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Domaine Gilles Bouton Chassagne Montrachet Voillenots Dessus Rouge 2019

Appellation
Chassagne Montrachet
Region
Côte de Beaune
Vintage
2019
18 In Stock
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$65.00
 
SKU: EBOU12R-19
Overview

The vineyard sits in the heart of Chassagne-Montrachet, actually the name is an old reference to the ‘Neighborhood’ due to the proximity to the village houses. Notes of cherry, raspberry, strawberry and myrtle berry all with an organic character. The wine is elegant, lively and bright. A nice progression from the regional wine.

Winemaker
Vintage

BURGUNDY 2019 VINTAGE

There’s a popular saying here in Burgundy which points out that, since the start of the 20th century, vintages ending in ‘9’ have been exceptional. So when 2019 came around, we were secretly anticipating something special. Little did we know!

Every vintage comes with its own hyperbole: best of the decade; greatest of the century; another 1990. And it’s true, as the climate continues to warm, there has been some remarkable wine produced in recent years. But in Burgundy in 2019, it got hot.

Both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay like to come to maturity slowly. Too much heat cooks the elegance out of them. So climate change is an existential issue for Burgundy wine as we know it.

But in 2019 something remarkable happened. I hesitate to call it a paradigm shift; it may well be a one-off. But in a year where, in some places, grapes turned to raisins on the vine, Burgundy has given us a vintage worthy of the hyperbole.

You won’t find many lacey, delicate wines this year. The vintage will be unapologetically bold and unbelievably concentrated. The whites are indulgent, often explosive, and pinned to a mind-bogglingly good acidic framework, given the summer heat. The reds are sophisticated and elegant, alive.

Perhaps most tellingly, despite the hot summer, this was not one of those late-August harvests that we’re getting accustomed to. The harvest got underway in the Cote de Beaune on 12 September. And some in the Cote de Nuits did not begin picking until the 23rd. The fruit was ripe earlier, but the fine conditions allowed the growers to wait for the holy grail: phenolic maturity.

You rarely get fruit maturity (the sugar part of the equation) plus phenolic maturity (the tannins in the pips and stems) coming together at the same time. Usually you sacrifice one for the other. You can’t force it to happen. Nature bestows it upon you. But when it does happen, that, almost by definition, is a great vintage.

2019 will be a great vintage. Think 2018 with more energy. The only downside is that, as opposed to the bumper crop we saw in 2018, 2019 was a small crop. Down by as much as 60% in the southern zones where it was hottest.

Let’s look quickly at how the season developed. The winter 2018/19 was mild, with higher than average temperatures in December and February. There was a lot of rain in December which many claim could ultimately have saved the vintage from the summer’s drought.

Spring was warm and the growth cycle started earlier than usual. There were precocious zones with bud burst in early April. But cold weather set in on 5 April with frost in many areas. Frost damage would have an effect on yields, particularly in the Maconnais. The cold weather held on through mid-April with several consequential frost risks.

Warm weather returned in May and remained until early June when temperatures dropped again, slowing growth again and hindering flowering. There was a good bit of flower abortion (millerandage), which, again, took its part of the yield at harvest.

Then mid-summer was hot-hot And dry-dry. The vines, for the most part, were in good shape going into the heat wave, but the stress was excessive. Vines handled the conditions differently from one plot to the next. Consensus is that old vines, with their deep roots, were able to find water in the subsoil. And that younger, well-tended vines, had a similar advantage. Vines with roots that went looking for water near the surface, however, suffered towards the end of the season, as they scorched and shriveled.

There was just a bit of rain in August, and from then on through September was hot but fine. In certain areas Pinot Noir ripened before Chardonnay, so harvest planning was complicated. The first Cremant vineyards were picked at the very end of August, and the harvest continued through to mid-October.

Harvest was a joy for the most part. Good weather. No disease. And the fruit that survived frost and fire was beautiful. Fermentation in both white and red went off easily. Whites finished slowly, gently, giving balance and purity. The length of red fermentation varied a lot, but the tannins are fine and the wine has vigor.

Appellation

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: Montrachet, Batard-Montrachet and Criot-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

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$65.00
 
SKU: EBOU12R-19
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