France
Chambolle Musigny
Burgundy
Red
Pinot Noir
00
2026 - 2042
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“We lost 50% of the volume,” Maxime Rion tells me at this winery in Prémeux-Prissey, “especially La Terre Blanche with the Chardonnays, also [Premier Crus] Clos Saint-Marc and Les Charmes. The younger vines were more impacted than the older ones. We used candles, but they were ineffective. Maybe in the future, we will only use them to protect younger vines and will change the way of pruning – two prunings – the second later. We always start in January, but that is not late enough. So will just allow a very long branch to grow before cutting at the last moment [a technique trialled at Dujac]. In the end the yields are around 15hL/ha. The flowering was difficult. Grass between the rows helped with the excess of water and helped drive the tractors to spray as the dry windows were very small.”
“We started the picking on 18 September with a lot of sorting, which we had time to do. Still, we use no sulfur during winemaking, so it is vital to sort carefully. There are just three cuvées where we have used some stem addition in the Premier Crus. Maybe we should have used more, but that was the feeling at the time. It’s the kind of vintage where you have to extract a little more to maintain the balance, though the maceration period was a little shorter. We were more prudent with using new oak, 30% maximum since the wines are more delicate. The malo went quite quickly, and the wines have evolved in barrel after that. We racked the Premier Crus recently and planned to bottle at the end of the year to keep the freshness as the tannins already feel elegant.”
Rion is a grower that I rate very highly, and they’ve enjoyed a purple patch in recent vintages. That said, the 2021 vintage will impact; like elsewhere, it is not as consistent across the range. That is exemplified by differences perceived between the Clos Saint-Marc and the Clos des Argillières. Whereas the former effortlessly assimilated the 30% whole bunches, the latter was less harmonious, even though there were differences in racking between the two. But overall, this is another satisfying, occasionally exemplary range of 2021s with the challenges of the season overcome.
Vinous | Explore All Things Wine