Chardonnay Wines

wines

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 DECThis 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 BHLeflaive’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+ RPA 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

The 2021 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru was taken from tank rather than barrel. This was primal on the nose and difficult to read. The palate is more expressive: finely tuned with a fine bead of acidity, tensile and saline, it does not possess the complexity of Raveneau’s Les Clos tasted an hour or two before, but it has great penetration and a compelling flinty finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMHere too the nose is presently dominated by reduction and wood toast. More interesting are the sleek, intense and ultra-fresh middleweight plus flavors that possess excellent size, richness and power where the latter suffuses the sappy, muscular and saliva-inducing, moderately dry and compact finale. This very promising effort is going to need at least a decade to realize its full potential. Impressive.Burghound | 92-95 BH

The one-hectare parcel that constitutes the 2021 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru yielded five barrels this year. This also has a heavy reduction and is quite yeasty at the moment. The palate is well balanced with a marine-influenced entry, flecks of white chocolate complementing the citrus fruit with a longer finish than the Blanchot. Fine sour lemon mixed with orange rind on the aftertaste. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

TOP QUALITY PRODUCER Brocard’s 7 Lieux Grand Cru Preuses is a magnificent wine in the making. Although there is plenty of ripeness on display this regal grand cru is cool, crisp and supremely elegant. An aristocratic feel here, with great focus and lingering minerality to finish. From Domaine Brocard vines, all the components are in place to allow this to develop glacially for 15-20 years.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2021 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru is curiously just a little innocuous on the nose at the moment. I wonder if this might be going through a dumb phase? The palate is harmonious on the entry with orange peel and light peachy nose, slightly honeyed in texture, and it captures the spiciness that I seek from Les Preuses. Maybe not quite the length that you would obtain from a top vintage, but a finely made Chablis.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMThis is also quite aromatically elegant with its array of green fruit, cool citrus, wet stone and spice. The medium-weight flavors are at once seductive yet powerful with solid volume while coating the palate on the clean, dry and lingering finish that is borderline simple. This has the stuffing to age and improve up to a decade so more depth should reasonably develop if given a few years.Burghound | 90-92 BH

A touch of fresh, ripe lemon zest is all that peeps though on this wine’s shy and closed nose. More air reveals lovely hints of petrichor and chalk. The palate is rounded and textured. Yeastiness and chalky depth align themselves to bright, ripe lemon, and the lemony chalkiness lasts beautifully. Drink by 2040.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEShowing rather more of a rich, toastier style, this has some driving mineral characters underneath with lovely concentration. The freshness imparted by the east-facing, steeply-sloping face of Blanchot contrasts with the warmth and ripeness of the 2019 vintage. A Grand Cru which has a fine balance of richness, power and structure, that is already drinking very well. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030.Decanter | 93 DEC

A ripe and beautifully layered nose consists of notes of green fruit, citrus, iodine and mineral reduction. The powerful, rich and voluminous big-bodied flavors possess fine mid-palate density that coats the palate with sap before concluding in an austere, long and vaguely rustic finale. This is an imposing Bougros that should age effortlessly over the next decade plus.Burghound | 92-94 BHAromas of aniseed and lemon rind with dried apple and pear follow through to a full body. Yet, it’s tight and layered with a compact palate and plenty of fruit. Needs time to open. Try after 2023.James Suckling | 94 JSThis is not the legendary Côte de Bouguerots bottling, but the regular Bougros – which still stood out alongside its peers. The fruit shows grand cru weight and the sunshine quality of the vintage, juicy but well balanced, while the crystalline purity of the finish sets this wine apart.Jasper Morris | 94 JMAromas of crisp green orchard fruit, clear honey, peach, mint and buttery pastry introduce the 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, a full-bodied, ample and enveloping wine that’s one of the more textural, dramatic wines in the range. Unusually deep and concentrated, its immediate, charming profile belies considerable aging potential this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPVibrant, this white combines green apple and citrus flavors with an iodide element. This is lean and intense, with a lingering citrus and mineral aftertaste. Drink now through 2027. 70 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

In spite of the ripe-orange and exotic-fruit character that pours from the glass, there’s nothing superficial about this wine. Thanks to its generosity and very attractive fruit, this makes a very friendly initial impression on the palate, then the intense minerality comes through, building to a serious crescendo at the very fresh finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSA rich, opulent white, this features lemon cake, lime blossom, baking spice and stone flavors. Though intense, there’s also a sense of restraint, yet the finish is long and complex. Drink now through 2027. 630 cases made, 66 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Domaine du Pavillon (Pommard) - Domaines Albert Bichot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White) Smoky aromas of Granny Smith apples, acacia and a plethora of citrus influences are trimmed in discreet wood influence. There is fine volume to the delicious and almost creamy larger-scaled flavors that brim with both dry extract and minerality on the lemon-tinged and youthfully austere finale. This compact and serious effort should definitely benefit from mid-term or perhaps even a decade of cellaring. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 93 BHBichot has 1.2ha in Languettes, high on the slope, with a south/south-east exposition. The southern exposition is of major importance here, if one is to avoid over-ripeness. In 2019, the wine has very exotic, almost tropical aromas, while on the palate the texture is dense and creamy, and the ripe pear fruit touched with honey is even more apparent. A wine of luxurious charm. Drinking Window 2024 - 2039.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes from 1.2 hectares of vines in Les Longuettes. Matured in 35% new oak, it has a perfumed nose of yellow fruit, nectarine and peach skin aromas. The palate is well balanced with a light pineapple and passion fruit opening and well-judged acidity. Very harmonious, with a gentle landing on the finish. Maybe it is missing some tension and nerve, but the flavors are irresistible. Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is showing nicely, opening in the glass with scents of pear, orange oil, clear honey, blanched almonds and fresh bread. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and textural, it’s rich and fleshy, with bright acids girdling its enveloping core of fruit.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RP(Domaine Follin-Arbelet Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White) A mildly oaky nose features aromas of green apple, citrus blossom and white-fleshed fruit. The sleek, delicious and more concentrated bigger-bodied flavors brim with minerality and particularly so on the muscular, powerful and sneaky long finish. This will need a few years to better integrate the wood treatment but given the density of material, that should be no problem. In sum, this is quite promising. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 93 BH

Fresh, cooling tones of lemon and grapefruit are accented by burnt butterscotch in this robust yet sharply honed white. Reflective of an intensely hot vintage, it’s broad shouldered and weighty yet firmly anchored by a steely, smoky mineral undertow. Tight in youth, the wine should mature beautifully and be at peak from 2024 through 2035.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2019 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru has an intense bouquet that shrugs off the reduction to deliver crushed pebbles and honeysuckle and jasmine scents. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh. The elegant finish just needs to develop a little more persistence on the aftertaste. But overall, this is very promising.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMPlump and also juicy, this white borders on orange framing the core peach and melon flavors. A mineral note grounds this version as it plays out on the lingering finish. Fine balance, with a lemon aftertaste. Drink now through 2026.Wine Spectator | 92 WSAn expressive and decidedly ripe yet fresh nose reflects notes of honey, dried yellow orchard fruit and just enough Chablis typicity to make one remember where this is from. There is fine volume and richness to the palate soaking medium-bodied flavors that are shaped by bright acidity on the dry, youthfully austere and lingering finale. The nose is certainly not classic but I very much like the palate impression.Burghound | 91 BH

Such a classic Corton Charlemagne! Stunningly concentrated and powerful, but also so graceful. Very racy at the long finish, which has so much mineral freshness. Takes your breath away! Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is also quite promising, exhibiting aromas of pear, buttered citrus fruit, honeycomb, toasted almonds and white flowers. Full-bodied, satiny and rich, with a fleshy core of fruit and good underlying freshness, I hope it can repeat this fine performance from bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93+ RP(Maison Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White) More elegant and cooler aromas are comprised by green apple, floral, citrus rind, wood and spice hints. The delicious and more vibrant broad-shouldered flavors are more tightly wound and certainly more mineral-driven on the youthfully austere and sneaky long finish. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 91-93 BH

Fullish yellow. The complex nose shows the power of the vintage, a few drier tannins behind, fair acidity. I find this backward and difficult to judge. I think the Clos character is there, but it is reticent today. The palate does deliver detail and layers of fruit though. The finish does also suggest the necessary class. Really good length here.Jasper Morris | 94 JM

Ample but not dominant wood doesn’t completely mask the equally exotic white and yellow orchard fruit scents that exhibit enough Chablis typicity to be persuasive. There is once again very impressive volume and mid-palate density to the long, caressing and balanced finale where a refreshing touch of bitter lemon character slowly emerges. This is a powerful Preuses that will require at least a few years to fully integrate the wood treatment and to develop more overall depth.Burghound | 94 BHThe 2019 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru has a clean, precise bouquet, quite tight at the moment but displaying focus and admirable delineation. The palate is well balanced with a crisp line of acidity, fresh and vibrant, tapering away a little toward the finish, which offers bright citrus fruit laced with orange peel and truffle but needs a tad more depth and grip.Vinous Media | 91 VMA lean, wiry white, with a touch of oak spice framing apple, lemon and lanolin flavors. It’s bracing and moderately long. Drink now through 2025. 90 cases made, 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Bursting from the glass with aromas of peach, pear, fresh mint, baking spices, pastry cream, toasted almonds and white flowers, Ramonet’s 2019 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with a generous core of fruit, ripe acids and a long, expansive finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

I generally have a slight preference for Dauvissat’s Les Preuses, a preference I suspect Vincent Dauvissat shares, but the 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, at least at this early stage, gets my nod as the king of the cellar—and the wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, fresh bread, oyster shell, white flowers and wet stones, it’s full-bodied, layered and textural, with huge concentration, racy acids and a long, resonant finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP(Chablis “les Clos”- Domaine Vincent Dauvissat) The 2020 les Clos from Monsieur Dauvissat is every bit as brilliant as the les Preuses. The nose soars from the glass in a blend of apple, pear, lime zest, a stunning base of flinty, chalky, wet stone minerality and oyster shell, vanillin oak and a topnote of fruit blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off a gorgeous core of fruit, but the real beauty here is in the stunningly complex base of minerality, coupled with vibrant acids, impeccable focus and grip and a very, very long, dancing and seamlessly balanced finish. A stunning wine in the making. (Drink between 2032-2085)John Gilman | 98 JGThe 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru displays a little more depth and complexity than the Les Preuses. Touches of yellow plum, orange blossom, flint and light white tea scents percolate through with aeration. The palate is very intense on the entry and a bit richer than the Les Preuses. The harmonious, intense, well-defined finish lingers long in the mouth, leaving a spicy, peppery residue on the aftertaste. Excellent.Vinous Media | 95-97 VM(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis - Les Clos Grand Cru White) While not quite as elegant, the restrained nose is even more floral and a bit spicier as well with its array of anise, smoke, tea, oyster shell and iodine-scented aromas. There is more size, weight and power if not the same refinement to the more evidently mineral-driven big-bodied flavors that coat the palate on the driving, balanced and youthfully austere finish. This terrific effort is also a legitimate candidate for wine of the vintage honors. (Drink starting 2032)Burghound | 93-96 BH

This is produced from a 0.32ha parcel that lies right on the border between Puligny and Chassagne. The wine also seems to be a balance between the two, with a bit of the power and depth of the Chassagne side, opposite some of the silky finesse and elegance of Puligny. Fermented and aged in 50% new wood, this is a wine that has a seamless integration of citrus and orchard fruit, floral notes, and a richer, creamy, buttery side that will age spectacularly well over time. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.Decanter | 96 DEC

This wine exhibits strength as well as richness. With a dense texture and powerful, warm yellow- and white-fruit flavors, its ripe character is supported by toast and a tight structure. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2019 Chablis Les Blanchots Grand Cru is very well defined on the nose, where sea spray and oyster shell notes combine with citrus aromas. Hints of green olive emerge with time. The well-defined palate is taut on the entry, with hints of chai tea and chamomile infusing the white peach and citrus notes, and builds nicely toward a very composed finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 94 VMLaroche owns 11 acres of Blanchots, a cru named for the layer of white clay over Chablis’s Kimmeridgian limestone. That clay helps retain some moisture, which may be why this particular grand cru shows so beautifully in 2019. It’s as full as you would expect from the heat of the season, but the dynamic energy of the wine sustains freshness and buoys the broad flavors of yellow apple and puff pastry. It’s generous in spirit, without being overwhelming in alcohol. Lush and delicious, it lasts on floral apple and tangy white cranberry notes. A keeper.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThe 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots wafts from the glass with notions of crisp orchard fruit, white peach, apple blossom, toasted almonds and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, concentrated and reserved, with good cut and back-end grip, it concludes with a long, delicately honeyed finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP

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

The 2020 Chablis Hommage a Louis Grand Cru has an already irresistible bouquet of beautifully defined yellow fruit, limestone, red apple and white peachy aromas. The palate is very harmonious, distinctly saline and quite powerful. The intense, spicy finish lingers in the mouth. This will surely vie with the Valmur for supremacy come bottling. Outstanding.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMAs a result of an ongoing dispute with the INAO—who contend that part of the Droin family’s historic parcel of Les Clos, named as such on the cadastre and always labeled accordingly, is in fact Valmur—the domaine’s Clos is appearing this year as the 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Hommage à Louis. Exhibiting aromas of fresh orchard fruit, peach, honeycomb, toasted nuts and bee pollen, it’s full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with a seamless, multidimensional profile and a long, expansive finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPHere too the fresh, cool and restrained nose is largely dominated by notes of smoky mineral reduction, acacia blossom, citrus rind and soft wood. There is excellent intensity to the admirably pure middleweight plus flavors that exude an inviting salinity on the detailed and hugely long finish that also displays a hint of bitter lemon character. This is also mouthcoating and dense and a wine that should reward extended keeping.Burghound | 94 BH

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 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru opens in the glass with aromas of confit citrus, pear, freshly baked bread, hazelnuts, pastry cream and white flowers. Full-bodied, ample and seamless, it’s layered and concentrated, with lively acids and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RP

The 2021 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 2.5-hectares from parcels located from the bottom to the top of the slope, 20% fermented in new oak and aged entirely in wood. It has quite a powerful bouquet; although, I think it would have been a little more sharp with some proportion raised in stainless steel. The palate is well balanced with good weight, a subtle nuttiness on the entry, notes of orange rind and citrus peel; the 2021 is quite linear on the finish and lingers nicely in the mouth. I think this will gain complexity by the time it is bottled next year.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

15 hl/ha despite the best efforts of a wine turbine and bonfire which I saw in action at 4.30a.m. on a cold snowy morning. Pale colour, backward nose, white flowers perhaps. This has a fine balanced fruit, actually sweeter and riper, then oakier behind, with an attractive mineral thread. Needs a little freshening, which will happen before bottling Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMA more restrained nose grudgingly reflects its aromas of strong petrol and mineral reduction with background hints of citrus zest and oak. There is fine mid-palate density to the tautly muscular broad-shouldered flavors that also exude evident minerality on the tightly coiled, lingering and balanced finale. This could use better depth so like the En Caradeux, at least a few years of keeping should prove beneficial.Burghound | 92 BH

The 2021 Chablis Bougros Grand Cru, 80% aged in oak, has a delightful bouquet with orchard fruit, lemon verbena and orange pith scents that burst from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite precise with a welcome touch of bitter lemon that keeps the finish on edge. Not a long-term Bougros perhaps, but finely crafted. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 93 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