2019 Chambertin Grand Cru

“The most important thing was to have the freshness in the wines,” Christophe Perrot-Minot told me. “We harvested from 17 to 25 September. The challenge was to eliminate the berries that were dry or over-ripe. For the vinification there were no problems at all. The average yield was around 20hl/ha. We did much more remontage than pigeage and will rack at the end of the year. There is a maximum of 20% new oak and around 50% whole bunches across the range. The malos were all finished within two months and the wines will be bottled around the end of March.” Highlights in 2019 include a very impressive Chapelle-Chambertin and voluminous Mazoyères-Chambertin, closely followed by the Griottes-Chambertin. I also loved the Nuits Saint-Georges Richemone Cuvée Ultra that will be dangerously seductive. There is always a glossy veneer to these wines, not that dissimilar to Arlaud in some ways, and they deserve requisite time in the cellar.