Domaine Borgeot Chassagne Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2023
This village level vineyard dates back to the Cistercian monks. The name referencing the grounds of their 'Abbaye de Morgeot' Both white and red is produced here and the vineyard can also be referred as 'Vielles Vignes’. If you do not know Chassagne Montrachet red, you are missing one of the great pleasures of Pinot in Burgundy. This lieu dit 'Champs de Morgeot' is lush and spicy, with a totally different spin on the Pinot Noir from further north in Volnay and Pommard. Luscious and juicy, in the hands of the Borgeot brothers this is a gem of a Pinot, with great structure and density infused with black fruits.
BURGUNDY 2023 VINTAGE
The 2023 vintage in Burgundy was marked by abundant yields and a growing season that brought both challenges and rewards, resulting in a harvest that is notable for its charm, increasingly promising for its quality, but troubling for its irregularity.
The BIVB says it was the largest harvest in Burgundy’s history, producing approximately nearly 2 million hectoliters. This enormous crop was by and large healthy, with no signs of stress despite a record-breaking heatwave during the hottest harvest ever.
But let’s step back and look, as we do each year, at the lead-up to the that harvest.
The winter of 2022-23 was very mild and dry; the spring was mild, but wetter; summer was punctuated by storms and then came a heatwave late in the season that took the crop racing towards harvest.
So despite being perhaps less sunny that recent vintages, the heat and regular rains pushed the vines to grow rapidly and the grapes to develop, albeit without serious phytosanitary (oidium and mildew) issues, if the growers were vigilant.
That said, there were those who saw the huge crop coming, and removed lots of buds early in the growing season. This not only helped manage the yield, but it also reduced disease pressure. Some say this may have been the key to quality in 2023.
A hailstorm in mid-July hit Meursault and Volnay hard (with up to 40% loss of the crop).
The harvest saw temperatures soar, with a heatwave pushing daytime highs to around 40 C (104 F). Ripening happened at a frightening speed (one producer friend said that there were no Saturdays or Sundays during harvest). This forced some growers to pick early to preserve as much acidity as possible. The result was a vintage with abundant yields and generally healthy grapes, though quality varied depending on terroir and vineyard management.
It’s important to note that neither Pinot Noir nor Chardonnay like high temperatures and heat-wave harvests. So 2023 is yet another Burgundy vintage where you have to know who made the wine. Well-made whites at the moment are drinking brilliantly, with Chablis getting a lot of attention. The reds have developed slowly, but now, after some time in the bottle, they are loosening up. The fruit on both red and white is splashy. And the acidity levels seem good, considering the hot growing season. It may be a case of good malic acid replacing the lactic. But the results are showing charm. What vintages to compare these to? The whole is not far off of the precedent vintage, 2022 with maybe a little less class. Is particular, the reds remind me of 2017 (which is a personal favorite at the moment), and the whites are a bit like the 2018s, in their ripeness and acidity. Watch out for wines that have a green, vegetal edge; some producers got spooked by the heat and harvested too soon. But you won’t have to worry about that here at burgundywine.com. Enjoy the 2023s for what they are: ripe, juicy and voluptuous.
CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET
COTE DE BEAUNE
In the very south of the Côte de Beaune. Chassagne-Montrachet is one of the triumvirate in the 'golden traingle' of white Burgundy (with Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault). The broad hillside that it shares with Puligny brings out an extraordinary expression of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In Chassagne, they are grown side by side, such is the complexity of the terroir. The zone includes some plots in the neighboring village of Remigny which shares the same soil conditions. Extensive marble quarries which form a cliff face in the vineyards, are the source of the stone that went into the building of the Trocadero in Paris and more recently the Louvre Pyramid.
Produced in the communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Remigny, the appellation Chassagne-Montrachet includes 55 premiers crus.
The commune of Chassagne-Montrachet also produces 3 grands crus:
Le Montrachet
Batard-Montrachet
Criots-Batard-Montrachet
Wines
White Chassagne Montrachet can be one of the world's great Chardonnays. At its best it is glittering gold with hints of green. Aromas of honeysuckle and hazelnut with a citrus acidity in youth. Deep, smokey gun-flint minerality. Notes of honey and fleshy pear. Luscious attack, round and decadent with the minerality carrying the mid-palate through to a long finish.
Red Chassagne Montrachet (sadly more and more rare in the shadow of white Chassagne's popularity) can have one of the most beautiful and brilliant robes of all of the Cote de Beaune. The nose is cherry and nutty cherry pit with spicy notes and Pinot savagery with age. There can be great substance to a Chassagne red, a depth that can be overlooked because of the prettiness of the fruit. Young tannins can be austere, or at least used to be. The modern Chassagne red tends to be more fruit forward and open.
Terroirs
At altitudes between 220 and 325 meters, the succession of rocks from the top down is first rauracien then callovien and finally argovien. The soil of the various climats range from pebbly limestone, through marls, to sandy soils with a Jurassic basis.
Color
White wines - Chardonnay
Red wines - Pinot Noir
Production surface area
1 hectare (ha) = 2.4 acres
Whites : 187.16 ha (including 116.60 ha premier cru)
Reds : 114.27 ha (including 33.43 ha Premier Cru)
Food
The opulence and power of the whites work well with delicate white meats such as poultry or veal. Fish, either in well-spiced couscous or in curries or stir-fries, are also well-suited. Salmon, in itself highly aromatic, works particularly well. The premiers crus will complement crayfish, lobster, or even foie gras.
Chassagne reds can be powerful, despite the first impression of freshness and fruit. This makes it a good match with quality cuts of meat such as grilled or roast lamb, grilled pork and spicy meat dishes in general. The premier crus can go to game birds.
Appellations
The following climats are classified premier cru:
Abbaye de Morgeot
Blanchot dessus
Bois de Chassagne
Cailleret
Champs Jendreau
Chassagne
Chassagne du Clos Saint-Jean
Clos Chareau
Clos Pitois
Clos Saint-Jean
Dent de Chien
En Cailleret
En Remilly
En Virondot
Ez Crets
Ez Crottes
Francemont
Guerchère
La Boudriotte
La Cardeuse
La Chapelle
La Grande Borne
La Grande Montagne
La Maltroie
La Romanée
La Roquemaure
Les Baudines
Les Boirettes
Les Bondues
Les Brussonnes
Les Champs gain
Les Chaumées
Les Chaumes
Les Chenevottes
Les Combards
Les Commes
Les Embazées
Les Fairendes
Les Grandes Ruchottes
Les Grands Clos
Les Macherelles
Les Murées
Les Pasquelles
Les Petites Fairendes
Les Petits Clos
Les Places
Les Rebichets
Les Vergers
Morgeot
Petingeret
Tête du Clos
Tonton Marcel
Vide Bourse
Vigne Blanche
Vigne Derrière
The following climats are village wines from a single vineyard known as a lieu-dit:
Blanchot Dessous
Bouchon de Corvée
Champ Derrière
Champs de Morjot
Clos Bernot
Dessous les Mues
En Journoblot
En l'Ormeau
En Pimont
Fontaine Sot
La Bergerie
La Canière
La Canotte
La Goujonne
La Platière
La Têtière
Le Clos Reland
Le Concis du Champs
Le Parterre
Le Poirier du Clos
Les Battaudes
Les Benoites
Les Beuttes
Les Chambres
Les Charnières
Les Chaumes
Les Chênes
Les Encégnières
Les Essarts
Les Grandes Terres
Les Houillères
Les Lombardes
Les Masures
Les Meix Goudard
Les Morichots
Les Mouchottes
Les Perclos
Les Pierres
Les Plantes Momières
Les Voillenots Dessous
Plante du Gaie
Plante Saint Aubin
Pot Bois
Puits Merdreaux
Sur Matronge
Voillenot Dessous