Chardonnay Wines

wines

The 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet Chaumées Clos de la Truffières 1er Cru has a crisp, granite and jasmine-scented bouquet that blossoms nicely with aeration. The palate is well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, lightly-spiced, peachy with hints of guava towards the finish. Fine length, this is a delicious, what you might call "mouth-filling" Chassagne-Montrachet.Vinous Media | 92 VM

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

A holding of 0.53ha planted in 1955, vinified and aged with one third new wood. Pale primrose with quite a stylish bouquet, more fruit than floral, definitely encouraging a second sniff. There is an attractive lime blossom note, without the higher alcohol feel of the vintage (though still around 13.8%), sitting back with quality reserve. Long and quite impressive. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 93 JM

Green apple and Mirabelle flavors are cutting and pure on the palate of this richly textured, supple wine. While plush in body and undeniably ripe, it has an edge of lemony acidity alongside streaks of crystalline minerality. Voluptuous yet freshly composed, it’s delightful young but should fare well through 2030. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEPhilippe Colin farms a parcel of mostly 50-year-old vines within Les Chaumées, in the northwest corner of Chassagne, bordering St-Aubin. Given that it is near the top of the hill, where the soils are shallow without much clay, the site produced an impressively cool and expansive 2019, a wine with a long horizon line of flavor touching on sea salt, lime and stone. That stony, flinty character keeps the structure tight, set for long aging.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 94 W&SOnce again there is a petrol note to the more floral and less citrus-infused nose. There is excellent richness to the sappy medium weight flavors that possess just a bit more overall depth and persistence on the balanced finale.Burghound | 90-92 BHButterscotch and citronella aromas and flavors mark this smooth white that’s toasty too, with vivid acidity keeping this focused and driving the long finish. Drink now through 2025. 900 cases made, 120 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

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 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

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

A beautifully layered nose offers up its combination of white orchard, fruit, resin, petrol and ripe citrus. There is impressive concentration to the caressing and generously proportioned but powerful medium-bodied flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the balanced finale. This could use better depth, but more should develop if it’s given a few years of keeping.Burghound | 92 BHale colour, white fruit, with a certain intensity, and there is a little crystalline note behind, a good framework to work from and I like the way this finishes. It began anonymously and ends with personality. Drink from 2025-2029.Jasper Morris | 89-92 JM

Fevre’s Montée de Tonnerre comes from all three sectors. Seguier notes that Pied d’Aloup has the highest marn content, Montée de Tonnerre adds weight and the old Chapelot vines (planted in 1936) add finesse. More closed on the nose. Weighty, concentrated, persistent. Saline notes. Will be a great gourmand wine. Some white flower notes, lots of zesty orange and grapefruit on the palate with a nice touch of white peach. For long ageing.Decanter | 94 DECA discreet dollop of wood sets off the equally cool and perhaps even slightly more elegant aromas of acacia, citrus, seashore and oyster shell. The sleek and highly sophisticated medium-bodied flavors possess a really lovely texture while delivering superb length on the bitter lemon and mineral-suffused finish. This beautifully balanced effort is crystalline in its purity and a wine that should repay a decade plus of keeping.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2021 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru comes from 2.2-hectares split over three climats with different orientations including the domaine’s oldest vines planted back in 1936. This has quite an aromatic bouquet with limestone, oyster shell and yellow plum aromas that blossom in the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, harmonious with commendable weight matched with a countervailing saline element. Bright and sparky, enjoy this delicious Chablis over the next 15 years.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Champgains wafts from the glass with aromas of pear, orange oil, confit lemon and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, layered and open-knit, it’s a fleshy, charming wine that’s giving but lively.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPMore complex aromas consist of rosemary oil, pretty pear essence and whiffs of citrus confit. The utterly delicious and caressing medium-bodied flavors are rich to the point of opulence while coating the palate on the focused and lingering finale. This is very good and particularly so considering the young vines.Burghound | 91 BH

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 beautiful chardonnay with cooked apple, dried mango and mineral character with a pumice undertone. It’s full-bodied with solid tension and a curated finish. Extremely polished and focused. Tensioned. No malo. Made from organic grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSThe aromas are restrained but compelling, influenced perhaps by the herb gardens that grow alongside the vineyard. There is chamomile and verbena together with just a hint of the apricot and mango of ripe California Chardonnay. The palate is equally restrained, refreshingly steely, with a sinewy backbone of acidity supporting ripe yellow tree fruit. Malolactic fermentation was blocked but a plushness exists to the texture from battonage and there is a definite sensation of spongy compression on the mid palate, generous and delicious. The finish is pure-fruited and long. This is a lovely, refreshing wine to drink right now, light on its feet but sinewy as a dancer.Decanter | 94 DECFresh and expressive, featuring Honeycrisp apple, yuzu and lemon blossom flavors that show hints of marzipan and nutmeg, this white offers wonderful restraint and focus. The long, juicy finish reveals a hint of fresh-grated ginger. Drink now through 2030. 1,609 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is terrific. Coming from older vines (planted in 1988), it has a pretty, perfumed nose of lemon curd, ripe melon, and white flowers, as well as a subtle tropical edge. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with a solid spine of acidity and a great finish. It shines for its purity and elegance while still bringing good depth of fruit and concentration.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is sourced from old vines in the Berry Lane vineyard in Coombsville, right next to the Carbone winery. The blocked malo style yields a Chardonnay built on brightness and energy, with lovely citrus, floral and savory accents. This is such a gorgeous wine.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2019 Chardonnay Laurelwood District comes from seven different vineyard sites throughout the appellation. It’s energetic, spicy and mineral-driven this vintage, with transparent aromas of white peach, beeswax, jasmine and flint. The palate pairs spicy fruit with exotic floral undertones. It has a satiny, expansive texture balanced by a spine of shimmery acidity, and it finishes long and expressive.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPA crunchy and bright chardonnay with sliced lemon and honeysuckle, crushed stone and jasmine. Some lime and green mango too. Lovely acidity and hints of tannins give tension and energy to the wine at the finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSThis Chardonnay, made with fruit from the Ponzi family’s original 1970 plantings and a series of Laurelwood District vineyards, is quite a treat. Its floral qualities are almost too numerous to fit into a tasting note. Suffice it to say that honeysuckle, flowering tobacco and lemon catmint provide a heady amount of jasmine and citrus notes. Lighter-bodied, with a smooth mouthfeel, this lovely Chardonnay has flavors of Bosc pear, toasted filberts and a clean sea breeze. The acidity is lively, with a touch of butter on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEA handsome Chardonnay that offers elegantly complex apple and spice flavors, with a steely hint of minerality as this finishes on a vibrant accent. Drink now. 722 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThis perfumed white offers brisk Asian pear and apple blossom notes against a tonic mineral backdrop. It’s a bit more delicate and sheer in style compared to the producer’s more powerful, single-vineyard bottlings but delightfully thirst-quenching. The Laurelwood District in the Chehalem Mountains became an AVA in 2020 based on a petition by the Ponzi family to highlight the region’s deep, wind-blown loess topsoil over decomposed basalt.Decanter | 90 DEC

Droin owns 10ha of AP Chablis. Much more interest here with a deeper hue in the glass and much more interest on the nose. Some greengage on the palate, together with a hint of pear and white peach. Pretty much a benchmark example of what village Chablis should be. Concentration and a lengthy mineral character to finish.Decanter | 92 DECThis is aromatically similar to the Petit Chablis though with more citrus elements in evidence. There is again good richness to the succulent and rounded medium-weight flavors that also exude a refreshing salinity on the clean, moderately dry and sneaky long finish that is slightly firmer.Burghound | 88-91 BHThe 2021 Chablis Village has a fresh nose with Granny Smith apples and a touch of fresh pear. With good balance and acidity, the palate is quite saline in the mouth with veins of orchard fruit, hints of wild peach and citrus peel, delicate and refined on the finish.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

The 2021 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru offers more intensity and precision than the Vaudésir, the wood giving weight but beautifully assimilated, shucked oyster shells emerging. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening, notes of lemon curd and orange pith, building nicely in the mouth towards a suave and lightly spiced finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMOnce again moderate wood is present on the spicy aromas of green fruit and oyster shell-inflected nose. The rich, powerful and broad-shouldered flavors possess a borderline creamy mid-palate texture while exhibiting outstanding length on the sappy and saline finish. Very promising.Burghound | 92-94 BHFrom a site of just over 1ha, Valmur is a colder site giving, as Dron says, a more masculine. Cool, closed on the nose, this will need a lot of time to open up. Oak is a little more apparent here, with very precise acidity. Very linear at the minute, a grand cru with a nose of white flowers, and a palate of great purity. This will need three to four years to open and will be hitting its stride in seven to eight.Decanter | 93 DEC

Here too moderate wood sets off the overtly spicy and ripe aromas of white and yellow peach, iodine and hints of seashore. The sleek, delicious and intense flavors are just a bit more refined, indeed they are almost delicate, while still delivering excellent length on the citrus-tinged finish where a bit of wood slowly emerges.Burghound | 91-94 BHThe 2021 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a taut and fresh bouquet, wonderful mineralité with a hint of smoke and flint coming through. The palate is well balanced with a saline note, fine depth, lemon and a little more lime. Builds nicely in the mouth, a lovely Vaudésir.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMDroin’s Vaudésir comes from just over 1ha with vines planted on both north- and south-facing slopes. A little subdued on the nose and palate, this is a subtle grand cru with plenty of definition, and will blossom with two to three years additional bottle age. No oak.Decanter | 92 DEC

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

Droin’s Montmains site is on a gentle slope with richer, deeper, kimmeridgian marl soils. A colder site, making the wine richer and with great density on the palate. Distinctly more weight than the Vaillons, giving the blend plenty of gravitas. 8-10 months ageing on fine lees adds a creamy character with acidity less pronounced than with the Vaillons. Classy.Decanter | 92 DECAn even more floral-suffused nose speaks of the pretty essence of pear and apple while offering better overall typicity. The palate impression of the middleweight flavors is also plump, round and fleshy with its reasonably persistent, dry and balanced finale that also could use better depth. This attractive effort should be approachable young yet also reward 4 to 7 years of keeping.Burghound | 89-92 BHThe 2021 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru has a classic Chablis-like bouquet with scents of shucked oyster shell and light fumé notes emerging from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a saline, lemon rind infused entry, moderate weight, perhaps not quite as precise as the Vaillons yet with satisfying persistence. Fine.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM