2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

For a background to the rejuvenation of this Gevrey estate, readers should refer to my article from October 2021 (https://vinous.com/articles/2019-burgundy-further-additions-oct-2021). On this occasion I was met by both brothers, Louis and Bénigne de Surrel, to taste through the 2020s after a sneak peek in September. “We started to harvest on August 24, beginning with the Premier Crus and finishing with the Village Cru four days later," Bénigne de Surrel explained. "We picked at the moment the fruit was turning from red to black. The day of picking was crucial to everything, so we did a lot of analysis in the field, going out and tasting the berries two or three times a day. The laboratory told us that analytically, the wines had too much acidity, but I asked if they had tasted the wine and they said no. So when I invited them to taste it and call back, they replied that there was not too much acidity. The pH was around 3.30 for the Fonteny. The Village Crus will be bottled in December 2021 and the Grand Crus the next spring. The alcohol levels are all below 13.7° and everything is bottled under natural cork." I asked about any changes since my previous visit. The brothers replied that they have introduced a small vertical press in order to obtain more precision with the vin de presse. These 2020s had not been racked and there would be none through the élevage, ergo a bit of harmless reduction in one or two barrel samples. This was an interesting set of wines. First and foremost, as I mentioned apropos of the 2019s, these are vastly superior in quality to older vintages that I have tasted. Stylistically, they remind me of Jean-Marie Fourrier, a comparison made after tasting his wines immediately prior. There are one or two cuvées where I found the new oak excessive, occluding the terroir expression, such as the Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Corvées and the Fonteny Premier Cru. This fault was highlighted by those cuvées where the oak was spot on, not least a very impressive Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru, the standout of their 2020s. I do wish to see more of the red fruit spectrum in these wines – they just lean a little toward black fruit at the moment – but the best are certainly worth seeking out.