Burgundy Wines

wines

The 2020 Meursault Les Vireuils has a perfumed nose with white flowers, jasmine and light hazelnut aromas gently unfolding in the glass. The palate is well balanced with subtle tropical notes on the entry: wild peach and apricot, fine weight with a very pretty finish. This will be difficult to resist in its youth.Vinous Media | 91 VMA cool, pure and airy nose offers up notes of mineral reduction, apple, pear and exotic tea. There is terrific intensity to the attractively textured and overtly mineral-driven flavors that culminate in a sneaky long and well-balanced finale. This is a very good Meursault villages and worth considering.Burghound | 90 BH

Moderate reduction again pushes the underlying fruit to the background though there is outstanding freshness and verve on the palate of the medium-bodied flavors that retain lovely delineation on the moderately dry, youthfully austere and complex finale. Very solid quality here.Burghound | 91-93 BH

The 2020 Beaune Boucherottes 1er Cru is perhaps the one cuvée from this appellation that showed just a little sur-maturité, very slight touches of prune filtering though the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins, quite firm in the mouth with a slightly short finish.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

Iron, spice and dark fruit. Black pepper, too. Full and juicy, with lots of spice, asphalt, flowers and earth. Lots going on here. From Les Teurons and Bressandes sites. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSSince 2015, Kosta Browne winemaker Julien Howsepian has been travelling to Burgundy to select barrels from a cooperage near Beaune for his California Pinots. Aged in one-third new French oak, two premier cru plots were sourced for this Pinot: Les Bressandes, north of Beaune, confers rusticity, while Les Teurons contributes spice notes, underscored by redcurrants and cinnamon, bolstered by broad-shouldered tannins. A firm acid grip softens under a long, dark chocolate finish.Decanter | 92 DEC

The 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux Vieilles Vignes will be bottled later than usual, as Michel was still waiting on the delivery of glass bottles when I visited—but extra time on the fine lees certainly won’t do it any harm. Exhibiting aromas of pear, white flowers, freshly baked bread, confit citrus and iodine, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with terrific depth and tension. It’s a close race between this and Michel’s Vaulorent this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPBack in the fleshier style so for once I may have a preference for the regular. But then I love it on the palate with just a little bit of fresh red fruit mixing in. This has been racked a second time and sulphured which may explain the nose. The finish is excellent and very well poised.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JM

The 2020 Puligny-Montrachet les Folatières 1er Cru has an expressive bouquet with green apple, wet limestone and light kiwi fruit scents. This is nicely focused and has more energy than the Pucelles. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite poised and harmonious towards the finish that needs more mineralité. Maybe I was seeking a little more verve and tension.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2020 Chablis Blanchot Grand Cru is aged 75% in stainless steel and 25% in oak for nine months, followed by five months all in stainless steel. It has a relatively light bouquet, quite airy in style, gaining intensity with aeration, touches of white peach, smoke and granite. The palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity, citrus fruit, orange rind and a touch of stem ginger towards the finish that fans out nicely. This meliorates with aeration and is worth decanting if you decide to crack open a bottle in its youth. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 93 VMA deftly balanced white highlighted by apple, yellow plum, floral and stone aromas and flavors. Offers a rich and supple texture, making this almost seamless from start to the finish, where a stony element emerges. Drink now through 2028. 304 cases made, 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSModerate wood surrounds the overtly floral-suffused nose of softly exotic white peach, sea breeze and pretty spice whiffs. The succulent, round and plump flavors exude a refreshing salinity on the very dry and sneaky long finish. Like several wines in the range, this needs to develop more depth, but the underlying material appears to be present for that to occur.Burghound | 92 BH

A mellow white, with a light touch of vanilla and clove accenting peach, apple tart and honey flavors. Well-delineated and balanced, with honey, spice and mineral accents on the finish. Best from 2024 through 2030. 131 cases made, 70 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2020 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru delivers the intensity one seeks in this cru, offering scent of chalk dust, lemon thyme and light loamy aromas. It builds nicely in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with a fine thread of acidity, compact on the entry yet it fans out nicely whilst retaining admirable tension from start to finish. I would have just liked a little more residual spiciness, but this will do nicely. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 93 VMDiscreet though certainly perceptible wood sets off the ripe aromas of citrus confit, spring flowers, iodine and shellfish. The mouthfeel of the medium weight plus flavors is nothing short of gorgeous as it’s at once caressing but punchy on the sappy and strikingly long finish. This too would benefit from having better depth, but the density of material is such that more will almost certainly develop if allowed a few years first.Burghound | 93 BH

The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chênes has turned out very well. Exhibiting aromas of crisp Anjou pear, fresh peach, warm bread, vanilla pod and citrus zest, it’s medium to full-bodied, bright and seamless, with a pretty core of fruit, lively acids and a long, chalky finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90+ RPThis is aromatically similar to the straight Chassagne though with a pretty floral element. The vibrant middle weight flavors possess a slightly finer, if slightly less generous, mid-palate mouthfeel despite having better density, all wrapped in a lingering finale. This is a wine of contrasts as the mouthfeel is reasonably refined yet the finish flirts with rusticity. Les Chênes typically ages quite well, and this example should as well. Recommended.Burghound | 90 BH

Quite a shy, flinty nose that develops attractive orange-blossom character with some aeration. But this has plenty of depth and a serious tannin structure that gives it quite some weight. Long, chalky finish that is just a touch on the austere side. From 2.7 hectares. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

Rich candied-citrus nose, but none of the exotic-fruit character that some wines of the vintage have. Stacks of stony minerality on the palate enable it to carry all the flesh easily. Very clean finish with excellent energy and vitality. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

Here’s a very typical Meursault that combines the generosity and textural complexity we expect from this appellation, with liveliness that makes it very satisfying. Good concentration. A ton of flinty character at the substantial finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSLuscious and well-delineated, too, this white offers lemon oil, sliced apple and clove flavors, with an underlying mineral element. Long and will benefit from an additional year in bottle. Best from 2023 through 2029. 2,500 cases made, 750 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSSmoky reduction dominates the underlying fruit today. By contrast, there is good freshness and verve to the notably rich, round and rather plump medium-bodied flavors that display reasonably good length if only average depth on the bitter lemon-inflected and youthfully austere finale.Burghound | 89-91 BHThe 2020 Meursault 1er Cru Château de Blagny offers up aromas of crisp Anjou pear, white flowers, green apple and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, round and rich, it’s a gourmand, textural white from this higher-altitude site.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

A rich and powerful Chassagne-Montrachet with some pineapple character, due to the very ripe vintage, next to the citrus that we expect. Built on quite an imposing scale, but with lovely lemon-zest freshness and fine tannins that support the flamboyant body. Long, quite stony finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSThe last vintage of this wine chez Jadot as the vineyard has been sold. Medium yellow in colour. There is a little less overt power and perhaps a touch more terroir in this wine. Then the full weight kicks in, nicely married with its wood, and a sense of managed opulence behind infiltrated by good acidity.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMThe swan song for this cuvée is the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle (Duc de Magenta), a muscular, concentrated wine that exhibits aromas of orange oil, peach, buttery pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and textural, with a fleshy core of ripe fruit and bright balancing acids, it offers a classic expression of Morgeot in all its exuberance.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle 1er Cru has a taut, fresh, vibrant bouquet with yellow flowers intermixed with light citrus scents, gravel and jasmine. The palate is smooth and harmonious, tangerine and nectarine on the entry, moderate weight with a slightly pithy finish. I am intrigued to see how this will develop. Closure: DiamVinous Media | 91-93 VMA slightly more elegant if otherwise similar nose introduces succulent, round and highly seductive flavors that are blessed with an abundance of dry extract that imparts a sappy texture to the powerful, long and less citrusy finale. This is worth checking out.Burghound | 91-93 BHA juicy white introduced by aromas of resin and toasty oak. Offers peach, apple and citrus flavors that hold court, while a mineral accent lurks beneath the surface. Features fine balance and length. Drink now through 2028. 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe grapes are lightly crushed and fermented in cask (one-quarter new), to give this wine with aromas of ripe apricots and quince. The texture is broad and rich, with a density that probably needs a bit of age. At present is seems luxurious, but a bit heavy. The Clos de la Chapelle (Morgeot) is a monopole of the Duc de Magenta that Jadot has traditionally rented. It is just downslope from lieu-dit Morgeot, and is planted to both Pinot and Chardonnay (this section of 1.79ha is planted to the latter).Decanter | 92 DEC

The 2020 Chablis Blanchot Grand Cru is quite backward on the nose, unfolding to display touches of cold wet limestone and shucked oysters, yet always discreet; this a Grand Cru that does not want to brag. The palate is well balanced with a tangy, quite concentrated entry, fine weight, and good density toward the finish, even if I am not convinced that it will become Droin’s most complex 2020 in the end. We’ll see.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAn overtly floral nose is comprised by vaguely exotic aromas of lychee, citrus blossom, iodine and ocean breeze. There is outstanding intensity to the beautifully well-detailed larger-scaled flavors that brim with both minerality and dry extract that buffers the moderately firm acid spine shaping the slightly more complex and impressively persistent finish. Very sold quality here.Burghound | 92-94 BHA little more of a lemon tint to the colour. Concentrated white flowers on the nose but too sunny to be edelweiss, and the fruit rapidly takes over. A faint suggestion of banana, we feel the heat behind, but it all retains its balance. Not quite coherent yet, but with time to establish its balance.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JS

The 2020 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has an almost clinical bouquet, wonderfully defined, with superb salinity and mineralité. The focused palate is citric and tensile, and the salinity gets the saliva flowing. Classic Chablis through and through. This will be an exceptional Vaudésir.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMBright clean fresh colour, the bouquet is concentrated but chiselled and backward. Crisp, concentrated pure white fruit, very Vaudésir, with excellent persistence. Finesse and class to finish Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir is charming and enveloping, wafting from the glass with aromas of crisp peach, pear, hazelnut, clear honey, white flowers and beeswax. Full-bodied, layered and satiny, with racy acids and a sensual, charming profile, it concludes with a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is also aromatically cool and very pretty with its vaguely exotic array of white and yellow fruit, broad range of spice elements and good Chablis typicity, all trimmed in oak hints. The wood influence also is present on the caressing and refined but decidedly intense flavors that culminate in a bone-dry finale. This is a somewhat atypical Vaudésir in that it’s less refined and more powerful than usual even though it’s still very promising.Burghound | 93 BH

The 2020 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru is another precise, steely classic Chablis from Benoît Droin. The palate is beautifully balanced and poised, showing good concentration and wonderful cohesion and salinity toward the finish. I cannot wait to taste the final version.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMUnwinding in the glass with aromas of green apple, white flowers, mint and bee pollen, the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with a textural attack and a long, saline finish. From a site characterized by white marls, it has performed well in this sunny vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPPale light colour with a juicy fruit nose, a wealth of joyous white fruit, very lightly peachy, not reductive this year. Benoît thinks will tighten up and refine its toastier character Jasper Morris | 90-92 JMn initial touch of reduction slowly gives way to very pretty and quite cool aromas timidly offer up notes of lemon-lime, white-fleshed fruit, sea breeze and a touch of algae character. There is good vibrancy and detail to the delicious and appealingly textured flavors that possess fine depth on the balanced finish that exhibits a touch of wood as it sits on the palate.Burghound | 91 BH

Picked 28th August. Excellent pure purple and fresh pinot on the nose, with a delicious juicy red fruit on the palate, with a beautifully suave finish and just a touch of acidity to complete it. 13.8% but not exaggerated. Good length too.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JMDiscreet but perceptible nuances of wood and menthol are present on the ripe and fresh red and dark raspberry, pepper and newly turned earth. The is fine mid-palate density to the utterly delicious middle weight flavors that possess much better than average depth and persistence for such a young Chassagne red. One to strongly consider as this is very good.Burghound | 90 BH

A succulent, open-knit white marked by an alluring mix of peach fruit and stony mineral flavors, with yellow plum and citrus notes adding depth as this lingers on the finish. A fresh and focused, sunny version. Drink now through 2028. 50 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This is generally the richest, most fruit-driven grand cru bottling chez Fèvre, but the 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros is a wine of particular distinction. Exhibiting aromas of peach, citrus blossom, bee pollen and oyster shell, it’s a medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered wine that’s ample but elegant, with racy acids and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2020 Chablis Bougros Grand Cru comes from six hectares of vines, southwest- and south-facing, forming the two different cuvées. The bouquet unfolds to offer lovely yellow fruit and oyster leaf aromas, well defined and quite generous. The palate is taut and crisp with fine acidity and moderate depth, but very pretty and composed toward the saline finish. There is plenty of substance already in situ and I foresee this aging with class.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMThis is restrained to the point of being all but aromatically mute though aggressive swirling eventually coaxes notes of green fruit, citrus peel and oyster shell nuances to reveal themselves. There is both excellent volume and concentration to the big-bodied, powerful and imposing flavors that are focused, structured and youthfully austere. This is very much a work in progress, and I would advise allowing this at least 5 years of cellaring and it should easily reward a decade or more.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2020 Chablis “Bougros” from Domaine William Fèvre is a beautiful wine, and as is often the case in the lineup here, this is the most forward of the grand crus and the one I would reach to first if I had a desire to drink a delicious, younger grand cru. The bouquet is just loaded with beautifully pure fruit tones, with scents of pear, lime and green apple blending with notes of chalky soil tones, dried flowers and citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and long, with a gorgeous core of fruit, fine chalky undertow, bright, zesty acids and great focus and grip on the long, complex finish. This still deserves some bottle age, but it will not be a crime to let your curiosity get the best of you and open a bottle of this lovely wine four or five years down the road! (Drink between 2026 - 2065)John Gilman | 94 JGFrom 4ha of vineyards, this is an easy introduction to the Bougros Grand Cru. Acidity is well in check and the wine is generous, with 25% older wood used for maturation. Very nice weight and purity, minerality and an extra layer of richness compared to the premier cru. Higher yields here than Fèvre’s other grands crus, except Les Clos.Decanter | 93 DECA ripe, round style, featuring peach, apple and citrus flavors accented by grassy meadow and finger lime, with a stony note seeping in on the lingering finish. Best from 2024 through 2036.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Pale lemon colour. Very little nose as yet, too early perhaps for a wine of this potential power – which it certainly has on the palate, and very good acidity as well. The immense square of fruit in the mouth doesn’t yet show specific flavours but everything hangs together impressively for what will be an imposing Bâtard. Tasted: November 2021.Jasper Morris | 97-99 JMAromas of buttery orchard fruit, citrus zest and stone fruit mingle with hints of white flowers and freshly baked bread to introduce the 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru (Maison Louis Jadot), a full-bodied, ample and layered wine that’s taut and structured, with racy acids and fine depth at the core. This, too, shows plenty of promise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPHere too there is a subtle application of wood framing the beautifully layered nose of white peach, carnation, citrus confit and a plethora of spice wisps. There is a bit more size, weight and volume to the solid concentrated flavors that brim with dry extract on the palate staining, powerful and impressively persistent finish. This is also quite tightly wound and packed with development potential. (Drink starting 2032)Burghound | 92-95 BHIt is classic Bâtard, rich and almost honeyed. The wine avoids heaviness, however, and simply tends toward the richer side of the spectrum. This is made from fruit purchased from the Puligny side, most of it from very old vines. It is done in large, double-sized casks to reduce the influence of the wood.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has more attack and penetration compared to the Bienvenue, greater mineralité and terroir expression. The palate is finely balanced with plenty of ripe citrus fruit laced with stem ginger and dried orange rind. Perhaps it just cuts away a little swiftly on the finish, but otherwise this is a decent 2020 white. Closure: DiamVinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet is brilliant, mingling aromas of crisp green apple and lemon oil with notions of oyster shell, freshly baked bread, white flowers and wet stones. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, it’s racy and tensile, with tangy acids and a long, searingly mineral finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPPure, poised and dry with delightful nuance. This is a classic Séchet with a superb aftertaste, so much fruit to cover the dry bones typical of this vineyard – and indeed implied by its name. The 2020 is immaculately balanced pure and subtly nuanced. It may easily close down for a few years after bottling, so do not be afraid to keep it back. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted: June 2022.Jasper Morris | 94 JMThe 2020 Chablis Les Séchets 1er Cru is very pure on the nose, though not quite as mineral-driven as the 2019, that I tasted last year (also from barrel). But the aromatics are very elegant. Ditto the palate, which delivers fine acidity, impressive concentration, white peach and dried mango flavors and plenty of spice toward the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMThe 2020 Chablis “Séchet” from Vincent Dauvissat is very refined this year, showing the classical proportions of the vintage to very fine effect. It delivers an aromatic constellation of green apple, lemon, a beautiful base of chalky soil and oyster shell, spring flowers and a lovely topnote of beeswax. Pure, full and racy on the palate, the Séchet shows off exemplary depth at the core, excellent focus and cut and an impeccably balanced, but still quite closed personality on the long finish. This is going to be an outstanding bottle, but it will demand just a bit of patience to allow it to properly blossom. (Drink between 2026 - 2060)John Gilman | 93 JGMore elegant and airier aromas include those of citrus blossom, algae, iodine and a touch of green apple. The detailed and very intense medium-bodied flavors flash both good minerality and salinity on the balanced bitter lemon-inflected finale. This promising if decidedly firm effort is firm enough to reward up to a decade of cellaring.Burghound | 92 BH

As is almost invariably the case, Dauvissat’s 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons is sensual and perfumed, wafting from the glass with aromas of orange oil, peach, jasmine and nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s vibrant and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit, racy acids and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2020 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru is more floral on the nose compared to the preceding Les Séchets. White flowers, dandelion and touches of orange zest develop in the glass, precise and finessed. The palate is structured with good grip and a slightly waxy texture, building beautifully toward a very persistent finish. Give this 2–3 years in bottle (at least).Vinous Media | 91-93 VM(Chablis “Vaillons”- Domaine Vincent Dauvissat) The 2020 Vaillons from Monsieur Dauvissat is just as beautifully structured out of the blocks as the Séchet, sharing that same classical sense of balance and reserve, so it too will deserve just a few years of hibernation in the cellar before starting to drink with generosity. But, the potential here is enormous, as the wine offers up a fine bouquet of apple, pear, chalky minerality, white lilies, citrus peel and just a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, precise and full, with a rock solid core, beautiful acidity and mineral drive, impeccable balance and a long, focused and nascently complex finish. (Drink between 2026-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JG