Chambolle-Musigny
1er Cru Les Charmes 2020
The wines of Chambolle-Musigny, located in the Côte de Nuits, are unique red wines that symbolize finesse and elegance…
Origin
This appellation is one of the smallest and most parcelled out of the Côte with only 97 ha of Village appellation vines, 50 ha of Premiers Crus and 25 ha of Grands Crus. The terroirs of Chambolle-Musigny are rather homogenous and enjoy eastern exposure. The delicate silkiness of its wines stems directly from the soil type.
This term 'Charmes' is used in Burgundy to designate poor vegetation plateaux, uncultivated or fallow land.Formerly there were many plots not worked by their owner because they were very stony and difficult to cultivate.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: very stony and very thin limestone soil.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.3477 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 30 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 50 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 5 September 2020.
The grapes were handpicked. First sorting in the vineyard, second on the sorting table upon receipt of the harvest.
At the winery: 90% of grapes were destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasted a total of 15 days including 3 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 1 punching of the cap. Vinification without sulfur.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 16 months with no racking using a proportion of 40% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in January 2022.
Number of bottles: 1,189 bouteilles & 12 jéroboams.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: 10 years and more.
Awards
Le Nouveau Bettane + Desseauve 2023 - 94/100
Tasting notes
With is dark red color, the nose is very expressive and charming with intense aromas of small black fruits as well as floral and subtly woody notes.the mouth is muscular while keeping a beautiful freshness. A wine with a very good length.
