tasting / laying down / 2021 Burgundy
Marsannay La Charme aux Prêtres Fresh bitterness and juiciness, with marzipan mid- palate. Nice tension and a puff of powered ginger at the end. 2024–30. | 88
Red
Marsannay Le Chapitre Straight and cool, with tension, firm, salty, and mineral. Light austerity to finish. 2026–30. | 88
Marsannay Clemomgeots
Very superficial topsoil here, but the white clay beneath is sliced in small plates, so the roots can penetrate it. Light and delicate, this skims neatly on saline acidity and powdery tannins. 2025–30. | 87
Marsannay Longeroies
100% whole-bunch. Sweet and juicy upfront, with a plump, softish palate. Supple depth of texture. Lightly sumptuous. 2025–30. | 87
Marsannay La Montagne Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Upslope from Longeroies, south-facing, quite a warm microclimate. Very perfumed and burly wine, with light muscle, slightly robust tannin, and an exotic note. 2025–28. | 86
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
DOMAINE DENIS BACHELET Denis’ son Nicolas has managed the vineyards in recent years, but 2021 was a new experience, combating the effect of frost, worms eating the buds, coulure, a hailstorm in Evocelles, and mildew. Their sloped vibrating table allowed them to sort grapes in the rain. Bachelet made a little more extraction and longer vatting, using less new oak on the village wines.
Côtes de Nuits Villages Queue de Hareng
The main part is Queue de Hareng at the top of the hill near Brochon. Red cherry and nutty, almond notes. Juicy and rich on the strike. Smooth and spicy fruit is undercut with bright acidity, and it’s lively and quite mineral to finish. 2024–28. | 86–87
Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Deep, red rose-petal aroma, succulent and generous. Lightly plump and rounded. Spicy and peppery, with a light licorice bite. This year the Evocelles was blended into this cuvée, as the yields were so low due to the storm. 2024–28. | 89–90
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Corbeaux
The terroir is deep, with lots of clay. It is next door to Mazis. Planted in the 1920s. Quite a wet place, with deep soil. Spicy red-fruit aroma, with red pepper. Broad, earthy, and generous, and just slightly grippy. It has a full, robust character and carries on good freshness. A little more rugged than in recent years, but good terroir definition. It has another winter in barrel to refine. 2025–33. | 93
182 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023
In Mazoyères. Old vines, between 50 and 60 years old. Burly and dense. Combines muscle, power, and concentration. Oomph to the mid-plate and vitality on the finish. A good example, with plenty of personality and decent length. 2028–35. | 96
Marsannay Clos du Roy Vieilles Vignes
Austere and sappy. Blocky and dense. Powerful and edgy. Marsannay with attitude. Draped with ripe fruit aromas, but firm beneath. 2025–29. | 88
Marsannay Longeroies Vieilles Vignes
From 70-year-old vines. Brown clay, deeper soil. Ripe florals, to a seductive, rounded, and generous palate; supple, juicy, and bright. 2025–28. | 87
ARNAUD MORTET Arnaud and his sister Clémence started this project in 2016, with 10 acres (4ha) that he farms himself, using the same team as the domaine. Mortet has used more whole-bunch, generally, in the 2021 vintage, to decrease the acidity. For the premier cru, the bunches are hand-destemmed in a laborious process, taking the main stem away but leaving a small part attaching the berry to the stem.
Gevrey-Chambertin Ma Cuvée
The parcels for this wine lie south and east of Gevrey, with 45% whole-bunch—less than for the following wines, as there is less acidity in Gevrey than in Marsannay and Fixin. Only 10% new oak. Perfumed and ripely brambly. Elegant and lively. Pure fruit, crisp and crunchy at the edges. Good tension, with a lively finish. 2026–30. | 90
Gevrey-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes
Succulent upfront. Compact and layered mid- palate. A more tannic structure, savory graphite, with a cold finish. 2026–30. | 92
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Champeaux
From 65-year-old vines. Lively pounce onto the palate. Crunchy tannins. Zesty acidity and an oyster–shell, salty minerality. Marine quality. It shivers. 2027–33. | 94–95
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Lavaux-St-Jacques
One third pédicelles and one third new oak. Floral and elegant. Bright, wafting on a gauzy texture to a lightly saline finish. 2027–33. | 94–95
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Alluring rose-petal aroma, deep and sumptuous, and this aroma flows into the scented palate. There is volume and intensity without weight. Slightly opulent, even in this cool vintage, yet detailed and lacy, too. Haunting, lingering, perfumed finish. Just three and a half barrels this year. Excellent Charmes. 2027–35. | 98
DOMAINE RENÉ BOUVIER “Good density, elegance, and pleasure in 2021. It is very floral and spicy, with orange notes,” says Bouvier. Strict management in the vineyard, with spraying, he says, was key. “The date of the harvest and the selection were all very important. Fifty percent whole-bunch for all the reds and a little more pigeage in 2021. Flowers and elegance, like 2007... maybe the 2021 is better."
Gevrey-Chambertin
A blend of lieux-dits Justice and Jeunes Rois. Juicy and fruity. Fine-textured tannins, with minerality and a cut of acidity on the finish, well-sustained. They work together very well. 2025–28. | 89
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru La Perrière
Deep topsoil, one yard (1m) deep. There is always good maturity here, so Mortet picks in good time. Two parcels, of 45 and 90 years. The younger is destemmed and the older half has pédicelles. Black fruit and earthy, gamey notes. Full and generous, with plenty of matter and a black coal-like character. Dark and savory, and very smooth to finish. 2027–35. | 94–95
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
“This parcel is proper Charmes, next to Griotte, where the soil is lighter and the situation is cooler.” Perfumed and fine aroma, quite airy. Sweetness on the front-palate, with concentrated and intense red fruit; the lightly plump mid-palate ripples into an elegant and pure line, which is fresh and delicate and refined. 2030–40. | 97–98
Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru
50% pédicelles and 30% new oak. Arnaud destems the younger, 40-year-old part and keeps the pédicelles on the older. Dark, spicy, and intense. A compact palate, layered and restrained. Plenty of vigor. This has shoulders and matter. A sappy, colder, mineral grip on the persistent finish. 2030–40. | 96–97
DOMAINE DENIS MORTET There were 50 barrels here in 2021, whereas 140 barrels is the norm. The domaine has many parcels on the higher, north side of the village, which was affected by the storm as well as by the frost. Not only did Mortet use more whole-bunch, but he decreased the oak quite considerably, from 70% to 30% in the premiers and grands crus. He pointed out that he uses stems for the effect on acidity, to make it more balanced, rather than as a stylistic choice. The fruit is held in a refrigerated container before being put into tank at 57ºF (14ºC), where it warms up naturally. Mortet is not pursuing a cold soak or an extended vatting. “I stopped the pre-ferment maceration. I think the wine is more elegant and classic without it. Better to do more at the end, to keep terroir and freshness."
Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Cinq Terroirs
One third whole bunches and the parcels on the Brochon side. 10–15% new oak. A structured Gevrey, slightly austere and firm. Vibrant acidity, cold and reserved, with mineral bite on the finish. 2025–30. | 91
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