2016 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru (Marquis de Laguiche)

Veteran Jean-Claude Ramonet makes no claims for greatness for either the 2016 or 2017 white Burgundies, so I feel a bit out on a limb by rating his wines higher than he apparently does. Ramonet considers 2016 to be a fragile vintage, "especially for the frosted vineyards," and will bottle his wines with a full 35 parts per million of sulfur. Perhaps more important, he feels that the frosted 2016s "lack something." I enjoyed the '16s for their energy but I do wonder if some of them will expand and gain in pliancy and complexity in bottle like the best vintages at this address. And, as in some other cellars, especially in Chassagne-Montrachet, a few of these wines finish with a faint bitterness that may reflect the influence of some less-ripe second-generation grapes. But the best '16s here are standouts, and they appear destined for a slow and positive evolution in the cellar.

Véronique Drouhin considers her family’s 2016 white wines to be mid-term agers, noting that “there’s no rush to drink them." The harvest brought a concentrated crop, she told me, while 2017 was “more variable and sometimes a bit dilute.” Potential alcohol levels in the '16s were mostly around 13%, although the Morgeot came in at 14%. None of the 2016 village wines or crus were acidified and none of the '16s I sampled at Drouhin were chaptalized.

Veteran Jean-Claude Ramonet makes no claims for greatness for either the 2016 or 2017 white Burgundies, so I feel a bit out on a limb by rating his wines higher than he apparently does. Ramonet considers 2016 to be a fragile vintage, "especially for the frosted vineyards," and will bottle his wines with a full 35 parts per million of sulfur. Perhaps more important, he feels that the frosted 2016s "lack something." I enjoyed the '16s for their energy but I do wonder if some of them will expand and gain in pliancy and complexity in bottle like the best vintages at this address. And, as in some other cellars, especially in Chassagne-Montrachet, a few of these wines finish with a faint bitterness that may reflect the influence of some less-ripe second-generation grapes. But the best '16s here are standouts, and they appear destined for a slow and positive evolution in the cellar.

According to winemaker Jérôme Faure-Brac, there was tremendous variability in maturity by parcel in 2016, owing to frost, mildew and grillure. Joseph Drouhin started harvesting on the Côte de Beaune on September 19 with their Meursault Perrières, “but mostly started two or three days later” and finished some reds on the Côte de Nuits as late as October 11. There was some blockage of maturity for Chardonnay but not for Pinot Noir, he told me. And losses to frost also ranged widely. For example, the estate’s Beaune Clos des Mouches, which has been hit hard by extreme weather events in recent years, was barely touched by frost in ’16 and enjoyed what Faure-Brac described as “a normal maturation.” The estate did more manual picking in 2016, as it would have been very difficult to pick mildewed parcels by machine. “It’s vintage of sacrifice,” he summed up, referring to the careful selection that was required to make good, balanced wines.

Potential alcohol levels in the 2016 grapes ranged from 11.8% up to 13% or even a bit higher, according to Faure-Brac, who noted that some of the wines are very ripe owing to the summer heat. “Some cuvées are fresher than others,” he told me. “In general, the ‘16s had higher acidity at the beginning than the ‘15s, but more of it was malic and thus there was an important drop in acidity during the malolactic fermentations even if the pHs are healthy.” Faure-Brac finds the 2016 whites “pretty classic,” but noted that some of the ’16 reds are showing a dip in the middle palate.

He wasn't wild for the sun-drenched 2015s at the beginning owing to their deficit of acidity (none of the finished wines have as much as 4 grams per liter). But the wines didn't change much during the secondary fermentations due to the lack of malic acidity. The lees were also very clean so Faure-Brac kept as much of them as possible, which he believes contributed to the ultimate freshness of the wines. They finished tactile and saline, with some evidence of tannins. “It’s rare that we have such a combination of richness and tension,” said Faure-Brac, “and of course it’s an amazing vintage for the reds.”