Cote de Beaune Wines

wines

The 2020 Meursault Village comes mainly from Les Tillets and Narvaux, matured in around 25% new oak. There is a faint marine influence underlying the cooking apple and pear aromas, gently unfolding with aeration. The palate is well balanced with light peach skin and apricot notes, quite pretty though not complex. Yet for a Meursault Village, I find this very satisfying. Closure: Diam 5Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

With forward aromas of ripe apple, acacia flowers and spice, this delicate, elegant wine exhibits admirable balance and finesse. Yet, there is enough substance and structure to draw it out to a lingering finish, although the texture is creamy rather than crisp. Heitz has nearly a half-hectare in La Barre, in stony soils over a slab of pure limestone just up the slope from Antoine Jobard. A very accomplished village-level Meursault.Decanter | 93 DECA hint of smoke character lurks in the background of the aromas of freshly sliced apple, hazelnut, acacia blossom and a touch of spiced pear. The succulent and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors possess fine richness as well as mid-palate density while exhibiting very fine depth and persistence for a villages-level wine. Worth checking out.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2020 Meursault Les Tillets has a light white flower and linen scented nose, quite Zen-like at first but gaining intensity with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, fresh and vibrant with a touch of spice on the finish. Very fine, though maybe it just needs a little more mineralité.Vinous Media | 90 VMA cool, pure and restrained nose reflects airy and elegant notes of acacia, green apple, anise and a whiff of citrus rind. There is a beguiling sense of underlying tension to the detailed and mineral-inflected flavors that culminate in an attractively dry, clean and lingering finale. This is fine Meursault villages with the innate finesse of Tillets on display.Burghound | 90 BH

Aromas of stone fruits, citrus zest, toasted nuts and smoke introduce the 2020 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Pièce Sous Le Bois, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and lively wine that’s bright and mineral, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPA background hint of smoke is present on the cool and fresh citrus-suffused aromas of mostly apple and pear that exhibit a floral top note. The moderately voluminous medium-bodied flavors possess a caressing mouthfeel while exuding a subtle bead of minerality on the dry, lemony and sneaky long finale. This too could easily be enjoyed after only 2 to 3 years of bottle aging.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2020 Meursault Les Narvaux opens in the glass with aromas of pear, orange oil, nutmeg, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium-bodied, racy and chiseled, with good concentration, tangy acids and a long, precise finish, it’s a lovely wine from this underrated producer.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPThere is a phenolic note to the aromas of apple, pear, acacia blossom and just sliced fennel. I like the sense of underlying tension suffusing the density, tautly muscular and stony medium weight flavors that are both clean and dry while delivering outstanding length for a villages-level wine. Year in and year out this is one of the domaine’s best performers and so it is again in 2020. Recommended.Burghound | 89-92 BH

The 2020 Meursault Les Tillets opens with notes of crisp green apple, freshly baked bread, white flowers and crushed mint. Medium-bodied, satiny and elegant, it’s lively and precise, with a pretty core of fruit and a mouthwatering finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPThis too is quite firmly reduced and unreadable today. More interesting are the delicate but punchy flavors that evidence plenty of minerality on the vibrant, focused and beautifully well-balanced finale. Once again, more depth would be beneficial, but this wine has an excellent track record in that regard. Worth checking out.Burghound | 89-91 BH

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

Discreet but perceptible nuances of wood and menthol are present on the ripe and fresh red and dark raspberry, pepper and newly turned earth. The is fine mid-palate density to the utterly delicious middle weight flavors that possess much better than average depth and persistence for such a young Chassagne red. One to strongly consider as this is very good.Burghound | 90 BHPicked 28th August. Excellent pure purple and fresh pinot on the nose, with a delicious juicy red fruit on the palate, with a beautifully suave finish and just a touch of acidity to complete it. 13.8% but not exaggerated. Good length too.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

Has a marvellous richness and a pronounced floral character. The wine is not lacking in weight, and there is a lovely sweet character that the French call sucrosité - not jammy but ripe, supple and accessible. This village Volnay comes from two parcels that total not quite a half-hectare, split between Les Grands Champs and Les Pluchots (the latter has just been replanted in 2018). To this is added the young vines from the premiers crus until they reach eight years of age.Decanter Magazine | 92 DECFuller crimson purple, with an explosive ripe raspberry nose. I would not want this to be any riper, but am very happy with it as it is. There is a certain tension on the palate, possibly a touch of blood orange in the fruit mix, enough acidity, fine-grained tannins and good length. The vineyard is on a good slope here which may help the freshness. Tasted Oct 2021.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThe 2020 Volnay Village is showing very well, offering up aromas of cherries, raspberries, rose petals and loamy soil. Medium-bodied, bright and perfumed, it’s elegant and charming, with a pretty core of fruit, powdery tannins and a perfumed, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RPA more complex and wonderfully fresh nose is comprised by notes of violet, red and black cherry, anise and a whiff of earth. I very much like the sophisticated texture of the medium-bodied flavors that are classic Volnay of lace and grace, all wrapped in a youthfully austere, firm and beautifully long finale. This is an excellent villages and it too is worth checking out.Burghound | 89-92 BHThe 2020 Volnay Village comes from two parcels in Les Grand Champs and Les Pluchots. It has a fragrant and floral bouquet, rose petals and incense infusing the red berry fruit. Fine delineation, nicely focused and fresh. The palate is medium-bodied with tart red fruit, gentle grip, lightly spiced with a classically-styled finish. Pretty.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

This is a cooler terroir that gives a slightly more reserved wine, yet there is no lack of elegant blue and black fruit or floral notes here. The texture is supple and silky; less weight than the Champans but perhaps more elegant. The Taillepieds is from a 1.07ha parcel at the top of the steep slope and the same level as Clos des Ducs. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on native yeast in open-top oak fermenters before ageing in cask (10-15% new).Decanter Magazine | 93 DECThe 2020 Volnay 1er Cru Fremiet offers up notes of sweet berries, cherries, rose petals, raw cocoa and warm spices. Medium to full-bodied, bright and velvety, it’s deep and concentrated, with powdery tannins and lively acids. As usual, this is a touch more structured than Les Angles, though it’s far from forbidding.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2020 Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru has a perfumed bouquet with redcurrant, raspberry sorbet and sous-bois aromas that offers a subtle balsam element with time. The palate is well balanced, fresh and vibrant with crunchy red berry fruit. Good acidity here, classic in style with a linear finish, a hint of pepperiness on the aftertaste. Give this 4-5 years in bottle before broaching because it has an endearing feisty character.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA ripe yet cool and airy nose combines notes of red and dark raspberry, plum liqueur, sandalwood and a whiff of violet. There is again a beguiling texture to the sappy, even velvety, medium-bodied flavors that coat the palate with dry extract that also buffers the moderately firm tannic spine supporting the impressively long finish. There is a bit more power compared to the Clos des Angles though this too is really quite refined. Lovely.Burghound | 91-94 BHFuller crimson purple, with an explosive ripe raspberry nose. I would not want this to be any riper, but am very happy with it as it is. There is a certain tension on the palate, possibly a touch of blood orange in the fruit mix, enough acidity, fine-grained tannins and good length. The vineyard is on a good slope here which may help the freshness. Tasted Oct 2021.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM