Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet La Grande Ruchottes 1er Cru has a very precise and minerally bouquet that is kind of \"Cailleret-plus\". Very intense. The taut, focused palate has depth and intensity. It’s very sapid and spicier than Pillot's other cuvées with a persistent finish. Huge potential ahoy.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Decanter
Lieu-dit Grandes Ruchottes is part of the larger climat Grande Montagne, but to me it always has a slightly different character with more richness and less exuberance. The fruit is somewhat richer, with notes of pear and nectarine and more hazelnut than flint and smoke. The texture is denser, with just a bit of fat, but in the most pleasant sense. The wine hews closely to the house style, thus vibrant acidity and gratifying length on the finish. This wine should open well in three to five years and will drink well for at least 20 years.
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.