2021 Bourgogne Blanc

Upon entering this Gamay-based producer, I have to enquire if I am at the correct address. I’ve been visiting for several years, yet the entrance is unrecognisable, very swish with a triangular tasting desk, a mezzanine office and a large, illuminated rectangle, the final touch, which will depict their array of holdings. It is a sign of a Domaine that is really going places; brothers Benoît and Jean-Baptiste have ratcheted up quality in recent years. Still, their ascendency hit a bit of a road bump when faced with the 2021 growing season.

“It was a late vintage,” Jean-Baptiste Bachelet tells me, his niece playing with toys up in the mezzanine. “The frost was damaging, and we lost a lot of volume, eventually picking at 25hl/ha, though it was more for the reds even though they were still impacted. We used candles in the vineyard from midnight…maybe it was too late? I think it went better if you placed them in the vineyard before the snow. In the morning, it was -4° Celsius, but actually, it did not inflict as much damage as in 2016. In 2021, we made a Saint-Aubin 1er Cru that is a blend of Clos de Montceau, La Chatenière and Combe au Sud. The summer was complicated as the vines were fragile and sensitive to mildew and oïdium in these humid conditions. There was no rest. We began picking by hand on 22 September and finished six days later with the reds and didn’t have to do too much sorting as the bunches were in good health. It was a normal fermentation, the alcoholic fermentation a bit late compared to other years, ending mid-May or June, which caused some reduction in the wine. The upside is that I can wait longer to add SO2. I think the delay is because the malic was quite high. We will transfer the wines into tank in early 2022 until the summer, when they will be bottled. The wines are not big, but they managed to attain concentration. I believe the second winter is necessary to gain more tension and freshness.”

This is a solid set of 2021s. They are not easy to taste because several cuvées are still heavily reduced, which is not a bad thing but rather a positive trait as it will stand the wines in good stead post-bottling. One of the important tenets here is a long barrel ageing so that all the wines see two winters in wood; ergo, they tend to be a bit fuller and rounder in texture than some of their peers. They usually age exceptionally well, though they need more bottle maturity than others.