2022 Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau Cuvée Ultra

“During the season, it was quite normal, but July and August were warm,” Christophe Perrot-Minot tells me. “We started picking on August 31 as berries had begun to dry and shrivel, plus the acidity was falling. It was necessary to pick promptly and quickly as you risked more damage. We finished on September 9. We did a lot of sorting to take away the dried and overripe berries, the equivalent of 8½ barrels, so that the yield is between 25hL/ha to 30hL/ha. The vinification was normal with few pigeages as usual and more pumping-over. The wines are aged in a maximum of 20% new oak without any racking unless there is a barrel with a bad reduction. They will be bottled between March and May according to the lunar calendar.” I have to say, I find much to like in this range, which, as I pointed out to Perrot-Minot, manages to infuse more red fruit than I have noticed in previous vintages. Highlights include his Chapelle-, Charmes-Chambertin, and a brilliant Mazoyères-Chambertin that shade the Griottes-Chambertin, which I felt needs more depth and substance on the finish. There are some gems throughout different levels: the Morey-Saint-Denis La Riotte and Morey-Saint-Denis Villages, for starters. As I commented, Perrot-Minot was one of the only winemakers who claimed that sorting was necessary when other winemakers told me that little needed to be weeded out on the sorting table.