Chardonnay Wines

wines

(Maison Louis Jadot Montrachet Grand Cru White) This is restrained to the point of being almost mute and only aggressive swirling coaxes aromas of white flowers, freshly sliced citrus, pear, green apple and discreet spice elements to grudgingly emerge. There is seriously good size, weight and punch to the beautifully detailed and notably mineral-driven big-bodied flavors that, like the Corton-Charlemagne, possess a chiseled and explosively long finish that really fans out as it sits on the palate. I very much like the balance and upside development potential here and about the only nit worth mentioning is just a hint of finishing warmth. Still, this should abundantly reward 12 to 15 years of cellaring. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 93-95 BHThe 2013 Montrachet Grand Cru, which comes from the Chassagne side, possesses a very precise bouquet that seems understated when compared to the more hedonistic Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles. This is much more demure, laid-back...nonchalant even. The palate is very precise - there is real detail here with delicate spicy notes furnishing the back end of this Montrachet that just expands toward the finish. I think this is keeping everything up its sleeve at the moment, but you cannot deny the balance and focus here.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93-95 RP-NM(13.3% alcohol; picked late): Pale straw-yellow. Aromas of clove, iodine and white flowers are lifted by a note of lemon oil. Hugely concentrated, dense and utterly backward; not showing nearly the detail of the Chevalier-Montrachet in the early going but this is sweeter. Montrachet in the outsized Chassagne body-builder style. Really amazingly rich and massively structured for the vintage, but needs to lose some of its baby fat before it can be properly appreciated.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru has a clean, precise bouquet with apple blossom, white peach, crushed stone and wet pavement scents, beautifully proportioned and focused. The palate is well balanced, certainly one of the more powerful Premier Crus with outstanding length on the finish thanks to its spicy, stem ginger touch. Outstanding.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMFirm reduction completely overshadows the fruit. Otherwise, there is excellent volume to the seductively textured medium weight flavors that exude plenty of minerality that adds lift to the succulent, balanced and gorgeously persistent bitter lemon-tinged finish that goes on and on. This isn’t quite as concentrated as the Folatières but it’s finer and stunningly long. This may not be the best Sauzet Combettes ever but in time, it should be in the conversation, it’s that good.Burghound | 93-95 BHHappily, there is much more 2021 Combettes chez Sauzet than the En Richard, and the wine is every bit as beautiful. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a crystal clear blend of fresh lemon, apple, lime, a complex base of minerality, white flowers, citrus zest, vanillin oak and a lovely topnote of candied lemon. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, deep and pure, with great mineral undertow, snappy acids and laser-like focus on the long, complex and electric finish. Stunning juice. (Drink between 2027 - 2060)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes is another one of the high points chez Sauzet this year, offering up aromas of confit citrus, beeswax, crisp stone fruit, white flowers and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it’s taut and structured, with good depth at the core and chalky dry extract.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 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 JM

There is just a single 350-liter barrel of the 2021 Puligny-Montrachet les Folatières En la Richards 1er Cru this year. Striking petrichor scents on the nose, this has a stately personality, beautifully focused. The palate is very well balanced with a silver bead of acidity, just the right amount of bitterness with quite a penetrating finish. Will need careful partnering but its oyster shell tinged finish suggests it will go perfectly with fruits de mers.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAn elegant, pure and cool nose of white flower, mineral reduction and citrus is trimmed in just enough wood to notice. There is a lovely stoniness adding lift to the concentrated middleweight flavors that possess a racy, saline and well-balanced finish. This is also very pretty and most impressive and the only potential nit is that it needs to add depth, though that should occur as the Sauzet Folatières has an excellent track record. Burghound | 92-94 BHThere is virtually no En Richard this year, as the total production after the frost damage was a scant three hundred and fifty liters! That will be less than five hundred bottles. The wine itself is superb, delivering a complex nose of lemon, apple, fresh pineapple, chalky minerality, white lilies, orange zest and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and shows off beautiful mid-palate depth, with fine mineral drive and grip, impeccable balance and a long, complex and classy finish. A beautiful wine in painfully tiny quantities. (Drink between 2026 - 2055)John Gilman | 94 JGA gorgeous clear pale yellow. The bouquet has class and tension as well. A little youthful bitterness, this is a structured Puligny with backbone and medium plus length. Not quite the charm of Champ Canet but very good nonetheless. Energy at the finish. Just a single cask of 350 litres made. Drink from 2027-2032. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMAromas of orange oil, freshly baked bread, nutmeg and white flowers introduce the 2021 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières En la Richarde, a medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny wine with lively acids and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RP

Firm reduction renders the nose unreadable at present. More interesting are the intense and beautifully textured medium weight flavors that also brim with minerality and ample amount of dry extract that buffers the firm acid spine supporting the unusually powerful, serious, compact and stunningly long finish. This is also like rolling small rocks around the mouth and is a wine that should amply repay a decade or more of keeping.Burghound | 91-94 BH The blended premier cru bottling of Terroir de Blagny is really good in 2021, but this is a structured wine that will need time in the cellar to unfurl. The bouquet is deep and youthful, offering up scents of tart orange, fresh pineapple, chalky soil elements, vanillin oak and a striking topnote of lemon blossoms. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and racy, with a superb core of fruit, impressive cut and grip, fine focus and a long, nascently complex and well balanced finish. (Drink between 2026 - 2055)John Gilman | 93 JGThere was just enough wine to fill one 350 litre and one 228 litre barrel, even with the three vineyards of Truffière, Hameau de Blagny and Champ Gain blended together. A vibrant fresh primrose colour, with plenty of energy to the nose as well. Fresh plums with citrus notes, a good density of fruit, some length behind. Still shows the hillside character. Savoury notes at the finish. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Terroir de Blagny 1er Cru is a blend of Hameau de Blagny, Champs Gain and Truffières that together amounted to 600 liters. It has an attractive nose of apple blossom, dewy meadow, wet limestone and citrus peel that unfolds in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with quite a sharp, citric entry. Vibrant and lively, though maybe not as complex as some of Sauzet’s best cuvées this year. But what else can you do with such miniscule volumes?Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Powerful, dense, and supple, the Corton Charlemagne from Boillot is an impressive wine with aromas of ripe apple, quince and apricot, floral notes, and butter. The grapes are sourced from parcels in Aloxe and Pernand; Boillot purchases the fruit as grapes, and his team does the harvest and the pressing. The result is classic Corton-Charlemagne in style that will open properly in three to five years and should age for 20 beyond that.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is a blend of fruit from Aloxe-Corton (75%) and Pernand-Vergelesses (25%), a combination that works well in giving the wine balance. There’s quite a bit of phenolic intensity and youthful austerity here. Herbs, crushed rocks, graphite, mint and citrus confit build nicely. I very much admire the vibrancy here, even if the 2022 remains a bit unyielding today. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

The Champ Canet has not quite fallen clear yet. However, the bouquet is stunning! And keeps changing. The immediate fruit now adds a little toasty note, plus the additional depth and complexity of having been kept on more lees. The fruit ripened nicely, with a touch of honeysuckle but it is a minority component, with ripe citrus taking the lead. A fascinating, complex finish. Drink from 2028-2037. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet is excellent, mingling aromas of lemon oil, citrus confit, white flowers, freshly baked bread and mandarin, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that’s concentrated and structured, concluding with a long, nutmeg-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er Cru felt much more closed when I tasted it at the Domaine, introverted with dewy meadow scents. The palate is well-balanced, but it doesn’t quite convey the mineralité and tension of its fellow Premier Crus at the moment. Does it have more to give? I remain cautious for now.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Lemon and lime in colour, a little softer than the Garenne in the bouquet. This is quite complete with a lifted energy to it, very long, not trying to be fuller bodied that it can be, the citrus note has both a light lime note as well as some lemon, while pure orchard fruit forms the back bone. Very old vines which yield little. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Hameau de Blagny 1er Cru has a complex bouquet that takes time to open in the glass: touches of wet pavement, Granny Smith apples and hints of fennel in the background. The palate is well-balanced, tensile and linear with a taut bead of acidity; this delivers an almost minimalist finish that is very Blagny in style. Good salinity and length. Very fine.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMOffering up notes of flowers, pear, freshly baked bread and hazelnuts, Sauzet’s 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny is medium-bodied, bright and lively, with tangy acids and chalky grip on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RP

The 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er Cru has a clean, precise bouquet with wet limestone, Granny Smith apples, menthol and light sea spray scents that could only originate from this appellation. The palate is very well-balanced, one of the most powerful of Sauzet’s Premier Crus. It possesses perhaps its spiciest and most texturally satisfying finishes that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMAnother beautiful bouquet after an elegant colour. This keeps building, and seems to have rediscovered the magic of Combettes which I thought was lost in the hottest years. There is a fulsome weight of white fruit, while retaining energy. Just enough acidity, with ripe apples at the finish. Drink from 2027-2036. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes is terrific, offering up aromas of pear, citrus zest, white flowers, toasted nuts and fresh mint, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered palate that’s dense and structured, with racy acids and chalky grip. I suspect it may surpass even the excellent 2020 version.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RP

The 2021 Saint-Aubin Hommage à Marguerite debuted five vintages earlier, a blend of Les Perrières, Les Combes and Les Criots. It has a clean, precise bouquet with crushed limestone filtering through the green apple and white peach notes. Understated by gaining intensity in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with a peachy opening, good depth, a little creamier than other cuvées with ample weight on the Chassagne-inspired finish. Lovely.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMThe blended St-Aubin premier cru has impressive depth and richness, with aromas of apricot and quince underscored with mineral and floral notes. The texture is dense but lively, with crisp acidity and plenty of extract balancing precisely on the lingering finish. The grapes are blended from Les Perrières (near the village), Les Combes (down-slope from En Remilly), and Les Creots (in Gamay, facing due south). Colin feels the blend of the three is better than any of them bottled separately.Decanter | 92 DECA blend of three plots, Combes, Créot and Perrières. A little more colour here, while the nose is stricter up front. The fruit emerges more generously on the palate, with some yellow fruits and a lime-laden finish. A trace of youthful bitterness in the finish. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JMThe 2021 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Hommage à Marguerite was quite tightly wound when I tasted it, unfurling in the glass with aromas of pear, citrus oil, clear honey, white flowers, toasted nuts and fresh mint. Medium-bodied, layered and rather concentrated, with racy acids and chalky grip, it will certainly benefit from further élevage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RPModerate wood influence still allows the cool aromas of white flowers and petrol to be appreciated. There is a bit more volume if perhaps not quite the same underlying tension to the medium weight flavors that terminate in a stony and lingering finish that is quite dry while offering notably better depth.Burghound | 89-91 BH

The 2021 Meursault Le Limozin, matured in a prudent 20% new oak, has a wonderful and expressive nose with just a soupçon of reduction (Parigot was prudent with the SO2 addition). The palate has exquisite balance, beautifully integrated oak, grilled walnut and litchi, superb salinity towards the extended finish - the wine of the vintage from this address.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

A more floral-suffused nose features very bright and fresh aromas of Granny Smith apples, essence of pear and a variety of citrus influences. There is again excellent volume and richness along with even more apparent minerality on the complex and beautifully persistent finale that flashes focused power. This too offers first-rate quality for a villages-level wine.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2020 Meursault Cuvée Tête de Murger has a well-defined nose, although I was expecting a little more presence and energy compared to previous vintages that I have tasted over the years. The palate is well balanced and shows more gumption, fine acidity with a touch of ginger, well-defined with red apple, nectarine and orange pith on the finish. Just give it some time for the aromatics to open.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

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

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

Rewardingly ripe, with creamy apricot fruit on the nose and hints of butter and hazelnut. The texture balances a very pleasant ripeness and plump texture with refreshingly crisp acidity to create a persistent, lingering finish. The domaine owns a half-hectare above Chevalier that was spared the worst damage from the frost – this yielded 26 hl/ha and produced a wine of precision with well-defined fruit flavours and good complexity.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2021 Saint-Aubin les Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er Cru has a slightly more backward nose with pear, white linen and light tertiary scents, gaining vigour in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a crisp bead of acidity, taut and linear, not powerful yet poised and citrus fresh on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

The 2020 Meursault Clos des Corvées de Citeau, the monopole of the Domaine, has a very well-defined, you might say Roulot-like bouquet, with yellow plum, quince and light orange pith scents, an underlying stony scent becoming more accentuated with time. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh with a slightly waxy-textured finish, a little more extract here. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2020 Meursault Les Narvaux has a perfumed, floral bouquet with touches of white flowers infusing the citrus peel and orange pith aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a slightly waxier texture than Chavy-Chouet’s other cuvées, with fine persistence on the finish. Very good length here.Vinous Media | 92 VMHere too there is a hint of mineral reduction to the equally cool and airy aromas of green apple, citrus peel and crushed anise. Once again, the medium-bodied flavors possess a highly attractive texture and solid power if not quite the same refinement on the bone-dry and youthfully austere finale. This too is a very good villages and worth a look.Burghound | 90 BH

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

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

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

Here too there is a touch of reduction though it’s light enough such that notes of honeysuckle and lemon-lime can be discerned. The texture of the medium-bodied flavors is again wonderfully refined while keeping the same impressive punch while displaying excellent cut on the bone-dry, youthfully austere and sneaky long finale. This is quite simply a gorgeous Pucelles and highly recommended.Burghound | 94 BHThe 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru is at once incredibly elegant but also reticent, with bright acids that are especially prominent today, perhaps because of the lighter structure of the year. The 2021 will need time to come around, but I am optimistic. Tangerine oil, marzipan and lightly honeyed notes all lend nuance through the long, sustained finish. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 91-93 VM

Here’s a very typical Meursault that combines the generosity and textural complexity we expect from this appellation, with liveliness that makes it very satisfying. Good concentration. A ton of flinty character at the substantial finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSLuscious and well-delineated, too, this white offers lemon oil, sliced apple and clove flavors, with an underlying mineral element. Long and will benefit from an additional year in bottle. Best from 2023 through 2029. 2,500 cases made, 750 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSSmoky reduction dominates the underlying fruit today. By contrast, there is good freshness and verve to the notably rich, round and rather plump medium-bodied flavors that display reasonably good length if only average depth on the bitter lemon-inflected and youthfully austere finale.Burghound | 89-91 BHThe 2020 Meursault 1er Cru Château de Blagny offers up aromas of crisp Anjou pear, white flowers, green apple and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, round and rich, it’s a gourmand, textural white from this higher-altitude site.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP