2021 Bourgogne Les Grand Corvées

Sébastien Caillat has become the reluctant superstar of Chassagne in recent years, his wines hunted down and exchanging hands for mind-boggling sums, mainly in the Far East. Whilst some Burgundy winemakers aspire and covet high prices, Caillat is not one of them, to the extent that he feels bewildered, and embarrassed by pecuniary speculation, not least because it misconstrues his intention to create a bijou side-project from Lamy-Pillot. “I transferred from barrel to tank just before harvest,” he informs me in his tenebrous tasting room. “I don’t have a bad memory for the vintage. oïdium pressure is just part of the job - each vintage is different. Sometimes we need rainy and cool seasons. I just had some problems with the alcoholic fermentation - the yeasts had a very low rate of transformation – 22 grams of sugar to make one alcoholic degree instead of 17 or 18. I started picking on 18 September. My wife Florence was in the vines at harvest and reminded me that it takes time to really want to inspect the fruit when picking. This is the first vintage using my seven-hectoliter Vaslin ‘baby press,’ which was perfect for a small harvest. I was a bit worried about using a mechanical press that might damage the fruit, but it gives a little more strictness and bitterness. I was worried during the first year of élevage, but I can see the wines changing now - the second winter will be very important.” This was an impressive, consistent set of 2021 from Caillat, though with my objective critic’s hat on, they don’t quite deliver the elan of the 2019s or 2020s, perhaps just a couple of paces behind.