Chardonnay Wines

wines

Vestiges of malolactic fermentation presently mask the underlying fruit. On the plus side there is more volume still to the attractively textured medium weight flavors that brim with dry extract on the mineral-inflected, dry and focused finish. This is at once powerful yet refined and should also age well but be enjoyable young.Burghound | 89-92 BHLumpp opines that the stony, southeast-facing slopes of this lieu-dit represent Givry’s best terroir for white wine, and his 2016 Givry 1er Cru Crausot is certainly impressive, revealing fragrant aromas of white peaches and spring blossom, followed by a medium-bodied, elegantly glossy palate, with lovely purity and stony depth. It has the structure to improve with a few years’ bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

There are fully 125 barrels of the 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet Village, a lovely wine in the making that reveals aromas of warm bread, citrus oil, fresh peach and dried white flowers. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and nicely concentrated, with fine cut and a well-defined finish. That there’s so much volume this year is great news for Moreau fans.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RP(Domaine Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet Villages White) Discreet wood influence sets off the ripe aromas of various white-fleshed fruit along with hints of matchstick and lemon rind. The rich and relatively full-bodied flavors possess both good detail and punch, all wrapped in a less refined but notably more complex finale. This is a quality Chassagne villages. (Drink starting 2023).Burghound | 89-91 BH(Chassagne-Montrachet- Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils) The 2018 Chassagne villages here was all ready for bottling and was just settling in for another month or so prior to its mise. The wine had been assembled at the end of July and fined the last week of October, so it was showing very well in mid-November. The nose is pure and very floral this year, offering up a fine blend of pear, apple, a lovely base of soil, lemon blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and succulent at the core, with a zesty girdle of acidity, lovely focus and grip and impressive backend mineral drive on the complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2020-2045).John Gilman | 91 JG

Burgundy insiders have known for some time that this is one of the region’s great bargains, a ’simple’ village Auxey-Duresses that’s as tasty as many Côte de Beaune Premiers Crus. With notes of fresh lemons, aromatic baking spices, chalk dust and scented 10% new oak, it has wonderful weight and concentration and a mineral-etched finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2026.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2018 Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Hautés has turned out brilliantly, offering up aromas of crisp Anjou pear, blanched almonds, white flowers, pastry cream and struck flint. Medium to full-bodied, it’s deep and layered, built around an elegantly muscular chassis of chalky dry extract and underpinned by lively acids. Its almost tannic grip lends it supplemental freshness and structure in this warm vintage. This is another brilliant wine from Jean-Marc Vincent.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPVery fresh and elegant with a fine, citrus, pear and peach feel and a chalky and mineral nose and palate. Powerful, driving and focused palate here. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

The 2022 Viré-Clessé Breillonde is aged two-thirds in demi-muids and the rest in stainless steel. This has a slightly cooler and more malic bouquet than the regular Viré-Clessé. There’s some reserve here, so it will demand more coaxing. The palate is well balanced with a dab of dried honey and stem ginger on the entry. Quite a pithy Viré-Clessé complex with a very keen line of acidity that cuts through the waxy finish. There’s a hint of Muscat on the aftertaste. This is a great wine, and it should age well over the next 12-15 years.Vinous Media | 91 VM

An elegant, pure and more floral nose offers up its combination of green apple, prominent citrus and crushed fennel nuances. There is borderline painful intensity to the appealingly textured medium weight flavors that exude a subtle minerality, chiseled, balanced and long finish that is quite dry but not really austere. This is an excellent Puligny villages that is also worth strong consideration.Burghound | 90-93 BHA pale colour with a slight green tint. The nose is more complex than the Bourgogne without suggesting much greater power. Here it is the elegance which counts, fresh white fruit with fines herbes. More lemon than lime in its citrus notes. Medium plus length. Drink from 2025-2028. Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

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

The 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Champgains unwinds in the glass with notes of pear, toasted nuts, honeycomb and light reduction, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate that’s attractively textural and enveloping.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPModerate reduction once again masks everything but citrus hints. On the palate there is excellent richness and concentration to the very generously proportioned medium-bodied flavors that are at once succulent but punchy, all wrapped in a lingering, dry and balanced finale. This could also use better depth but more should reasonable develop if given a chance. I would also note that this is already sufficiently pliant that it could be approached after only 3 to 4 years if desired.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers is pure and precise, revealing aromas of pear, crisp green apple, mint and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with racy acids and a saline finish, it will age with grace.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPA hint of reduction shaves the high notes from the otherwise pretty citrus, pear and soft floral scents. There is less volume but notably better refinement to the delicious, vibrant and well-detailed flavors that possess a suave mouthfeel while delivering fine length on the clean, bright and balanced finale that isn’t quite as complex, at least not yet.Burghound | 91 BH

Once again there is a coolness to the pure and pretty aromas of various white orchard fruit, floral and subtle lemon zest wisps. There is excellent density to the rich and powerful medium weight plus flavors that conclude in a bone-dry, youthfully austere and impressively long finish. Like several wines in the range, this will need to develop better depth to merit my rating but that should reasonably occur in time.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot reveals aromas of pear, white flowers, freshly baked bread and beeswax, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and fleshy palate that’s vibrant and layered. This year, it includes Les Fairendes, which is sometimes bottled separately.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

A fine Chablis which manages to be both powerful and concentrated, yet still retains a lovely lift. Plenty of acidity and distinctive mineral flavours on the palate, along with some spiced, confit lemon character to finish. Will age well.Decanter | 93 DECDauvissat’s 2020 Chablis bursts with aromas of crisp green apple, white flowers, wet stones, oyster shell and struck match. Medium to full-bodied, taut and racy, it’s deep and incisive, with impeccable Chablisien credentials and a long, intensely mineral finish. As usual, it’s the reference point for the appellation.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe Dauvissat family’s 2020 Chablis AC is also excellent, showing of the purity of the vintage on both the nose and palate. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a stylish blend of lemon, pear, a lovely base of limestone, just a touch of iodine and a topnote of paraffin. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and vibrant, with a fine core, excellent wet stone mineral drive, bright acids and impeccable balance on the long, focused and complex finish. This has a bit more mid-palate depth than the Petit Chablis and will have a far longer shelf life. Fine juice. (Drink between 2024 - 2045)John Gilman | 91 JGThe 2020 Chablis Village has a fragrant orange blossom bouquet, delicate at first, then gaining in intensity and revealing touches of white tea. The palate is well balanced with markedly more weight than the Petit Village. A very subtle spearmint trait toward the finish lends another layer of complexity. This only just has its nose ahead of the Petit Chablis.Vinous Media | 88-90 VMA more restrained but equally fresh nose features notes of green fruit, oyster shell and lemon-lime wisps along with a very subtle dollop of menthol. There is excellent intensity to the sleek, detailed and delicious medium-weight flavors that terminate in a clean, dry and sneaky long finish. Excellent quality here for its level.Burghound | 90 BHThis feels like quite a big step up. More density, pure white fruit, super balance here, and admirable persistence. Above all a sense of harmony. A classic Vincent Dauvissat Chablis to be appreciated over the next decade. Drink from 2024-2030. Tasted: June 2022.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

This is also aromatically cool and almost as reticent with its airy aromas of white pepper, mineral reduction, essence of pear and a suggestion of wood influence. The gorgeously textured medium weight flavors possess an even more developed sense of refinement while exhibiting fine length on the quinine, stony and bitter lemon zest-suffused finale. This is lovely and a Vaillons of finesse in 2022.Burghound | 90-93 BHThe 2021 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru had been blended the previous week, during which a majority of the lees is kept. Often one of my favorite cuvées from William Fevre, the entrancing bouquet has impressive intensity on the nose. The palate is well-balanced with lemon verbena and touches of pear, a fine sense of energy and composure, and a persistent finish. This already looks very promising.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMTypical Vaillons perfume and freshness. Precise but with good weight and precision. A classy Vaillons which will drink well when young but will also age. Fèvre owns 3.5ha, with 50% in Vaillons, and the rest spread between Chatains, Roncière and Melinots. Early harvest here.Decanter | 92 DEC

A beautifully layered nose freely reveals its aromas of wet stone, apple, pear and full-on floral scents. There is even better mid-palate density to the seductively textured medium weight flavors that possess more evident minerality on the bone-dry and distinctly linear finale that is shaped by overtly citrus-tinged acidity. This will need a few years to develop better depth.Burghound | 90-93 BHThe Sauzet team run the vineyards then purchase the grapes. Pretty and lively colour with a fine floral bouquet, a touch of spring flowers. Punchy in a good way, lemon and lime flavours but with adequate ripeness, leaves an attractive tingle on the tongue and medium plus length. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMThe 2021 Clos de la Garenne from Domaine Sauzet is excellent. The wine offers up a very stylish aromatic constellation of pink grapefruit, lemon, limestone minerality, citrus blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and vibrant, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent mineral drive and grip, a fine girdle of acidity and a long, properly reserved finish. This is going to be an excellent bottle, but it will need a bit of bottle age before it starts to blossom. (Drink between 2026 - 2055)John Gilman | 92 JGThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru is quite backward on the nose, mineral-driven, slightly flinty in style. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, perhaps just a bit too much lime on the finish compared to other cuvées? Yet it should drink well for 10-12 years.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

More lemon than lime in the colour. Not much bouquet at first sniff. On the palate, this opens out further, a lovely sense of harmony, just ripe fruit, with a good point of mineral acidity, and a persistent aftertaste. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts is lovely, bursting with aromas of pear, green apple, confit citrus, freshly baked bread and toasted nuts. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy, with an envelopingly textural attack that segues into a pure, mineral palate, it’s seamless and harmonious.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru has a delightful bouquet with green apple, nectarine, and subtle wet pavement scents, quite generous in style with a hint of praline. The palate is taut and fresh, with very fine tension. It is one of the most citric cuvées from Sauzet with a flinty, slightly reductive finish, suggesting it will require a couple of years in a bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

A surprising degree of green to the colour. A light but fine bouquet, all quite discreet, then rather more fruit intensity on the palate, quite linear but not without a little flesh on the bones. Apples washed with lime. Fine and elegant finish. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMAromas of pear, green apple, mint and nutmeg introduce Sauzet’s 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne, a medium to full-bodied, satiny wine with good depth at the core and an attractively mordant finish. It’s a cuvée produced with purchased grapes from a parcel farmed and harvested by the Sauzet team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru has distant scents of sea spray and estuarine notes on the nose, neatly combined with the green apples. The palate is well-balanced, with the 15% new oak judiciously used to lend a little more creaminess in texture towards the lightly spiced finish. It just needs more nerve and mineralité overall.Vinous Media | 89-92 VM

The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Truffières 1er Cru has a precise, slightly flinty bouquet that exudes typicité. Hints of oyster shell emerge with time in the glass. The palate is (again) precise with a killer line of acidity, very fresh and linear. One of Sauzet’s most elegant Puligny wines, this vintage with a persistent saline aftertaste. Superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMPure lemon yellow. The bouquet is delicious, softly ripe fruit, no citrus here. This is rather special as well, but not quite as nuanced as the Sauzet Champ Canet and with a little more yellow fruit. There is plenty of weight here, even a touch of bacon fat, perhaps not quite the length of my very favourites. Slightly more massive in style. Drink from 2027-2036. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Truffière reveals notes of yellow orchard fruit, nutmeg, orange zest, honeycomb and iodine, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that’s layered and saline. This parcel tends to suffer in warm, dry vintages to such an extent that Riffault intends to increase the height of his trellising here.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-92 RP

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

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

The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean has also turned out well, unfurling with aromas of pear, orange oil, white flowers and fresh pastry. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and nicely defined, its fleshy core of fruit balanced by juicy acids.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPWhiffs of smoky reduction overshadow the underlying fruit that wisps of citrus do escape the fun so I would suggest a quick aeration if you’re going to try a bottle young. The mouthfeel of the middle weight flavors is slightly finer with good punch that carries over to the clean and dry finish. This could use a bit more depth, but more should develop if held for a few years first.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Maltroye 1er Cru has a fragrant, chalk dust scented bouquet that opens nicely with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a lightly spiced opening, touches of orange rind and marmalade lending a welcome tanginess. It might not be a long-term Chassagne, though it is thoroughly enjoyable. 14.10% alcohol.Vinous Media | 90 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

The 2020 Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères has a delightful, clean and precise bouquet with vibrant citrus fruit, mirabelle and a touch of juniper. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, orange zest and apricot, poised and focused towads the finish that lingers in the mouth. Fine tension here. Excellent. Vinous Media | 91 VMPale lime and lemon, this starts quietly (cold sample) but does not take long to build, floral, cow parsley and elderflower, racy and lacy, chiselled, showing the class of what is surely the finest village vineyard in Puligny. Tasted: 10/1/2021.Jasper Morris | 91 JMNotably more elegant aromas feature notes of exceptionally pretty white orchard fruit, citrus blossom and carnation along with a hint of just sliced fennel. The beautifully textured middle weight flavors possess much better density on the bitter lemon-inflected finale. This could use better depth, but more will almost certainly develop with a few years of keeping.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Village has a taut and strict nose, well defined, green apple mixed with subtle petrichor/wet pavement scents. The palate is well balanced with lemon zest, lime and a dab of ginger, gently building towards a nicely composed and delineated finish. This should give 8-10 years’ drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMMonsieur Riffault’s 2021 Puligny AC is outstanding and was clearly one of the best villages level wines I tasted on this trip. The bouquet is flat out beautiful, jumping from the glass in a mix of lemon, white peach, a gorgeous base of chalky minerality, vanillin oak and a floral topnote redolent of apple blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and nicely concentrated at the core, with a supreme sense of elegance, lovely transparency and grip, zesty acids and a long, focused and seamlessly balanced finish. Fine, fine juice. (Drink between 2025 - 2045)John Gilman | 91+ JGNoticeably more of a primrose yellow colour at this stage (long before cleaning up). A bit more lees in the sample. Concentrated, backward, really a lot more wine here than the Chassagne, a full fruit with some yellow notes, ripe but balanced, and avoids the sweet and sour which afflicted so many 2016s. Fair density, medium length, a sound and solid 2021 Puligny. Drink from 2025-2030. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JMA subtle but perceptible dollop of oak frames fresh and bright aromas of citrus, acacia and Granny Smith apples. The racy and moderately concentrated medium-bodied flavors possess both excellent precision and a really lovely texture, all wrapped in a markedly dry but not really austere finale that flashes excellent length. This is a very fine Puligny villages and worth checking out plus it should age gracefully.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2017 Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d’Or is an elegant, precise wine that was less advanced in its élevage than the Meursault lieux-dits that proceeded it. Offering up aromas of apple, pear, white flowers and pastry cream, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and delicately textural, with good concentration and reserved depth at the core that suggests more is to come. I look forward to revisiting it from bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | (91-93)+ RPThe 2017 Meursault Goutte d’Or 1er Cru possesses a sunny bouquet of tropical scents of pineapple, honey and peach, perhaps just missing the delineation of its peers. The palate is well balanced and slightly honeyed in texture (possibly with a touch of botrytis?). Very harmonious, with lovely white peach and Nashi pear notes toward the Puligny-like finish. A very classy Meursault that should age well in bottle. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting in Savigny-lès-Beaune.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The 2019 Chablis Boucheron, which had been in barrel since March, has a pretty nose of expressive yellow flowers mixed with honeysuckle and light jasmine scents. The palate is lightly spiced on the entry, edgy and tensile, with a vibrant peppery finish. Good potential – lots of energy locked up in this Chablis.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM