2020 Saint-Aubin Les Perrières 1er Cru

It has become a kind of tradition that my first visit is to Domaine Chartron in Puligny-Montrachet to meet the most smiley winemaker in Burgundy, Jean-Michel Chartron. I asked him about the 2020 growing season. “When the lockdown began in mid-March, the weather was beautiful in France,” he answered via e-mail. “It lasted until mid-September. The vines took advantage of this to get a three-week head start at bud burst. They were able to maintain their advance until harvest began on August 14 with our Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret Rouge – the earliest ever during my 30 years in the business. Very early flowering raised hopes for an abundant harvest. High summer temperatures, coupled with the lack of rainfall, caused a significant water deficit. These shortages created a few occurrences of very concentrated grapes and even slight scorching on bunches facing the sun. Within different appellations, or sometimes even within the same appellation, the maturities were occasionally staggered, as was the case with the flowering, depending on whether or not rainfall was present. Vinification was easy, thanks to the extremely healthy condition of the grapes. There was practically no disease or rot due to the absence of rain. I have been very enthusiastic about the initial tastings, and the particular conditions of this vintage have created a unique balance. Of course, there is a subtle richness, but at the same time a pleasant tension. Many are already anticipating 2020 as a vintage that will age well, for both white and red wines. That is to be confirmed! Regarding closure, we used Diam on all the whites except the three Clos des Pucelles, Bâtard-Montrachet and Montrachet, but after several years of testing, we might now close all the whites with Diam. We use Diam 5 for regional and villages, Diam 10 for Premiers Crus and Diam 30 for Grands Crus.” Asking how he would compare to 2019, he replied: “For me, the balance is slightly better in the 2020s compared to the 2019s. They have a little more acidity. I chaptalized a little at the end of the alcoholic fermentation and then in barrel to infuse and extract a little sucrosity.”