Grand Cru Burgundy

wines

ean-Nicolas Méo’s 2020 Clos Vougeot is really, really refined this year. The wine delivers a complex and very pure aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, gamebird, violets, a touch of fresh nutmeg, complex soil tones and a nice foundation of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of sappy fruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, ripe, buried tannins and impeccable balance on the long, suave and classy finish. Fine, fine juice. (Drink between 2035 - 2095)John Gilman | 94+ JGApart from 2017, Jean-Nicolas Méo only makes one commercially available cuvée of his substantial holding of Clos de Vougeot. Even purple throughout. This is a sturdy, weighty, richly dark fruited, multi-layered wine, with great potential for the long term. Ripe but not exaggerated. Tasted: December 2021.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMThe 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is very promising, unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild berries, cherries, orange rind, potpourri and loamy soil. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it’s seamless and complete, with superb depth at the core and a long, resonant finish. It will be fascinating to compare with the 2019 rendition in two decades’ time.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru had to shake off a little reduction before revealing its minerally blackberry, raspberry and cassis fruit. Wilted rose petal emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, nicely focused yet surprisingly strict and linear at the moment. This will gain "shoulders" once in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-95 VMDiscreet but still perceptible wood-suffuses the ripe aromas of black cherry, currant, newly turned earth and a floral top note. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the palate coating and nicely detailed medium weight plus flavors that offers excellent depth and persistence on the relatively refined if youthfully austere finale. This is more structured than it usually is and is a wine that is going to require at least a decade of aging first.Burghound | 92-94 BH

The 2020 Chambertin from Trapet is sublime. It owns 1.85ha over three parcels in a variety of soils and 15% of the vines are trained high on stakes (’en echalas’). This diversity gives a complex fruit expression, from plum and black cherry to pomegranate and red currant, shot through with floral notes, spice and mineral. However, it is also a wine of power and depth, with the tannin and extract to live 80 years or more. One certainty: Trapet has mastered the art of Chambertin. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035Decanter | 99 DEC(Chambertin- Domaine Trapet Père et Fils) The Trapet family’s 2020 Chambertin is a great young wine. The bouquet delivers beautiful precision and purity in its constellation of black cherries, sweet dark berries, cassis, black minerality, cigar wrapper, grilled meats, just a touch of mustard seed, cedar and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and utterly complete, with a rock solid core, superb soil signature, ripe, firm tannins and a long, vibrant and complex finish. Great juice in the making, but this will need plenty of cellaring time to unfurl. (Drink between 2037-2100)John Gilman | 98 JGThe king of the cellar is the 2020 Chambertin Grand Cru, a magical wine in the making that unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries, rich soil tones, espresso roast, rose petals, licorice, oyster sauce and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it’s seamless and complete, with huge concentration, lively acids and rich, velvety tannins, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Well-connected and well-heeled readers will derive immense pleasure in comparing the 2020 with the 2019 and 2018 renditions several decades from now.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2020 Chambertin Grand Cru was picked on 7 September and a small plot around five days later. It has a beautiful, quite ethereal bouquet with a complex mélange of red and black fruit, the 80-90% whole bunch completely assimilated with wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, harmonious and smooth, immense depth and elegance as it fans out towards the finish with perfect sapidity. Sublime.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMAn even more restrained nose timidly expresses slightly riper aromas of plum, dark currant, rose petal and plenty of sauvage character. There is both excellent volume and mid-palate density to the bigger-bodied to the sappy and intensely mineral-driven flavors that are blessed with a taut muscularity on the moderately austere, serious and very firmly structured finale. This is expressly built-to-age and a wine that is definitely going to need at least a decade before could be reasonably approached.Burghound | 93-95 BH

The 2020 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru is a striking young wine, offering up aromas of mulberries and cassis mingled with orange zest, exotic spices and rose petals. Full-bodied, seamless and complete, with an immensely layered, fleshy palate, it concludes with a long, penetrating, saline finish. Such is its fruit concentration that its rich, powdery tannins are almost imperceptible. Over the last decade, the Grands-Échézeaux has tended to take a back seat to the Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg, but that certainly isn’t the case in 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPAn exceptionally dense purple. The bouquet suggests an exceptional wine. It has enormously more intensity than the preceding three wines, yet no sign of whole bunches, and just a light patina of oak. Rich mature fruit throughout. Dark strawberries with a suggestion of chocolate. Plump fruit backed by just enough acidity, long and graceful. Will these wines tighten up? Will tannins start to show beneath? For the moment they are smothered by the fruit. The longer in the glass, though, and the structure does appear. In terms of quality delivered in proportion to the fame of each appellation, the Echezeaux is the stand out wine from the Domaine this year. Drink from 2030-2045. Tasted Oct 2022.Jasper Morris | 97 JMThe 2020 Echézeaux Grand Cru is one of the standouts in this tasting. Opulent and sumptuous to the core, the Echézeaux is a real head-turner. I suppose it is not as complex as some of the other wines in this range, but as Aubert de Villaine once said to me about his Montrachet "You don’t always want complex, do you?" A rush of dark blue/purplish fruit, spice, chocolate, spice and lavender races across the palate. Readers will find a racy, hedonistic Burgundy that will drink well with minimal cellaring. What a wine!Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2020 Echézeaux has a deep colour and a noticeably dark fruit character, with aromas of ripe blackberry, earth, and spice complemented by floral rose petal notes. The texture is supple and rich, and the wine is a noticeable step in intensity and concentration, underlaid with velvety tannins that linger on the palate. The grapes come from the domaine’s 4.67-hectare holdings, largely in the lieu-dit of Poulaillères, and were picked on 30 August and 1 September with a short break for rain; 15,361 bottles were made.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECAn exuberantly spicy and wonderfully floral nose exhibits additional aromas of poached plum, mocha, jasmine tea and an interesting hint of tangerine peel. The rich, concentrated and powerful bigger-bodied flavors possess an absolutely gorgeous mouthfeel thanks to the abundance of sappy dry extract that also buffers the firm core of ripe tannins shaping the stunningly long finish. This actually isn’t quite as refined as the Petits Monts, but it is definitely more powerful and imposing, as well as slightly more structured.Burghound | 95 BH

The 2020 Richebourg Grand Cru is one of my favorite wine in this range, and I say that notwithstanding the fact that Richebourg is rarely a wine I truly adore, at DRC or anywhere else. Dark and somber, the 2020 is packed with blue/black fruits, mocha, lavender and graphite. The typically burly Richebourg tannins are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. Purists might say the 2020 is not a typical Richebourg. I would agree with that, in a very positive sense. Statuesque and regal in bearing, with tons of elegance, the 2020 is utterly captivating from the first taste.Vinous Media | 98 VMThe same brilliant deep purple colour as the Romanée St-Vivant. The bouquet delivers extra depth, extra concentration of a deeper and richer fruit which has still retained a fresh element. A massive wine, almost Bordelais in its intensity, but not uncouth and still unquestionably en route to becoming a great bottle of Burgundy. Lifted at the finish, such suavity. Certainly, the fruit is ripe, even showing some sundried cherries, but the opulence is compelling not cloying. Drink from 2035-2050. Tasted Oct 2022.Jasper Morris | 98 JMThe Richebourg is noticeably darker in colour than the other wines. There is an inky black concentration of plum and mulberry fruit with abundant mineral, earth, and spice notes. The old vines give a wine of intensity and structure that is a bit slow to evolve. It is more reticent than the Grands Echézeaux, and it took most of the luncheon for the wine to open up and show its potential. This is not a wine for early drinking, but with some time in the cellar it should be magnificent. 11,898 bottles were produced.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECHere the notably ripe mocha-inflected nose was restrained to the point that it required aggressive swirling for several minutes before it slowly revealed it cool and exuberantly spicy nose of pure cassis, black raspberry and a plethora of floral and exotic tea elements. The super-sleek and almost painfully intense big-bodied and muscular flavors seem to be built on a base of pungent minerality, all wrapped in a massively and overtly austere and compact yet long finish that just goes and goes. There is a trace of warmth though it’s not enough to materially disturb the overall sense of harmony. While the Domaine’s Richebourg is always built-to-age, the dazzling 2020 version is going to be a very long-distance runner.Burghound | 97 BHThe 2020 Richebourg Grand Cru is wilder on the nose, revealing aromas of rich exotic spices, wild berries, cassis, coniferous forest floor, smoked meats and a discreet touch of sweet saddle leather, followed by a full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping palate that’s rich and layered, with huge levels of concentration and ripe structuring tannins, concluding with a long, violet-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP

The 2020 Musigny Grand Cru has a well-defined bouquet with red cherries, blackcurrant, touches of animal fur and black truffle - very complex and intense. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, wonderful depth and cohesion, the acidity perfectly judged. The 30-40% stems here lends a discrete peppery note on the finish to what is one of the best Musigny that I have tasted from Jadot in recent years. Stunning.Vinous Media | 97-99 VMThere are two barrels of the magical 2020 Musigny Grand Cru (Domaine Louis Jadot), a striking wine that soars from the glass with scents of blood orange, rose petals, wild berries, sweet soil tones and musk. Full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it’s vibrant and multidimensional, with a deep, layered core and a long, resonant finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP(Maison Louis Jadot Musigny Grand Cru Red) Much like the Amoureuses, the dazzling nose of plum, black raspberry and floral scents is super-spicy with its combination of anise, sandalwood, clove, hoisin and dried orange peel nuances. There is both outstanding volume and even better intensity to the more mineral-driven, concentrated and focused flavors that exude a touch of bitter pit fruit character on the hugely long, balanced and highly complex finale. This is very classy juice that should age gracefully for the better part of two decades. (Drink starting 2037)Burghound | 93-96 BH

The 2020 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is very pure and harmonious on the nose with plush black cherry and cassis fruit, well-integrated oak and a floral aspect that becomes more prominent with time. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh, lightly spiced with quite a vivacious, mineral-driven finish that retains superb definition. This is very impressive and bloomin’ delicious (already!)Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThe wine is massive, with grippy tannins, full body and an interminable finish. ’A great vintage to taste in 20 years,’ according to winemaker Frédéric Barnier. The 0.27ha Jadot parcel (owned by the house itself) is in a strip that goes from the top of the vineyard to the bottom, and thus includes both terres blanches (white marl) and terres rouges (red clay). The fruit character is black plum and cassis, with a firm, mineral and earthy element. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.Decanter | 96 DECA wine with huge potential is the 2020 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru (Domaine Louis Jadot). Unwinding in the glass with notes of raspberries, red cherries, vanilla pod, exotic spices and raw cocoa, it’s full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with an immensely concentrated core, powdery tannins and a tightly wound profile. This will be among the slowest to evolve of all the wines in the cellar, and also among the most long-lived.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96+ RP(Maison Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Red) Very generous wood and menthol nuances still allow the liqueur-like aromas of red currant, violet and range of spice elements to be appreciated. There is first-rate power and punch to the moderately dense and beautifully textured flavors that display superb length on the sappy finish where the only nit is a hint of warmth. (Drink starting 2037)Burghound | 93-96 BH