2020 Bourgogne Rouge

Juliette and Caroline, the daughters of Louis Chenu, might not possess a clutch of famous vineyards, but I believe that they have taken this domaine to a higher level in recent years. That said, they admitted to being exhausted by the demands of the 2021 growing season. I will tackle those next year. For now, it’s time to focus on 2020. “From April, it was so warm that we had a swim in the pool on April 10. It never changed during the season. We had some rain on the Friday before harvest, which was good, as the whites had a blocked maturity. This ‘relaxed’ everything, but it was too late for the red wines, which consequently have smaller yields – the reverse of the 2019 vintage. It was a very early vintage, starting on August 26 and finishing on September 2. The challenge was that it was still hot during picking, so we left the boxes of grapes in the cellar overnight to cool them down before they entered the tanks. Now we are doing less de-leafing to keep the foliage and protect the bunches during the hot summers. The whites are around 12.5° alcohol, and up to 14.0° for the reds." These wines are bottled under natural cork except for the Aligoté. Though maybe not quite as consistent the 2019s, the 2020s comprise a strong set of Savigny-lès-Beaune wines, crowned by the Haut-Jarrons. Unfortunately, there is no Les Lavières. Fearing that demand was faltering, they sold off the fruit to make sure of some income. Ironically, not only did demand remain strong, but in 2021 the vineyard was hit by frost. As Homer Simpson would say, “Doh!”