WINEMAKER’S NOTES:
Bursting with aromas of cherries, berries, violets, plums and dark chocolate, the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vibrant, with powdery tannins and a crunchy core of fruit. The 2020 vintage has turned out brilliantly at Domaine Bernard Moreau—but what’s new? Alex Moreau readied his harvesters promptly, as it takes eight days to pick the whole domaine, and began on August 20th. Yields were good, and the cellar is full (which is not the case in 2021), with alcohols moderate, the highest being 13.4%. As usual, the fruit is crushed before pressing (which lasts up to three and a half hours), briefly settled and barreled down (François Frères is the predominant cooper here) for vinification with plenty of lees, Moreau doing nothing to discourage quite protracted fermentations, which he finds build texture and complexity into the wines. For my palate, the results are some of the finest white wines produced on the Côte de Beaune, and they occupy a prominent place in my personal cellar. The market is certainly taking notice, and prices are rising fast, but readers won’t want to miss the 2020s.