Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet Clos St. Jean Premier Cru 2018
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Golden lemon in appearance. Aromas of citrus, wet stone and a tinge of resin exude from the glass. A rich and opulent palate with medium bodied flavors that caress the mouth and culminate in a clear, long, vivacious finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Clos St. Jean makes red as well as white wines, but this hails from very poor limestone soils that are much better suited to Chardonnay than Pinot Noir. Planted in 1990 and running to 0.5ha in total, it's flinty, intense and subtly reductive, with an engaging combination of minerality, freshness and understated concentration. One of a number of excellent Niellon wines in 2018. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A fine follow-up to the terrific 2017—which continues to show brilliantly from my cellar—Niellon's 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean offers up aromas of white currants, citrus oil and pear mingled with notions of toasted bread and nutmeg. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and succulent, with racy acids, fine depth and concentration. This is well worth seeking out.
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Wine Spectator
Though toasty, there are plenty of bright lemon and apple flavors gracing this white, allied to ample flesh for ballast. This also serves to keep the bracing acidity in check. The mineral- and spice-tinged finish is long and well-defined. Drink now through 2027.
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James
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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.