresses itself in a hugely long finish. Perfect balance with a lifted fresh elegance at the finish. This may yet earn a fifth star later in life. Drink from 2027-2035.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru has a crisp, petrichor and green apple-scented bouquet, tight at first but opening up nicely with aeration. The palate is fresh and crisp with a subtle reduction at play, fine depth, lightly spiced with stem ginger and a dab of lemongrass towards the finish. This should drink nicely over the next decade.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

Boillot waited until 29 September to pick the 2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère, producing a mere 18 barrels. Unfurling in the glass with notes of pear, white flowers, hazelnuts, spices and beeswax, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with a chiseled, concentrated profile and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-94 RPCool, airy and very pretty aromas of the essence of pear, exotic tea, spice and acacia blossom are trimmed in an admirably discreet touch of oak. Much like the Pucelles, the texture of the slightly bigger and more mineral-driven flavors is wonderfully refined and even more powerful on the explosively long, graceful and bone-dry finale. This is also highly recommended.Burghound | 94 BHGuillaume has pulled out the youngest vines, for rootstock reasons. Most of the old vines fortunately are on 3309C. But badly frosted, below 10 hl/ha. A little more yellow in the colour, a riper fruit, which then comes back to its roots on the palate. Sappy, Guillaume says, while there is a generosity in the mouth which has completely retained its balance. Very persistent. Drink from 2026-2032.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru, a Boillot monopole, is bright and nicely focused. This is the parcel that was most affected by frost. Production is 18 barrels as opposed to a more typical 75 or so. There’s good depth and intensity, but also a certain rawness that needs time to soften. This is another wine where acidity is especially prominent. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 90-92 VM

Cool, pure and elegant aromas include those of honeysuckle, green apple and a pretty range of citrus elements. There is a bit more volume if less minerality to the medium weight flavors that deliver excellent length on the balanced if slightly less complex finale. This is also very good and offers similar development potential.Burghound | 91-93 BH

The Champ Canet has not quite fallen clear yet. However, the bouquet is stunning! And keeps changing. The immediate fruit now adds a little toasty note, plus the additional depth and complexity of having been kept on more lees. The fruit ripened nicely, with a touch of honeysuckle but it is a minority component, with ripe citrus taking the lead. A fascinating, complex finish. Drink from 2028-2037. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet is excellent, mingling aromas of lemon oil, citrus confit, white flowers, freshly baked bread and mandarin, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that’s concentrated and structured, concluding with a long, nutmeg-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er Cru felt much more closed when I tasted it at the Domaine, introverted with dewy meadow scents. The palate is well-balanced, but it doesn’t quite convey the mineralité and tension of its fellow Premier Crus at the moment. Does it have more to give? I remain cautious for now.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Lemon and lime in colour, a little softer than the Garenne in the bouquet. This is quite complete with a lifted energy to it, very long, not trying to be fuller bodied that it can be, the citrus note has both a light lime note as well as some lemon, while pure orchard fruit forms the back bone. Very old vines which yield little. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Hameau de Blagny 1er Cru has a complex bouquet that takes time to open in the glass: touches of wet pavement, Granny Smith apples and hints of fennel in the background. The palate is well-balanced, tensile and linear with a taut bead of acidity; this delivers an almost minimalist finish that is very Blagny in style. Good salinity and length. Very fine.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMOffering up notes of flowers, pear, freshly baked bread and hazelnuts, Sauzet’s 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny is medium-bodied, bright and lively, with tangy acids and chalky grip on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RP

The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru has a clean, precise bouquet with wet limestone, Granny Smith apples, menthol and light sea spray scents that could only originate from this appellation. The palate is very well-balanced, one of the most powerful of Sauzet’s Premier Crus. It possesses perhaps its spiciest and most texturally satisfying finishes that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMAnother beautiful bouquet after an elegant colour. This keeps building, and seems to have rediscovered the magic of Combettes which I thought was lost in the hottest years. There is a fulsome weight of white fruit, while retaining energy. Just enough acidity, with ripe apples at the finish. Drink from 2027-2036. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes is terrific, offering up aromas of pear, citrus zest, white flowers, toasted nuts and fresh mint, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered palate that’s dense and structured, with racy acids and chalky grip. I suspect it may surpass even the excellent 2020 version.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RP

More lemon than lime in the colour. Not much bouquet at first sniff. On the palate, this opens out further, a lovely sense of harmony, just ripe fruit, with a good point of mineral acidity, and a persistent aftertaste. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts is lovely, bursting with aromas of pear, green apple, confit citrus, freshly baked bread and toasted nuts. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy, with an envelopingly textural attack that segues into a pure, mineral palate, it’s seamless and harmonious.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru has a delightful bouquet with green apple, nectarine, and subtle wet pavement scents, quite generous in style with a hint of praline. The palate is taut and fresh, with very fine tension. It is one of the most citric cuvées from Sauzet with a flinty, slightly reductive finish, suggesting it will require a couple of years in a bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Truffières 1er Cru has a precise, slightly flinty bouquet that exudes typicité. Hints of oyster shell emerge with time in the glass. The palate is (again) precise with a killer line of acidity, very fresh and linear. One of Sauzet’s most elegant Puligny wines, this vintage with a persistent saline aftertaste. Superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMPure lemon yellow. The bouquet is delicious, softly ripe fruit, no citrus here. This is rather special as well, but not quite as nuanced as the Sauzet Champ Canet and with a little more yellow fruit. There is plenty of weight here, even a touch of bacon fat, perhaps not quite the length of my very favourites. Slightly more massive in style. Drink from 2027-2036. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Truffière reveals notes of yellow orchard fruit, nutmeg, orange zest, honeycomb and iodine, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that’s layered and saline. This parcel tends to suffer in warm, dry vintages to such an extent that Riffault intends to increase the height of his trellising here.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-92 RP

The 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques is deep and concentrated, mingling aromas of cassis and plums with notes of vine smoke and licorice in an inviting mélange. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with a lively core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins, it concludes with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er Cru has a refined bouquet and wonderful transparency in a very Rousseau style. The palate is a little austere on the entry, but it’s toying with you because all the concentration is on the back end with commendable weight, cohesion, and gentle grip. Very long aftertaste. This will be fascinating to watch evolve in bottle.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMSlightly riper aromas include those of poached plum, forest floor and a whiff of violet. There is acceptable density though very fine power suffusing the medium weight flavors that culminate in a dusty and firmly austere finish that isn’t quite as vibrant yet it’s even more structured. This impressively persistent effort is an exceptionally serious wine in 2022 that should age for decades and one that I would advise not opening for at least 10 years.Burghound | 91-94 BH

The 2022 Chablis Fourchaume 1er Cru has a discrete nose that gradually reveals one of Droin’s more floral bouquets this year. The well-balanced palate has a slightly richer, nuttier opening and good depth, tensile with a subtle reduction on the persistent finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA very elegant example of Fourchaume. A fine, all round package with depth and weight of fruit. Enough acidity to balance. Would drink this earlier than some, as it has a very generous fruit character. Droin’s vines are planted in the Vaupulent climat.Decanter | 92 DECModerate wood surrounds the ripe and more floral-inflected nose of essence of pear, mineral reduction and a similar very vague hint of the exotic. The wood can also be found on the palate of the rich and opulent yet solidly punchy medium-bodied flavors that exhibit fine depth and persistence though. With that said, and as good as this certainly is, it isn’t a match for the Mont de Milieu.Burghound | 90-92 BH

The 2022 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru offers scents of grapefruit and orange rind on the nose, less flamboyant than the Vaillons, yet showing impressive delineation already. The palate is well-balanced, with a tangy opening and hints of marmalade infusing the citrus fruit with an almost steely finish. This will need time in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMAlthough these a rich, deep soils, Droin says they retain a lot of seashell character. Lively and fresh on the palate, you can feel the cool terroir combined with warm, ripe fruit. Very classy and will age beautifully. Benoit Droin explains that it is the argile-bleu (blue clay) found here which adds extra volume.Decanter | 93 DECProminent notes of mineral reduction and just picked white flowers suffuse the aromas of tidal pool, algae and zest. The rich but vibrant medium weight flavors possess even more obvious minerality that seems to become more obvious on the cool, firm and delineated finish that is clean, dry, citrusy and sneaky long. Lovely.Burghound | 90-93 BH

The 2022 Chablis Vosgros 1er Cru, which is already in bottle, has a harmonious bouquet with fleeting lime, wet stone and a touch of citrus peel. Nicely detailed. The palate is sapid on the entry, with plenty of oyster shell/marine notes and a classically styled, almost "mean" finish. Very fine.Vinous Media | 92 VMDroin explains that although Vosgros is technically a left bank premier cru, it faces the same way as the top right bank climats. Although with a direct southwesterly exposition, the vines are located in a very cold valley. More restraint here, good density, but a little less of a mineral thread.Decanter | 91 DEC

The deeper clays of this site tend to do well in warmer years, and the 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is no exception, offering up aromas of dried white flowers, peach, citrus oil and freshly baked bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and fleshy palate that retains good cut and tension in this warm vintage, concluding with a mouthwateringly saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2022 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru has a well-defined bouquet, and the 25% older oak utilized during its élevage is seamlessly integrated. The palate is taut and citrus from the off, quite saline, with grapefruit and melon hints surfacing towards the persistent finish. It coheres very nicely in the glass and has great potential. One of the best examples from this noble vineyard.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2022 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has a complex bouquet with touches of white peach and a muscat-like scent, very focused and seductive. The palate conveys energy and vigor with citrus fruit and hints of orange zest towards the persistent finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 1er Cru shows the more unctuous side of the village. Apricot, butter, spice and tropical notes all race out of the glass. The Combettes will be enjoyed most by readers who appreciate the more extroverted side of white Burgundy. This fruit came in on August 25 and was the first parcel harvested that year. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 92-94 VMThe same mid yellow colour as most of the 2022s here. Not the most evocative bouquet, showing the sunshine a little. Ripe and generous yellow fruit on the palate, not as nuanced as Perrières. Fair length once again. Drink from 2029-2036. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

Middling deep yellow. A little oak on the nose, but otherwise high class predominantly orchard fruit. This is more nuanced than the Folatières, entirely white fruit and a good balance between the clay and the minerals. An excellent and persistent finish. Drink from 2029-2036. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Perrières 1er Cru is a heady explosive wine endowed with tremendous depth and textural intensity. Crushed rocks, mint, graphite, tangerine oil and insistent saline notes all meld together as this potent, driving Puligny makes its presence felt. Readers will have to cellar this for at least a few years. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 92-94 VM

A pale lemon yellow. The bouquet is beautifully classy. Little white fruits and flowers, perfectly nuanced, very slightly richer at the back and extraordinarily long on the palate. Perfect fruit acid matching all the way through. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 1er Crus is an absolute delight. Bright and effusive, with tons of aromatic presence, the Pucelles is immediately charming. Lemon confit, crushed rocks, almond and a hint of reduction all soar out of the glass. Vibrant and wonderfully nuanced, the Pucelles is lights out. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 94-96 VM

A stunning example, with finesse allied to power. Real tension and energy here. Will be approachable quite young, but really should be aged for over five years for the best result. Fèvre has 2.24ha within Montée de Tonnerre. Plots are located in Pied d’Aloup (facing east) with profound Kimmeridgian soils bringing freshness, Chapelot facing south on deep soil adding richness, and Côte de Brechain facing west on top of the hill with the oldest plots dating back to 1936.Decanter | 95 DECFrom multiple plots: east facing kimmeridgian marl in Pied d’Aloue (0.50ha), one hectare in Chapelot, (more soil here, fatter wine), then the rest in Bréchain, where vines dating back to 1936, give tension. What a beautiful bouquet. This has the sensual aspect of a delightful sunny summer, yet with an entrancing freshness behind. This is quintessential right bank, yet with balance Drink from 2027-2037. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMAn elegant, pure and wonderfully airy nose more freely reflects its aromas of white flowers, prominent mineral reduction and plenty of seashore elements. There is at once more volume but, somewhat surprisingly, even better refinement to the medium weight plus flavors that retain excellent detail while also flashing an almost pungent stoniness on the driving, firm and impeccably well-balanced finale. One to look for as this is very impressive.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2022 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru is more reticent on the nose and perhaps doesn’t quite engage as the 2021 did last year. A bit bashful at the moment. The palate is well-balanced with a saline entry, though it feels strict and contained, without the flair demonstrated by the Les Lys at the moment. Has this got something up its sleeve? It’s a bit too austere and reticent for my liking.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

Fèvre has 3.65ha of Vaulorent. Situated on the grand cru hill rather than the Fourchaume slope, the soils here are characterised by lots of Kimmeridgian marl. Tight and tense, lots of energy here, powerful and precise and compensates with concentration and density more akin to Chablis Grand Cru. GIve this five years and it will be stunning.Decanter | 96 DECSome of the Vaulorent may be taken out to make a separate Fourchaumes bottling, that decision has not yet been made. More lime than lemon in colour, the nose is so stylish yet with obvious concentration beneath. I love the texture of this wine, which has taken on a little bit of the cashmere qualities of this sector, while nonetheless retaining its mineral core. Very stylish once again. Drink from 2027-2037. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMThe 2022 Chablis Vaulorent 1er Cru has another tightly wound nose like the Montée de Tonnerre, a subtle marine element emerging with time, a touch of wild fennel. The palate has much more body and depth than the aforementioned Premier Cru, with good density, a crisp line of acidity and a welcome touch of spice enhancing the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMSlightly more evident wood influence can be found on the less elegant but beautifully layered nose of citrus confit, acacia blossom and wet stone scents. The rich, very generous and solidly powerful larger-bodied flavors are not quite as mineral-driven though they are even more concentrated, all wrapped in a beautifully balanced, long and complex finale. This is also impressive even though I have a slight preference for the MdT at this early stage.Burghound | 91-94 BH