Chardonnay Wines

wines

Restrained aromas of spice, mineral reduction and poached pear are also trimmed in just enough wood to merit pointing out. The delicious, round and caressing flavors also possess a fleshy mouthfeel while delivering fine length on the citrus rind inflected finish. This isn’t quite as energetic and there is a touch of warmth though the balance does not seem to be materially affected.Burghound | 91 BHThe 2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne reveals aromas of orchard fruit, smoke, bread dough and white flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and lively palate that’s open-knit and elegantly textural.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

The 2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne exhibits aromas of pear, peach, fresh mint, toasted nuts and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, ample and charming, with an open, giving profile and a bright, saline finish, it has turned out nicely.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPOnce again there is a smoky component to the pretty and cool aromas of ripe citrus confit, essence of pear and plenty of floral wisps. There is slightly better concentration to the palate coating middle weight flavors that exude more evident minerality on the youthfully austere, focused and nicely lingering finale. This too should amply repay mid-term keeping yet be reasonably approachable after only 2 to 3 years.Burghound | 91 BH

Fevre’s Vaulorent is just a little more precise on the nose. Seguier says it is always elegant, always fresh. Fevre’s take on this renowned premier cru has an understated nose yet you can feel the power within. Lovely ripeness of fruit, but all in a very compact package at the moment. Although this is disarmingly approachable now, this will be a wine to cellar carefully, allowing all the perfectly formed components to blossom.Decanter | 95 DECA much less expressive nose, indeed it is all but mute, requires aggressive swirling to eventually coax aromas of white orchard fruit, citrus blossom and seawater. The richer and slightly more powerful flavors also possess a sophisticated mouthfeel along with excellent depth and persistence on the balanced finale where a touch of youthful austerity slowly emerges. In a word, terrific.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2021 Chablis Vaulorent 1er Cru comes from 3.60-hectares, of course, the only Premier Cru on the same incline as the Grand Crus. The soils here are very marn. It has an energetic petrichor, slightly fumé bouquet that is very well focused. The palate is well balanced, taut and fresh with fine acidity, lemon verbena and citrus peel emerging towards the finish. Delightful, though the Montée de Tonnerre has just a little more harmony.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

(Chablis Montmains 1er Cru, Domaine William Fèvre, White) From all three sections of the vineyard as usual. Racy lemon colour. Pure crystalline nose, very little reduction, very classical left bank Chablis, very intense but neither heavy nor exotic. The kimmeridgian is speaking underneath a graceful layer of flesh. Fruit and stones both keep coming back at the finish.Jasper Morris | 92-95A wine from a selection of sites over 3.9ha in Butteaux, Forêts and Montmains. Butteaux is very cold and mineral, while Forêts is elegant and floral. Great precision and focus here, allied with crystalline citrus fruits on the palate. Shows density, but is also very fresh, with lovely mineral characters on the finish. A highly successful Montmains.Decanter | 93 DECHere too the nose is elegant, pure and layered but with more floral and spice nuances adding breadth to the cooler and more restrained aromas. There is both excellent intensity and density to the mineral-driven flavors that terminate in a bone-dry, sneaky long and balanced finale. This too is really very good.Burghound | 91-93 BHConsisting of roughly equal parts Montmains, Butteaux and Forêts (the three sous-climats of Montmains), the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains offers up aromas of crisp green apple, white flowers, bee pollen and oyster shell. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, it’s taut and precise, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP(Chablis “Montmains”- Domaine William Fèvre) The 2020 Montmains here is also lovely, with perhaps just a bit more definition and complexity than in the Beauroy. The nose is pure and bright, offering up scents of apple, tart orange, wet stone minerality, citrus peel, dried flowers and a nice shading of oyster shell. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and racy in personality, with fine focus and grip, a lovely core and a long, minerally and beautifully balanced finish. A lovely example. (Drink between 2026 - 2055)John Gilman | 92+ JGThe 2020 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru comes from 3.8 hectares of vines over 12 parcels and offers pressed white flower scents and a touch of crushed rock. The well-defined palate features red apple mixed with subtle spicy notes that dovetail into a generous, leesy finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2020 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru has a more powerful bouquet than its peers with scents of orange blossom, Nashi pear and an underlying gunflint note trying to surface. The palate is well balanced with orange rind and a touch of peach skin on the entry. Very poised and harmonious with impressive volume, I admire its tension and persistence on the saline finish. This will not require much bottle maturation, yet it has the substance to last 15-20 years. Excellent. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 93 VM

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

This creamy version is laced with peach, lemon cake and sweet spice aromas and flavors, with a floral accent adding lift. Balanced and long. Drink now through 2025. 320 cases made, 106 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA softly toasty mix of white and yellow peach, acacia and spice also displays plenty of phenolic character. The slightly finer medium weight flavors possess really lovely vibrancy and an appealing mid-palate texture that contrast with the powerful, serious and robust finale that offers impressive depth and persistence. This won’t win any awards for refinement, but it is impressive all the same.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2019 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru comes from vines on the upper slopes of the vineyard and cropped at 25hl/ha instead of the 40hl/ha the Meursault Village enjoyed. The nose features clear honey, clementine and light saffron aromas. The palate is well balanced with a slightly tangy, marmalade-tinged entry, good weight and a harmonious finish that just needs a little more complexity given the vineyard. Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

An interesting nose of decidedly ripe citrus tart, poached pear and discreet spice nuances. There is again fine volume to the nicely detailed medium-bodied flavors that possesses good underlying tension, all wrapped in a lingering and lemony finish that isn’t quite as complex.Burghound | 90 BH

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 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Les Quatre Climats is a multi-climat blend mandated due to the frost. It has a well-defined, quite minerally nose, focused and gaining complexity with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a brisk opening, orange rind and lemon peel, a dab of lemongrass with a simple but persistent finish. Enjoy this over the next decade.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

Droin’s vines have an average age of 50 years with 1.75ha on Kimmeridgian marl with some blue-clay (Marne-bleu). As expected from Montée de Tonnerre, this has more power on the palate but also displays a remarkable balance between weight and elegance - ’complet’ as Benoit Droin says. It would be a shame to drink this before 2-3 years and it will keep a very long time. Finishes with a vibrant hit spicy zesty fruit.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2021 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has perhaps the most austere bouquet amongst Droin’s Premier Crus, though it is very defined with subtle struck flint notes coming through. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh, superb acidity with real weight and concentration on the finish. Another superb wine from Droin this year.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMModerately generous wood stops short of fighting with the ripe white orchard fruit, wet stone and spice that also display just enough Chablis typicity to be interesting. A highly sophisticated mouthfeel suffuses the solidly dense middleweight flavors where an almost pungent minerality adds a sense of lift to the attractively dry and sneaky long finale. This beauty is a combination of power and refinement that should age effortlessly.Burghound | 91-94 BH

A rich style, this white features lemon, peach and spice flavors, all backed by bright acidity. Balanced, leaving a chalky, even tannic impression on the long finish. Best from 2021 through 2029. 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSIf you like bold dry whites, then try this. Quite a tannic white Burgundy, but with richness that has a very positive impact on the wine. Plenty of citrus, plus some hazelnut and chalky character. Some real drive at the finish that promises a long life. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSIt’s always interesting to compare and contrast Albert Bichot’s Clos des Mouches white with the one from Joseph Drouhin, as this comes from a slightly higher parcel on the slope. The oak is a little more clamorous here and needs more time to integrate, but this is tauter and crunchier with a little less in terms of mid-palate weight. Drinking Window 2020 - 2024.Decanter | 92 DEC(Domaine du Pavillon (Pommard) - Domaines Albert Bichot Beaune "Clos des Mouches" 1er Cru White) An overtly floral nose offers up notes of pearl, apple and citrus where the latter can also be found on the round, delicious and once again generously proportioned medium-bodied flavors that deliver perfectly good if not truly distinguished depth though I do like the length. Note that my rating once again offers the benefit of the doubt that more complexity will develop if this is allowed a few years of cellar time. (Drink starting 2022)Burghound | 90 BH

(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis "Montée de Tonnerre" 1er Cru White) A vague hint of the exotic is present on the wonderfully elegant lemony white orchard fruit scented nose that reflects additional notes of mineral reduction and oyster shell. The notably finer medium-bodied flavors possess excellent punch on the mineral-driven and chiseled finish that goes on and on. This is lovely and while it too will need better depth, the aging curve is sufficiently promising that I am optimistic that more complexity will develop over the next decade. In a word, terrific. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 94 BHThe 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is the sixth vintage that Dauvissat has produced of this climat, and he observes that it's one of the few parcels he exploits that isn't planted with the family's proprietary massale selections. Exhibiting notions of citrus oil, fresh bread, iodine and warm pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and lively, with fine tension at the core and a long, mineral finish. It's the most approachable while young of these premiers crus.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2019 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru comes from the domaine’s single 0.30-hectare parcel. It has a refined, very classic Chablis nose with wet pavement and light nutty aromas that remain discreetly in the background. The palate is slightly honeyed on the entry, spiced with touches of stem ginger, and delivers good depth, leading into an edgy, saline, powerful finish. You will probably have to give this 3–4 years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

A holding of 0.22ha planted in 2004, next to Sauzet, Carillon and Latour-Giraud. This is a very early site, usually where the harvest starts chez Pernot-Belicard. Pale primrose, light toast, one third new wood, giving a crisp edge to the rich white fruit. Plenty of weight here, a little on the powerful side, but long and satisfying. There is a useful little touch of acidity too. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 92 JM

The domaine purchased 0.19ha in 2011 without knowing the vine age, though probably around 40 years old. Paler colour and quite light on the nose, lightly biscuity, then the palate delivers a greater weight of white fruit with a little cream. One third new wood, only a little warmth at the back. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

Produced from vines planted in 1920 in an east/southeast-facing premier cru, de Suremain’s finest white is the 2017 Rully 1er Cru Pillot L’intemporelle, a striking wine that offers up attractive aromas of confit citrus, crisp green orchard fruit and almond paste. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with racy acids and a promising sense of tension and structural reserve. It’s well worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Aromas of stone fruits, citrus zest, toasted nuts and smoke introduce the 2020 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Pièce Sous Le Bois, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and lively wine that’s bright and mineral, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPA background hint of smoke is present on the cool and fresh citrus-suffused aromas of mostly apple and pear that exhibit a floral top note. The moderately voluminous medium-bodied flavors possess a caressing mouthfeel while exuding a subtle bead of minerality on the dry, lemony and sneaky long finale. This too could easily be enjoyed after only 2 to 3 years of bottle aging.Burghound | 90 BH

A cool and airy nose is less exotic than it usually is though there is a trace of it on the ripe white and yellow fruit suffused aromas. Once again there is both good density and power to the medium weight flavors that also possess an abundance of sappy dry extract along with plenty of salinity on the moderately structured, complex and sneaky lengthy finish.Burghound | 92 BH

The complex nose of candied citrus, flint, hazelnut and toasty oak leads you into this impressively rich and concentrated dry white for Pernand-Vergelesses. Very focused, super-elegant finish that has so much life. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSAn open-textured white, with apple, almond and baking spice flavors. Leans to the oxidative side, but there’s ample acidity and this actually picks up energy on the finish, turning more minerally and focused. Decant. Drink now through 2028. 500 cases made, 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA touch of new wood influence is present on the fresh mix of white and yellow peach, citrus confit and anise hints. The round, rich and enveloping flavors also possess an attractive texture as well as better depth and persistence on the clean and dry finale.Burghound | 91 BH