Francois Carillon Chassagne Montrachet Clos St. Jean 2013
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint Jean, from a massale selection of Puligny vines planted in 2004, has a light, airy vanilla and almond-scented bouquet, the oak nicely integrated and gaining intensity in the glass. The palate has more to say at the moment: the acidity well judged and lending this Clos Saint Jean sufficient tension and poise. It is linear and "correct," but it should gain more complexity on the finish by the time it is in bottle. Range: 88-91
The Carillon family domaine dates back to the 16th century. The winemaking tradition has been passed down from father to son since 1632 when a Carillon viticulteur is recorded, and even since 1520 when a Jehan Carillon is mentioned in archives. The family still occupies the same site as they did then in Puligny-Montrachet, between the church and the old château which belonged to the original nobles of the village. The motif on their label, showing a grape harvesting knife and the year 1632, is a reproduction of a carving above the door frame. The cuverie is built with the stones of the old château. Over the years, additional buildings throughout the village were added to the Carillon's holdings and converted to winemaking facilities. Today François Carillon leads the estate, crafting wines of tradition and finesse that show an extremely deft use of oak. The domaine produces Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru, villages Puligny-Montrachet, several Puligny-Montrachet Premier Crus, villages Chassagne Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Crus, a Saint Aubin Premier Cru, and Bourgogne Chardonnay and Aligotéiant.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A Côte de Beaune village of Burgundy most famous for its beautifully textured and powerful whites, Chassagne-Montrachet reaches farthest south in the Côte d’Or, save for the village of Santenay. It has three Grands Crus vineyards: Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Le Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet overlap with and are (confusingly) shared with the village of Puligny-Montrachet. But Chassagne-Montrachet bears sole ownership of the Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.
The beauty doesn’t stop there as the village has a great many outstanding Premiers Crus wines and village level wines. Most famous Premiers Crus vineyards include Les Chenevottes, Clos de la Maltroie, En Cailleret and Les Ruchottes. Also, village level wines offer many lovely examples of what Chassagne-Montrachet has to offer, but at more approachable price points and perhaps less demand of waiting.
The best sites in Chassagne-Montrachet have complex soils of sedimentary rock and limestone (with less marl). Whites, which are by law composed of 100% Chardonnay (as in all classified white Burgundy from Côte d’Or), have steely power, bright and concentrated citrus, stone or tropical fruit characteristics and attractive textures ranging from plush to tactile, grippy and mineral-driven.
There is some fine Pinot Noir produced from the village. These wines tend to be high-toned and earthy, with wild herb aromas and suave tannins.