2021 Côte de Nuits-Villages

Michel Mallard usually lights a log fire whenever I visit his winery in Ladoix, but such is the unseasonal October warmth that there is no need. Mallard is always forthright with his opinions, and it is always great to chew the fat about the current state of Burgundy. He has an almost combative approach to the 2021 vintage, an unwillingness to bow down and be compromised. That doesn’t imply his volumes did not suffer. “I lost 70% of the whites,” he tells me. “I picked on 17 September, which is quite early compared to others. I used whole clusters as they bought more structure to the wines, and there is 50% in the Premier Cru. [This compared to other winemakers, some of which eschewed stems altogether.] The problem was filling the tank because of the small volume. I racked the whites in early September. I’m filling the barrels late so that I can manage the percentage of new barrels.” Whereas other winemakers reduced the percentage of new oak, Mallard held firm and is convinced that there was no need to decrease the level of new wood, using two-thirds for his Grand Crus. This is a pretty strong set of wines that deserves more recognition; the whole bunch and new oak were deftly handled in such a challenging growing season. Whereas elsewhere, the 2021s are a bit pushed and unbalanced, Mallard manages to make them a natural fit for the wines here.