Winemaker Notes
Pale yellow color with a complex floral nose of white lilac and white rose. Once open, fruity aromas come to the fore, evolving towards grilled hazelnut and almond. When the wine is more mature, the nose is surprisingly strong and fifteen minutes of aeration produce wonderful notes of white truffle, citron (cedrat), honey and nutmeg, elegantly meshed together. Very lively on the palate. Its rich texture is in evidence, but also its structure and minerality. It is round, but never heavy. Harmonious fullness in the aftertaste. This wine allies remarkably the complexity and elegance of a Bâtard-Montrachet with the power of a Corton-Charlemagne.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So much ripe mirabelle with nuances of honeycomb, candied citrus, vanilla bean, licorice and more. Stunning concentration with everything balanced on a pinhead. The underlying structure is enormous, but beautifully integrated in the rich and full body. Bright and pure finish that extends a really long way out.
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Wine Enthusiast
On the nose, the wine is intensely floral with a touch of underripe white peach, further tossed in a bowl of fresh citrus and cut apples. A creamy texture coats the palate, along with fresh almonds. This richly elegant and balanced expression finishes with great length and vibrancy of lemon zest.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc (Domaine) wafts from the glass with aromas of honeyed pears, freshly baked bread, buttery pastry, Meyer lemon and baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, its textural attack segues into a fleshy but vibrant core of fruit and a long, saline finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
This elegant version is packed with ripe black cherry, plum, sandalwood, cedar and spice flavors. Its beam of acidity keeps everything focused as mineral and leafy vegetal notes emerge. Shows fine balance, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, licorice and spice.
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Jasper Morris
Mid yellow colour, pleasantly oaky with adequate freshness to the voluminous fruit. This is extremely attractive and very well balanced, with a long elegant white fruit finish. Later on the more exotic side of Clos des Mouches emerges: melon, pineapple and honeysuckle, maybe whisky lactones.
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.
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.