2020 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet, White Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, France.
I had not had the Bernard Moreau wines in quite sometime and was incredibly impressed by Alex Moreau’s light gold 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc with its dense and luxurious concentration and underlying vitality and verve, this vintage has it all with deep fruit and mineral intensity, making it a serious white Burgundy. Grown on a small plot, the Chassagne vines are mature and set on classic clay and limestone and farmed sustainable with mainly organic methods with the winery focused on maintaining healthy and balanced soils, saying that they use only organic fertilizers and no pesticides. added to that, to ensure greater flavor intensity they farm for lower yields through pruning, de-budding to get later, but better fruit sets, and green harvesting in August to maximize ripening, both with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Alex is pragmatic and flexible in the cellar, with a deft use of new wood and long elevage(s) striving to show off terroir and vintage, which is clearly the case with his 2020, delivering a beautifully rounded wine with lemon curd, apple, Bosc pear and peach layering, along with chalky wet stone, clove spice, leesy brioche, dry honeycomb, white flowers, vanilla and subtle creaminess. In a week of tasting lots of white Burgundy, this one is noticeably less reductive, but still with an underpinning of vibrant acidity, it truly is an excellent Chardonnay that is best with food, from soft farm cheeses to lobster tail.
The Domaine Bernard Moreau’s roots go back to about 1809, as I learned recently, to when Auguste Moreau built a cellar across from the famous Champs Gain vineyard and farmed some Chardonnay and Pinot along that most coveted of hillsides in the Côte de Beaune. In the 1930s the Moreau project saw an expansion of the family’s vineyards under the guidance of Marcel Moreau, in fact close to 80% of the domaine’s current vineyard holdings were acquired by Marcel during his time in charge, which seems significant in terms of vision and providing for future generations here. According to the winery, at the remarkably young age of 14, Bernard Moreau took over the vineyards and cellar in the early 1960’s, something that would almost be impossible today. It was at this point In seventies that the reputation of this historic estate was fully established, again under the leadership of Bernard and Françoise Moreau, and it was in 1977 the winery was named Domaine Bernard Moreau. There was innovation in the farming and wine making too and they also purchased additional prime plots, with some St. Aubin and Volnay vines included, bringing the domaine close total to 14 hectares. Bernard’s sons Alex and Benoît joined the Domaine in the 1990s after having worked in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and Alex is now, as mentioned, responsible for the overall operations of the winery including cellar, winemaking and the vineyards, which looks to have enhanced the wines and secured the future here. While the whites have always stood out, as seen here, the reds, especially the Chassagne Rouge and Volnay bottlings have started to create a buzz and I am look forward to trying them soon as well!
($90 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive