Wine Producing Countries

wines

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

Old vines directly on the mother rock. Mid lemon yellow, a bouquet which is more about ripe citrus and maybe some herbal notes, verbena. Striking linear energy on the palate, the ripe citrus continuing through to the finish. All the Chassagne-Montrachet 1ers crus are quite different, which is a very positive point in favour of the vintage (and Adrien’s skills!) Drink from 2028-2034. Jasper Morris | 93 JMAromas of pear, pastry cream and white flowers introduce the 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers, a medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless wine that’s pure and racy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPA slightly cooler and airier nose is comprised by notes of just sliced citrus and apple along with pretty floral nuances. The middle weight flavors aren’t not as rich or powerful though they are finer with a subtle minerality adding a sense of lift to the vibrant, balanced and long finale that isn’t quite as complex. While this isn’t quite as interesting as the Fairendes, it still merits interest.Burghound | 91 BH

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 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

The iodine, blackberry and rose-stem character comes through clearly. Plenty of fruit and depth. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that caress the palate and provide endless flavors of Indian spices, flint, nutmeg and light crust. Such refinement and integrity. Drinkable now, but better in three or four years.James Suckling | 98 JSLovely cherry fruit with hints of lavender and rosemary. The texture is silky and dense, almost fat. There is more clay here, and less limestone than in Les Cras, and the tannic structure is not as firm. The grapes are from Drouhin’s massive 6.75ha here, not far from Pommard; they are partially destemmed and fermented on native yeasts before ageing in cask (25% new) for 14–18 months.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECThe 2023 Clos des Mouches Rouge seems just a touch riper in personality than the les Cras this year, thus having just a bit more mid-palate amplitude of sappy black fruit and just a bit more length on the lovely finish. The bouquet is excellent, offering up notes of black plums, black cherries, coffee bean, woodsmoke, gamebird, dark soil tones, a hint of graphite and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with a good foundation of soil tones, ripe, buried tannins, lovely focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. (Drink between 2036 - 2080)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2023 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches (Domaine) is showing nicely, bursting with aromas of sweet berries, spices, orange zest and new oak. Medium to full-bodied, succulent and lively, with chalky grip on the finish, it will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2023 Beaune Clos des Mouches Rouge 1er Cru comes from 35 separate plots with different geology. It’s comprised of ten different lots picked over a week. This opens with dark chocolate and white pepper scents. It has slightly darker fruit on the nose and is a little more introspective at first. The palate is medium-bodied and quite sapid with a firm structure on the entry and a touch of licorice on the finish. This should be very fine once in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMDeep purple, with a fresh energy. Intense fresh dark raspberry, with just the right structure, tannins present but refined, adequate acidity, a touch of velvet and very persistent. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMAn exuberantly floral nose presents ripe aromas of spice, black cherry and a top note of kirsch. The notably finer, though not denser, middle weight flavors are shaped by remarkably fine-grained tannins on the lightly stony bitter pit fruit-inflected finale. This balanced effort could use more depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove beneficial.Burghound | 90-92 BH

The density and balance are so attractive here, with sliced apples, white pineapple and crushed stones. Hints of dried flowers, too, such as white roses and lilacs, as well as almonds. Medium-bodied with focus and subtle strength. Seemingly endless, with a bitter-lemon edge and nice reduction in the aftertaste of gun metal. Drink and enjoy.James Suckling | 96 JSDrouhin’s Clos des Mouches 2023 exemplifies the vintage’s potential for delicious whites. The wine has lush, forward aromas of Mirabelle plums and quince with hints of marzipan, butter and a suggestion of stylishly smoky reduction. The texture is supple and dense, but the richness is kept in balance and the extract carries the wine to a lingering finish. Parts of the 7ha vineyard have been replanted; the old vines that produce this bottling have delivered a wine of great character.Decanter Magazine | 94 DEC The 2023 vintage of Clos des Mouches Blanc is an absolute classic in the making, but it will demand a few years in the cellar to properly blossom before it will start hitting on all cylinders. The bouquet is deep, nascently complex and beautifully detailed, delivering scents of apple, lemon, beeswax, chalky soil tones, a nice touch of sweet butter, dried flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and a bit reserved in profile at the present time, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil signature and grip, very good acidity and a long, poised and impeccably balanced finish. This really has grand cru weight and authority on the palate, but also a bit of a structural chassis that will want to be waited out before starting to drink the wine with abandon. (Drink between 2029 - 2060)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2023 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc (Domaine) is another strong performance, delivering aromas of sweet pear, peach and mandarin mingled with buttered toast and mint. Full-bodied, rich and ample, it’s layered and unctuous, with a seamless, satiny, textural profile and a long, lusty finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-94 RPThe 2023 Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc 1er Cru has more intensity on the nose than expected, with lovely lilting yellow fruit, quince and crushed stone scents. The palate is very well balanced and generous, with a slightly oily texture, great depth, fine acidity and a judicious touch of lemongrass toward the finish that feels long and intense. This may well surpass the 2022.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMMid lemon, with the somewhat more sumptuous bouquet of Clos des Mouches, always more flesh right from the outset. This is a powerful fleshy wine, with a good oak support, probably higher in alcohol. Lower than expected yield here in white. May well be around 14% I suspect but that goes with this territory. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-95A vague suggestion of the exotic is present in the form of jasmine tea, orange peel, white peach and a background hint of passion fruit. The medium-bodied flavors are rich to the point of opulence yet retain a relatively sleek mouthfeel that carries over to the balanced and nicely dry finale. This attractively persistent effort could use better depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove to be beneficial.Burghound | 90-92 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

Boasts an impressive concentration of lime, passion fruit and green apple aromas, with a firm, flinty minerality. The texture is dense but not heavy and surprisingly fresh for the vintage. The complex flavours echo on an interminable finish – this is among the great successes in Puligny this year. The grapes are from the 1.16ha of old vines at the north end of the clos that the Chartron family has owned for over a century. Cellar it for three to five years and drink over the next 20.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECTo my palate, Jean-Michel’s Clos de la Pucelle is always one of the finest premier cru bottlings made in Puligny and the 2023 version is no exception. The bouquet is complex, refined and vibrant, wafting from the glass in a mix of white peach, golden delicious apple, fresh almond, chalky soil tones, crème pâtissière, vanillin oak and citrus zest in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very pure on the attack, rock solid at the core, with fine soil inflection, a lovely spine of acidity, great focus and grip and a long, complex and racy finish. This is more reserved than the Folatières in personality today, as it should be, but will clearly hit the higher mark once it is properly ready to drink. Great juice. (Drink between 2030 - 2060)John Gilman | 94+ JGPale lemon and lime. The bouquet is fresh and chiselled, a little more herbal in style, much steelier than Folatières. On the palate one finds the Pucelles rhythm, waves of white fruit of controlled intensity, with a more mineral finish. The length also exceeds that of the excellent Folatières. Drink from 2029-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Pucelle 1er Cru is the monopole of the domaine. It has a more backward nose than other cuvées, with touches of orange blossoms and Granny Smith apples. The palate is well balanced, taut and fresh with a fine bead of acidity. It is tightly wound on the saline finish. This is a Puligny that will bide its time in bottle and reward those with the nous to cellar. This is very promising.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMHere too there is a suggestion of the exotic to the beautifully well-layered aromas of honeysuckle, white peach, acacia and subtle wood influence. The finer and more seductive, though less powerful and mineral-driven, flavors tighten up noticeably to become compact, serious and youthfully austere on the finale. While qualitatively similar to the Folatières, these are two very different wines.Burghound | 91-93 BH