Cote de Beaune Wines

wines

A standout this year is the 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chênes, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless wine evocative of pear, fresh mint, white flowers and hazelnuts. Lively and concentrated, it concludes with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPThe soil is clay-limestone with sand. Enough crop to make separately. Pale colour, just a little more oak, a slightly sappy green note to it. Tense and dense, but as yet rather ungiving. I think this should unwind later on and should be a long keeper.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

This bottling includes the younger Haute Densité planting, as well as the old vines from 1946 and 1970. Overall half is at normal spacing and half at double. The marly soil here remains cool, and does not keep the water. Very stylish in bouquet, ripe yet with precision. A greener touch behind with crystalline acidity. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots includes the younger vines in the high-density section of the vineyard. It has a crisp, well-defined nose with petrichor and oyster shell scents, the latter becoming stronger with aeration. The palate is well balanced and mineral-driven, with that oyster shell element defining the finish. This is excellent.Vinous Media | 91 VMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots includes the young vines from Lamy’s high density plantings (at 20,000 vines per hectare) to the tune of some 50%. Offering up a gently reductive bouquet of pear, bread dough and white flowers, it’s medium-bodied, taut and electric out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90+ RPA cooler and not quite as ripe nose reflects notes of green apple, spice, acacia blossom and lemon confit. There is good vibrancy to the noticeably finer medium weight flavors that exhibit excellent length on the bone-dry and youthfully austere finale. This is already complex though it’s sufficiently tightly wound to need at least a few years of patience.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet La Boudriotte 1er Cru has a crisp and precise bouquet, very focused with seamlessly integrated oak, crushed limestone and petrichor scents percolating through the yellow fruit. The palate is very well-balanced, with a slightly honeyed opening. It’s one of the richer cuvées by taste, though analytically, it has very good acidity and 13% alcohol. Fans out wonderfully on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMAn expressive nose freely offers up its array of various white orchard fruit, petrol and rosemary oil scents. Here too there is good volume to the medium-bodied and fleshy flavors that also coat the palate with dry extract on the clean, dry and lingering finish. This needs better depth but that should reasonably occur with a few years of cellaring.Burghound | 91 BH

Powerful and refined at the same time, it’s an age-worthy wine that’s already tempting to drink. Generous apple, white peach and lime aromas give way to stony, flinty and tight flavors backed by nervy acidity that will need time to unravel. One of the truly great sites for chardonnay in the Cote d’Or, and this comes from 50-year-old vines. Best from 2028.James Suckling | 97 JSA rich, supple white, with great balance and expression, delivering peach, lemon, mineral and spice flavors allied to a bone-dry, chalky structure that reflects greater austerity on the finish for now. Shows superb harmony and length. Best from 2025 through 2036. 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (Domaine) derives from vines in Languettes, a south-facing climat that produces a ripe style of wine. Delivering aromas of sweet yellow orchard fruit, confit citrus and buttery pastry, it’s medium to full-bodied, rich and ample, with a layered, seamless profile.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPFrom domaine fruit, picked on 26th August. 35% new wood from various forests. A deeper lemon yellow. Plenty of tension on the nose, with a breadth of apple fruit. A slight reductive quality before the oak takes over. A little youthful bitterness. I don’t find it showing at its best today but I suspect that there is more to this to emerge later. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-96 JMThis is the first wine to display any appreciable reduction and in this case, it dominates the underlying fruit. More interesting are the generously proportioned larger-scaled flavors that brim with both dry extract and minerality while displaying impressive power on the compact, long, balanced and built-to-age finale. While this could be enjoyed on the younger side thanks to the excellent richness, there is so much upside development potential that it would be a shame to drink it too young.Burghound | 91-94 BH

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Vergers 1er Cru has a bright nose with yellow plum, white peach and light sea spray scents that opens beautifully in the glass. The palate is very well balanced and quite intense with a bit more body than other cuvées. It’s a little honeyed toward the finish but the acidity keeps everything in check. This is a charming Chassagne.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru has a little more mineralité on the nose than the Vergers. Its bouquet contains light hints of clementine and beeswax aromas. The palate is well balanced, fresh and concentrated with a slightly viscous opening. It just needs a little more terroir to shape the finish.Vinous Media | 90 VM

More yellow in the colour, a waxy flesh, slight evolution in the sample, I cannot quite see the stones up front. They do appear on the palate and the wine extends very well through to a flinty finish, with some saline notes right at the back. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru has a strict, almost sullen nose that demands coaxing from the glass, with hints of chamomile interlacing the orchard fruit, though I seek just a little more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with tropical notes of passionfruit and guava on the entry. Smooth in texture with countervailing acidity, the 2023 finishes open and easy-drinking. Drink just a year after bottling and enjoy this in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Houillères is a level up from the regular Village, with more mineralité and terroir expression. The palate is well balanced and linear in style, with a keen line of acidity, fine weight and a sapid, chamomile-tinged close. Maybe the 2022 had a touch more depth on the finish, but this is worth seeking out.Vinous Media | 91 VMOld vines with a younger plot as well. Mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has a discreet distinction, more in minerals than flesh, one jar again. Tighter and more precise on the palate, with a light ripe citrus note added to the orchard fruit. In bottle. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The wonderful Corton-Charlemagne from Rapet offers pronounced apricot and quince fruit with a lemon-peel edge. The texture is rich and dense, yet balanced by a surprisingly crisp acidity for the vintage. The grapes from En Charlemagne, Chaumes et La Voierosse and Les Combes were picked on 11 September, right before the rain, and pressed as whole clusters before fermentation, mostly in 250-litre casks with a bit of foudre and one amphora. Ideally, I would age this at least 10 years and enjoy it over the next 40.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECRapet’s 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with aromas of peach and pear, mingled with white flowers, wet stones, crushed mint and hazelnut. Full-bodied, satiny and layered, it’s deep and concentrated, with racy acids and a seamless, complete profile. This vintage marks a step up in texture and mid-palate volume for Rapet, and it is well worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes mainly from the lieu-dit of En Charlemagne and was matured in one-third new oak plus amphora and foudre. What a lovely bouquet! Delineated and fresh with hints of oyster shell and crushed stone, this exudes class. The palate is well balanced with fine weight, a keen line of acidity, hints of apricot and hazelnut and a poised but sustained finish. Bon vin!Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2023 Corton-Charlemagne from Domaine Rapet Père et Fils is a beautiful young wine. It shows off superb depth and nascent complexity on the nose, soaring from the glass in a mix of pear, passion fruit, a gorgeous mosaic of limestone minerality, almond, white lilies, honeysuckle and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a great foundation of Corton-Charlemagne minerality, bright acids, great focus and grip and a complex, impeccably balanced and very long finish. This is still a very young wine and I would try to not touch a bottle until it has had at least five or six years’ worth of cellaring. It should prove to be very long-lived. (Drink between 2030 - 2065)John Gilman | 95 JGThere are various ages of vine in the Rapet holding, with plantings in 1945 and 1950 plus 1980s and a 2018 plot. Mostly made in 350-litre barrels, plus one 12hl foudre, an egg, and a terracotta amphora. Lemon and lime, with some classic Charlemagne style fruit on the nose, a delicious lemon touch. The stones infuse the finish which is very persistent. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThis is very firmly reduced and while the reduction does not extend to the palate, it’s clear that the nose will need extended aeration. Much more interesting are the sappy, powerful and muscular flavors that also display evidence minerality on the long, compact and balanced finale. This is one of those wines that’s difficult to rate because while the reduction may dissipate with time, that is a supposition, not a guarantee.Burghound | 91 BH

This is even cooler and more restrained as the nose only grudgingly reveals its aromas of mineral reduction, green apple, spice, acacia blossom and a deft touch of wood. The gorgeously textured medium weight flavors brim with both minerality and sappy dry extract that buffers the youthfully austere and even more persistent finish. This too is very classy and a classic Clos de la Mouchère of grace and poise. If you can find it, buy it.Burghound | 95 BHA fuller yellow here, and an extra degree of completeness, more weight and almost all the class. The oak is still at 50% new and is very well integrated. Gorgeously rich, with little fruits dancing through a meadow. Once again, I do see the magic of this. Henri was strongly advised by his father to look after “Madame de la Mouchère”. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru is another very classy wine. Vertical in feel, the 2023 is super-bright from the outset. White pepper, flowers, mint, sage and pear reinforce that impression. Readers will find an airy, deceptively mid-weight Puligny that possesses remarkable depth.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM

This is a blend of Le Charlemagne, and Hautes Mourottes, which from 2024 Pierre-François will make separately, calling the former Charlemagne and the latter Corton-Charlemagne. In 2023 there are eight barrels worth, made in two new barrels, two older barrels and a concrete egg. These have been racked to tank since just after the harvest. Pale in colour, stony with a little toast also. Crisp white orchard fruit with a little flesh behind, and good tension. Nicely balanced at 13.5% alcohol. Drink from 2029-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JM

The Maltroie red has a deep ruby colour and an admirable concentration of red and black fruit with hints of earth, smoke and violets. The texture is silky, but there is also depth and enough structure to draw this out to a lingering finish. The grapes are from 0.44ha of the Clos de la Maltroie, not to be confused with Clos du Château de la Maltroye.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de la Maltroie 1er Cru is clean and precise on the nose, with touches of lemon rind and crushed stone. The palate is taut and fresh, with plenty of lime and citrus fruit and more stony notes developing on the finish. The 2023 is a level up from 2022.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMA more floral-suffused nose offers up vaguely exotic aromas of white peach, lychee and passion fruit along with just sliced citrus hints. I very much like the sense of underlying tension and caressing mouthfeel the barely middle weight flavors display before culminating in a balanced, long and agreeably dry finale. This too could use better depth but the development potential seems clear.Burghound | 90 BHNot much deeper in colour than the village wine but with significantly more fruit weight, still strawberry up front underpinned by a little raspberry, and here also the evidence of some new wood. One new barrel out of four. Drink from 2028-2032. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-92 JM

A beautifully layered nose subtly blends notes of poached pear, just sliced apple, spice and a touch of citrus confit. There is an equally beautiful texture to the seductive and caressing medium weight flavors that possess sneaky good length on the balanced finale. This is lovely and while it’s not particularly intense, it remains refreshing and inviting as well as a wine that could be enjoyed on the younger side if desired.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Chenevottes 1er Cru has a lovely bouquet with citrus peel and light floral scents. It’s a little more reductive than other cuvées, but that’s no bad thing. The palate is well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, building nicely in the mouth with just a hint of peach skin on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMPale lemon and lime. There is a touch of citrus with the minor reduction. Firm at the finish which is no bad thing as there is a considerable volume of white orchard fruit which needs to be kept in place. Easy of access once again. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes is the richest, broadest wine in the range, bursting with aromas of honeyed pears, white flowers, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s layered and textural, with a sweet core of fruit that’s balanced by good energy and grip.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras is pretty, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, confit lemon, orange zest and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, mineral and chalky, with a sweet core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it’s pure and precise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPHere too there is a suggestion of the exotic to the aromas of white peach, tangerine, mineral reduction and once again, a hint of phenolic character. This medium weight flavors aren’t quite as dense though they are just a bit finer while offering fine length and an almost palpable sense of minerality on the balanced and youthfully austere finish that, interestingly enough given that this is a premier cru, isn’t quite as structured.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Fairendes is showing especially well, revealing aromas of pear and crisp white peach mingled with hints of matchstick, toasted nuts and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, it’s unctuous and elegant, with terrific purity and a penetrating finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP5 barrels are kept separate from the Morgeot blend. Pale colour, attractive energy to this, more upper slope class than the Morgeot mix. A wealth of fruit across the palate, generous and charming together, with energy behind. A complete white fruit wine that is worth taking time over. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93 JMThis is even more floral-suffused with notes of acacia, white rose and gardenia adding breadth to the ripe yet cool aromas of pear, apple and crushed fennel. The rich, generously proportioned and solidly powerful larger-bodied flavors manage to remain nicely refined on the sappy and palate staining finish. This is also worth checking out.Burghound | 92 BH

Mid lemon and lime. A richer soil here than most Puligny, explains the weight. Several layers to this, a fine thread of acidity running through the middle alongside fresh peaches and more classical orchard fruits. Purchased 50 years ago by grandfather Jean because nobody else wanted it! How times have changed.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet from Domaine Chartron is another very fine village wine. It delivers a refined bouquet of white peach, apple, chalky soil tones, spring flowers, a nice touch of fresh almond and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, racy and sports a fine core of fruit, with a good soil foundation, seamless balance and a long, complex and nicely precise finish. Good juice. (Drink between 2025 - 2045)John Gilman | 91+ JGThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Village is a combination of Chartron’s own vineyard plus exchanges with other growers. This has commendable vivacity and focus, with Granny Smith and fresh Anjou pears on the nose. The palate is well defined with orchard fruit tones intermixed with touches of orange rind and spice. This has fine length and admirable precision for its class. It is recommended.Vinous Media | 89-91 VMMade from Les Benoîtes and young vine Caillerets. A lime tint to the colour, with some flesh on the nose, and a little well-judged oak. This is very prettily balanced, no more than medium depth, with a good fruit-acid balance. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-90 JMA more elegant and markedly more floral-suffused nose speaks of various white orchard fruit and quinine that is again trimmed in enough wood to notice. It can also be found on the rich and solidly voluminous flavors that possess a more sophisticated texture before concluding in a vaguely off dry finish. This is pretty but the off dry style appeals somewhat less to me than other wines in the range.Burghound | 88-91 BH

Flint and spice come through clearly, showing a higher level of reduction in the winemaking and providing intensity and intrigue to the wine. It’s medium-bodied, linear and very racy with a bright, lightly phenolic finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSA slightly more elegant nose proffers a more pronounced floral influence along with cool essence of pear, apple and lemon zest nuances. The succulent, vibrant and utterly delicious medium weight flavors terminate in a dry, clean and balanced finale. This too could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove to be beneficial.Burghound | 89-91 BHA blend from all the plots of Puligny except Charmes and Trézin. A pretty bouquet with some fresh citrus blossom on the nose, pure white fruit on the palate, which is on the broader side but with enough concentration to kick on nicely to a tasty finish. Very correct and quite accessible. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

The 2023 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has an attractive bouquet that seems to "expand" in the glass: apricot and peach skin meet a touch of melted candle wax, all nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine mineralité, fresh and focused, gaining weight towards the finish, which actually reminds me of the Perrières from Ballot-Millot. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VM

A wine to seek out. Racy and very fine, the grapes come from the very top of the slope, and offer forward aromas of lime peel and gooseberry with a flinty, mineral edge. Marvellous acidity and great depth of flavour on the palate, along with a pleasantly silky texture. Although this will be attractive when bottled, it can also be aged.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECGrapes from less vigorous plants, situated on the limestone upper hillside. Very pale, stones in whitewash on the nose. Classy and classical, with an extra kick of fresh white fruit and lemon acidity at the finish. Persistent, more my style of wine. More nuanced at the finish. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er Cru showed more reduction on the nose, yet there is clearly a lot of intensity here. It’s slightly more resinous than its peers, containing touches of melted candle wax and lanolin. The palate is well balanced and poised, with a keen silver thread of acidity and real energy building toward an assertive and complex finish. It is far superior to the 2022 when I tasted it last year. This is superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMA fine mid lemon colour. Discretion continues to be the Sauzet watchword. The Champ Canet has the ideal balance between the concentration of white fruit flesh, acidity, nuance and length. The fruit ripples over a bed of minerals. Very compelling. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMVery firm reduction is such that the lightly wooded nose reveals nothing today. By contrast, there is good verve to the delicious and attractively textured flavors that aren’t quite as dense as those of the Truff but, also somewhat unusually, they do display more minerality on the bitter lemon zest-inflected finale.Burghound | 90-93 BH

This lovely, powerful wine offers aromas of greengage plum, Williams pear and apple. The texture is rich, but the wine is still elegant and not at all hard to love. This vintage is the first bottling of a white Boudriotte, as far as I can tell – it used to get blended into the broader Morgeot appellation. Like Morgeot, Boudriotte can be a blend of several different lieux-dits; for this wine, a new 0.26ha vineyard in Chaumes is blended with 0.11ha of Champs Jeandreau .Decanter Magazine | 94 DECFrom Champ Jeandreau and a more recent planting in Chaumes. Clean fresh fruit, not too powerful. Quite lean and tense, a little bit more citrus. A suggestion of some light peach behind, but adding a dimension rather than denaturing.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru has a well-defined nose with gravelly scents that unfold with each swirl. It’s quite strict, with hints of white tea in the background. The palate is well balanced, with a slightly tangy opening, touches of orange pith and a slither of sour lemon. Stem ginger adds a bit of feistiness on the finish. Drink it over the next decade.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMMid lemon yellow. The Garenne seems riper and softer than the previous wines, with some yellow plums, but still the delicacy of all the Sauzet wines this year, and with an agreeable, almost floral, long finish. Ripe citrus zest on the nose. The Sauzet team work the vines and buy the grapes. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMSubtle though easily perceptible wood influence is present on the equally smoky aromas of petrol, apple and a broader range of floral elements. The supple and succulent, even seductive, medium-bodied flavors flash a subtle minerality that adds a sense of relief to the youthfully austere and sneaky long finale. I like the balance and this well-made effort should repay mid-term keeping.Burghound | 89-92 BH