Burgundy Wines

wines

(Domaine Dugat-Py Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru Red) A markedly floral nose is quite pretty with its array of earth, liqueur-like dark berries and lovely spice wisps. There is again outstanding volume to the beautifully textured large-scaled flavors that exude a bracing salinity on the sneaky long and well-balanced if overtly austere finale that displays absolutely stunning length. Here too plenty of patience will be required. (Drink starting 2037)Burghound | 96 BHAromas of orange rind, red cherries, plums, licorice, spices and peonies introduce the 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, a full-bodied, ample and layered wine that’s deep and concentrated, with a generous core of fruit, melting tannins and a long, rose-inflected finish. As ever, this is the domaine’s most immediate, sensual grand cru.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is the usual blend of vineyards: two-thirds in Charmes-Chambertin itself and one-third in Mazoyères. It contains 60% whole bunch and 66% new oak. Very generous and opulent on the nose of dark cherries plus hints of baked gingerbread and clementine; this is very intense. The palate is medium-bodied with a structured opening. The Mazoyères component feels more influential than the Charmes, and the grippy, overtly saline finish does not want to let go. This will be fascinating to watch develop. I love the sense of control throughout.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM

(Mazy-Chambertin- Domaine Joseph Roty) The 2019 Mazy-Chambertin is utterly brilliant. The bouquet is pure, precise and beautifully sappy in personality, soaring from the glass in a mix of black cherries, cassis, smoked meats, very complex, dark soil tones, woodsmoke, those savory elements particular to Mazy’s terroir, coffee bean and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and perfectly balanced, with a beautiful core of fruit, stunning mineral drive, ripe, buried tannins and a very, very long, complex and seamless finish. A great, great wine in the making. (Drink between 2035-2120)John Gilman | 98 JGThe 2019 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru opens in the glass with aromas of wild berries, plums, rose petals, loamy soil, black truffles and smoked meats. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it’s a fleshy, textural wine with terrific concentration, lively acids and a long, saline finish. It’s one of the high points of the range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru has an almost confit-like bouquet, wild strawberry intermingling with crème de cassis and incense, plus just a touch of melted tar. The fresh palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Quite oaky on the finish (100% new); this will require several years to assimilate.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM(Domaine Joseph Roty Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru Red) Discreet though not imperceptible wood sets off the very spicy and smoky liqueur-like aromas of mostly dark berries that are liberally laced with notes of the sauvage and warm earth. The caressing but imposingly powerful big-bodied flavors brim with both minerality and sappy dry extract that buffers the super-saline finish that goes on and on and where the wood telegraphed by the nose gradually reemerges. This is a robust, even slightly rustic, Mazy that should comfortably reward 15+ years of cellaring. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 93 BH

Beautifully layered aromas are composed by notes of citrus confit, white and yellow orchard fruit, dried apricot and traces of both wood and acacia. There is excellent density and richness to the powerful, palate coating and hugely long finish. This balanced but very firm effort completely transcends the rest of the range though note well that it’s going to require extended patience before it will reveal its full potential.Burghound | 93-95 BH

Leflaive owns four contiguous parcels in the center of BBM that total 1.15 hectares, nearly half of the appellation. The vines lie just down the slope from one of their four Bâtard parcels. In 2019, Leflaive began their harvest on September 11th. The Bienvenues has retained a rewarding freshness, with a forward fruit that has both tropical and citrus elements and plenty of floral notes. The texture is lively but supple; there is plenty of fresh acidity that brings a pleasant energy to the wine. This should age for decades to come. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 96 DECUnwinding in the glass with aromas of peach, pear, hazelnuts and dried white flowers, framed by a deft touch of youthful reduction, the 2019 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive, its concentrated core of fruit framed by racy acids and chalky extract. Like the Pucelles, this is precise and fine boned, but it’s also more muscular and intense.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is cut from a similar cloth to the Les Pucelles on the nose: reserved, mineral-driven with hints of orange blossom emerging with time, later more Granny Smith apples. The palate is strict and precise, demonstrating impressive weight, especially towards the back end. Maybe not quite as complex as the best of Leflaive’s Premier Cru, though it is extremely pesistent with a long ginger-tinged aftertaste. Closure: Diam 30Vinous Media | 94 VMThis lemon- and apple-flavored white is underlined by an oyster shell, iodine element. Complex and balanced, offering baking spice accents and a fine lingering finish of lemon and minerality on an open-knit frame. Best from 2024Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru White) Here the equally beautiful nose is quite similar to that of the Pucelles save for being much more restrained. Cool, pure and almost painfully intense flavors possess the same sleek, sophisticated and graceful texture as well as even better persistence on the youthfully austere, compact and wonderfully complex finale. This is a stunner of a Bienvenues. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 94-96 BH

The 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru needed a little encouragement from the glass. Eventually it reveals captivating scents of honeysuckle, petrichor and pressed yellow flowers, an underlying spiciness that comes through with aeration. The palate has a beguiling symmetry from the start: a killer line of acidity counterbalancing the intensity of this Chevalier, gentle grip towards the spicy and "flowing" finish. Everything you could really want in a Chevalier-Montrachet Closure: Diam 30Vinous Media | 98 VMThis is produced from Leflaive’s three parcels of Chevalier that total more than 1.8ha in the centre of the appellation. Most of the vines run from the top to the bottom of the vineyard to give a wine of regal balance. The grapes are lightly crushed and slowly pressed before fermentation in cask (25% new). The 2019 vintage delivered a wine of impressive concentration and freshness with a pronounced minerality yet the density and richness to carry it to a spectacular finish. The combination of finesse and power in this wine is truly striking.Decanter | 98 DECLeflaive’s 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with scents of Anjou pear, orange oil, clear honey, white flowers and freshly baked bread, framed by a deft touch of youthful reduction. Full-bodied, concentrated and incisive, it’s textural but taut, its satiny attack segueing into a deep, chiseled mid-palate, concluding with a long, electric finish. This is a brilliant Chevalier with a long life ahead of it.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThis is even more aromatically elegant with its intensely floral-suffused aromas that include acacia, lavender and rose petal along with an array of white fleshed fruit, spice and subtle wood influence. The cool, intense and precise large-scaled flavors brim with both sappy dry extract and minerality, all wrapped in a tightly coiled, linear and remarkably persistent finish. This is incredibly promising and very clearly built-to-age.Burghound | 96-98 BHA concentrated white, this features vanilla, butter pastry, peach, hazelnut cream and apple flavors. Concise and bracing yet balanced, this should come together nicely in a year or two. Ends with a mineral flourish and a tactile sensation. Best from 2024 through 2030. 95 cases made, 19 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Enormously complex nose that marries so many flinty, savory and citrus aromas. Astonishing texture on the rich but precisely delineated palate, the concentration creeping up on you, building and building to a great crescendo. Enormously mineral aftertaste. Drinkable now, but best from 2023.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is also aromatically cool and restrained with its combination of essence of white orchard fruit, especially pear, along with hints of wood, spice, mineral reduction and rose petal. There is excellent intensity to the textured, concentrated and quite powerful big-bodied flavors that exude evident minerality on the focused finish that is quite tightly wound. This is going to need at least 6 to 8 years of bottle age first.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Grand Cru opens in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, orange oil, almond paste, pineapple and fresh pastry. Full-bodied, satiny and textural, it’s rich and expressive, with lively acids and a charming, demonstrative personality.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

Bottling in summer 2021, the 2019 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes bursts with aromas of cherries, sweet berries and plums mingled with hints of licorice, cinnamon, red fruit compote and orange rind. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it’s muscular and textural, with broad shoulders and a deep, layered core of fruit. Concluding with a long, saline finish, this is the most powerful wine in the range, and it will require the most patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPPonsot is the largest landowner here, with old vines whose average age is 65 years. Everything at Ponsot is calculated for maximum purity of expression: the fruit is completely destemmed, extraction is gentle and no new casks are used in the maturation. The results in 2019 are absolutely marvellous, with lush dark plum and cassis fruit, alongside savoury, earthy accents. The texture is silky, dense and long. A monumental wine. Drinking Window 2029 - 2049.Decanter | 96 DEC(Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru Red) A cool, pure and highly complex nose combines aromas of essence of plum liqueur, black cherry, violet, earth and plenty of spice components. The sense of refinement continues on the sleek, succulent and almost lacy mineral-driven and wonderfully textured medium weight flavors that deliver superb persistence on the exceptionally firm, beautifully balanced and youthfully austere finale. It’s not all the time that Clos de la Roche is described as a wine of class, but in 2019, this wine has that highly desirable attribute. In a word, terrific. (Drink starting 2037)Burghound | 96 BH

For the first time, Maxime Chuerlin decided to use stems in his crown jewel, the 2019 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru, settling on 25% whole bunch for this year. This was an astute decision, because it lends freshness and more complexity to the bouquet of blackberry, undergrowth, tobacco and crushed limestone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, hints of peppermint behind the black fruit and touches of white pepper and sage toward a finish that fans out wonderfully. A slam-dunk for Maxime Churlin. Five barrels produced, matured entirely in new oak.Vinous Media | 96-98 VM(Domaine Georges Noëllat Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru Red) In contrast to the expressiveness of the Echézeaux, this is aromatically more restrained and somber and only grudgingly reveals its more floral-suffused aromas of various dark berries, spice and lavender and violet scents. The sleek and impressively intense bigger-bodied flavors are also not especially dense with very good detail, all wrapped in a dusty, somewhat angular and short finish. Note that my score assumes that this become much more harmonious with a few years in bottle as the underlying material appears to be quite good. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 91-93 BH

At once deep and fragrant, with a wonderful red-rose aroma. There’s a major tannin structure, but it neither pushes nor pulls you in any direction, rather it sits serenely at the heart of this super-elegant wine. Very long, filigree finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JS

With close to 6.5 acres in this grand cru, Arnaud Lavantureux treats most of this wine to barrel fermentation, then aging in used oak barrels; a small portion rests in new oak. The barrel time has amped up the wine’s power, its viscosity and smoky scents. But it never goes dark, sustaining a stark contrast of white on white. Complex, feather-light in the end, it keeps coming after you with detail, the way wildflower honey might, only this is completely dry.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 94 W&S

The 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a crisp bouquet with crushed rock mixed with touches of dried flowers and a light sea spray note - classic Chablis really. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry. Touches of dried honey and chamomile, but underneath it all is a fine mineral spine and a decent, quite Les Preuses-like finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 91 VMThough ripe, offering aromas and flavors of lemon cake, melon and white flowers, there’s also a stony, mineral element underneath this balanced white, which ends with a light chalky sensation. Drink now through 2028. 712 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

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

As is often the case when young, this displays prominent mineral reduction scents that add breadth to the wonderfully spicy nose of acacia blossom, carnation, exotic tea and just grated lemon zest. The super-sleek and citrus-tinged big-bodied flavors brim with both minerality and dry extract while delivering stunningly good length on the bone-dry, moderately austere and strikingly long finish. Though not completely impenetrable today, it’s close and this is definitely a ’buy and forget you own it’ for at least 10 years and 12 to 15 would be better. Brilliant.Burghound | 97 BH

An exquisite wine, the nose is almost delicate, with ripe apple and floral notes, and the texture of the wine is astonishingly crisp and fine. There is nothing heavy here and the finish lingers seductively. Rich, typical Bâtard, but with uncommon elegance. Picked on the 24th of August, and the early picking date worked well here. The grapes were lightly crushed and then fermented in cask (40% new).Decanter | 96 DECAn overtly floral-suffused nose speaks of white orchard fruit, star anise, citrus confit and a subtle exotic tea nuance. The sleek and borderline painfully intense big-bodied flavors possess excellent mid-palate concentration before terminating in a very compact, tightly wound and hugely long finale. This is very backward and almost raw in how primary it is and as such, it would be largely pointless to open a bottle before at least 5 years of age. This beauty possess first-rate potential provided you have the patience.Burghound | 95 BHPale lemon and lime. The bouquet shows all the majesty of this vineyard without the over-ripeness which I have found in some past vintages. 29 hl/ha. Superb intensity with a measured ripeness of fruit from these 48 year old vines, which are ploughed by a horse named Croesus. Stretches out beautifully at the back, with some peachier notes at the finish. Really very persistent indeed. Excellent. Tasted Nov 2021.Jasper Morris | 95-98 JM

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

The 2020 Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru is consistent with my previous tasting in January. Exquisite definition on the nose, real mineralité here. The palate is intense and penetrating, touches of orange zest and spice building wonderfully towards the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 97 VM

Bright and expressive, this white sports apple, lemon, spring meadow and gravel dust flavors. The vibrant structure holds court on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2028. 500 cases made, 75 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This is marvellous. Blain crushes the grapes lightly and avoids sulphur until after malo. His way of working produces this subtle, elegant wine with notes of ripe pear touched with acacia blossom, a touch of smoke and his trademark minerality. The texture is dense but never heavy, and the wine lingers elegantly on the finish. Blain explains the difference between Bâtard and Criot, just across the street: Bâtard has deep clay, while Criots has a stonier soil and one always senses the minerality.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2020 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru comprised just three barrels in this vintage, which is three more than most growers. It was picked on 21 August. There is wonderful tension on the nose with scents of lanolin and fern, beautifully defined and vibrant. The palate is very complex with touches of ginger complementing the citrus fruit, building all the time in the glass and fanning out on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis is relatively firmly reduced so if you’re tempted to try a bottle young, be sure to give it some air first. Otherwise, there is good power and underlying tension to the medium weight plus flavors that retain solid delineation on the impressively long finish. This will need to add depth with time in bottle, but the material is present for that to occur.Burghound | 93 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 Grivot family owns 0.84ha of Echézeaux, mainly in Les Cruots. The grapes are entirely destemmed and given a cold soak before gentle fermentation on native yeasts. The wine is pressed and aged in cask (40% new). The result shows impressive elegance yet is in no way lacking fruit, with a lovely, expressive black cherry and pomegranate quality. The texture is delicate, yet there is impressive concentration, and the red fruit and floral notes linger on the finish. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2050Decanter | 96 DECTouches of bitter chocolate and kirsch are present on the spicy aromas of plum, violet and soft wood. The finer if not denser flavors possess a velvety texture while also coating the palate with dry extract on the dusty and chalky finish that is likewise youthfully austere. I very much like the depth and persistence and this beauty should also age gracefully for as long as most anyone would like.Burghound | 93-96 BHThe 2020 Echézeaux Grand Cru offers mulberry, sous-bois and very subtle star anis aromas on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, quite taut and fresh, linear at the moment with touches of blood orange and Clementine towards the finish. Give this several years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM