Winemaker Notes
This wine is 100% Chardonnay aged 12 months in oak barrels (with 20 to 25% new oak) and 3 to 6 months in vats.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Bruno Colin farms 30 small parcels he inherited when his father, Michel, retired in 2003, most of them in Chassagne; he makes eight premier cru wines in the village, including this wine from the hillside several vineyards above Montrachet. He ferments it in stainless steel without added yeasts, then ages the wine in barrels for 18 months, using 33 percent new oak. His sunny 2015 seems to blossom in the glass, opening to peachy ripeness while it holds to limestone cool. Balanced and fresh, spicy and intense, this is a generous wine that will grow up to be grand.
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Wine Spectator
High-pitched, featuring floral, citrus and spice aromas and flavors allied to a racy profile. Subtle yet persistent, this plays out on the finish, with lemon, stone and spice accents. Best from 2020 through 2029.
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.