Cote de Beaune Wines

wines

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

Drouhin’s Meursault En Luraule is done in the classic style, with profuse aromas of ripe apples, acacia flowers, spice and a hint of toasted almonds. The texture is dense and compact, with plenty of substance and breadth, yet enough acidity to balance. Véronique has given the wine extended lees ageing to obtain a slight hint of ‘beaux amers’ – the complexity of a slightly bitter note. The result is exquisitely stylish.Decanter | 92 DEC

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

A dense and lively white, evoking lemon and apple core flavors wrapped in toasty oak. Smooth, picking up generous baking spices as this winds down on the long citrus- and oak spice-inflected aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2035. 104 cases made, 40 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSDomaine Clos de la Chapelle’s Corton-Charlemagne has become one of my favorites on the hill of Corton. The 2020 vintage here is exceptional, offering up a deep and youthful nose of apple, pear, raw almond, a hint of crème patissière, a beautiful base of chalky soil tones, apple blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and pure, with a superb core, great mineral drive and cut, lovely acids and a long, focused and perfectly balanced finish. This comes in listed at 13.5 percent octane and is a fairly ripe example of this bottling, in the style of the vintage, but with impeccable typicité and potential for long-term cellaring. Fine, fine juice. (Drink between 2022 - 2055)John Gilman | 94+ JGEx Laleure Piot. Pale lemon and lime. This is very different from the Pierre Meurgey label Corton-Charlemagne, though the plots are next door and picked on the same day. This version is much less exotic in aromatics, much more chiselled, and is actually very fine with youthful mineral bitters. Long salient steely finish. A Corton-Charlemagne success this year, with the wood perfectly integrated. Tasted: October 2021.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMA subtle but not invisible application of wood surrounds the aromas of just sliced green apple, mineral reduction and a similar array of citrus elements. There is first-rate intensity to the broad-shouldered and powerful flavors that deliver excellent length on the stony, clean and very dry but not especially austere finale. Like the Sous Frétille, this could use better depth but in this case, more will also certainly develop in time.Burghound | 93 BH

A wine of great finesse, showing bright lemony fruit, with hints of acacia flowers and marzipan on the nose. On the palate, the wine retains admirable acidity and an effortless lightness on the finish. Caillerets is actually an umbrella for grapes from En Caillerets, Combards, Chassagne and Vigne Derrière; Jean-Noël Gagnard is in the first two lieux-dits. Caroline Lestimé remarked that the vines suffered incredibly from the heat in 2020 and ripening was blocked for a time, although she considers this a ’top-level’ premier cru.Decanter | 95 DEC34 hl/ha. Fine pale lemon, with a very distinct Caillerets nose - all the stones you could want - to support the pure white fruit. Impeccable density on the palate, now including some bright yellow plum fruit, racy acidity, layers on layers here, boding well for the future. Perfect balancing acidity, this has the power to age extremely well. Tasted Nov 2021.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMA deft application of wood can be found on the vaguely exotic aromas of white peach, lemon-lime and pretty floral whiffs. The sleek, intense and finer, if less concentrated and powerful, middle weight flavors also possess a beautiful texture on the clean, dry and tightly wound finish where a touch of austerity slowly emerges. This impeccably well-balanced effort should also repay a decade of keeping.Burghound | 92-95 BHThe 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru has a lovely bouquet with yellow plum and light Mirabelle scents, the oak here neatly integrated. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, good weight and density, waxy and with touches of lemon curd on the finish. Very fine.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM