Tasted in Puligny with Anne-Laure & Jean-Michel Chartron, 06 October, 2020.
Domaine Jean Chartron
8 Bis Grande Rue
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 99 19
www.bourgogne-chartron.com
More reports for Domaine Chartron
Jean-Michel on 2020:
“It was an important ‘sortie’ of grapes at the start of the year, the response to the small frost we had in 2019. In the end, the rendement was lower than anticipated – more on the hillsides, the flats were not too bad – Puligny has a lot of flats so not bad. I think the pinot suffered a little more, Caillered was 0nly 225 kg – 40% less than for a full barrel. That’s the perspective of yield, from the perspective of quality I think super – the balance of sugar and acidity is very interesting indeed – we won’t have any heavy wines – fermentations have gone well – none stopped this year. Started 14 with red didn’t finish until the 10th Spet in the Hautes Côtes. Was a hot year but always with cool nights.”
Jean-Michel on 2019:
“2019 was complicated because we had a little frost, more than we were hit in 2016 – sometimes as low as 30% of a normal harvest. Then we had hot weather some nights with 25° yet we still seem to have good freshness – I’m happy with the wines but not the quantity.”
The wines…
I’m sorry for saying excellent so often – it’s Jean-Michel’s and the vintage’s fault. Though I wonder if today was a tree day from a tasting perspective – I noted oak in the civées more than I usually do – but if you wait 2 years or so, you probably won’t be able to find it anymore…
2019 Bourgogne Chardonnay Cuvée Eugénie Dupard
Bottled end of July. 3 labels for the same cuvée. Also labelled simply as Bourgogne Côte d’Or or Bourgogne VV for markets outside France – have no clients for Côte d’Or just jet. But Jean-Michel is open!
A little stony, with a faintly citrus aromatic width – but not full power today. Bright, fresh, a wine of direction – bubbling with citric intensity. Oh, that’s an electric finish! Really excellent stuff.
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Vieilles Vignes
A similarly compact nose though showing a little extra depth of aroma. More supple, silky and wider. I sense, more than taste, the hand of some more barrel here – but the flavour is simply gorgeous for a Bourgogne, wide and subtly vibrant. Deliciously finishing again, with an overall slightly more accessible nature today vs the Bourgogne.
2019 Rully Montmorans
4 hectares here.
An aroma that is just a little fuller and sweeter – very inviting. A deeper bass-line here, rather mineral but completely succulent and mouth-watering. Different but super – growing in middle and finishing intensity – just a suggestion of barrel once more at the end – I’d wait 6-12 months, but this is absolutely delicious.
All the previous wines were sealed with DIAM, higher wines depends on the vintage – Caillerets/Pucelles in cork like the GCs except Corton-Charlemagne which is also DIAM. All the following are now samples from tank or barrel:
2019 Santenay Les Pierres Seche
A larger nose, a yellow citrus invitation, modestly framed with a little oak. There is only one barrel of this. Supple, pliable, a little cushioned, oak flavour more evident again. But open, mineral and very tasty – I’d wait 18-24 months but with anticipation. Love the extra boost of finishing flavour here.
2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune Nourrissants, Théologiques et Morbifuges
Hmm – that’s a lovely width of aromatic freshness – stone fruit at the core. A faint gas – more open, more sweetness, today more diffuse too vs the previous wines. A less forceful but more ingraining stony finish which, like the nose, I like very much. This needs to tighten up in the middle a little but more than good potential I think.
4 barrels of Belles Filles plus two others
A vibrant, classically PV nose – that’s really so good – agrume and minerals. Fuller but no fat, lots of vibrant concentration here – slowly adding a faint accent of barrel – but really faint. Vibrantly finishing – if you’re a fan of PV you’ll really love this.
2019 St.Aubin 1er Perrières
A little more compact aroma again – fresh, lemon-citrus too. More gas – less direct than the PV, but open and with melting flavour. If that adds just a little more focus it will be absolutely excellent – the finish already is!
2019 St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents du Chien
Also compact, but this nose is showing more stony depth than the Perrières. Fuller, more energy, better focus to the flavour too today – a little agrume-citrus here. Juicily finishing – already excellent!
2019 Meursault
A blend of parcels that are high on the hill towards Puligny – Tillets and Narvaux – ‘I want a Puligny style hence the locations but this very Meursault.’ This was previously called ‘Pierres’ but the douane didn’t like that as it sounded too much like Perrières! So…
Directly different; more spiced bread – classic Meursault from the off. Mouth-filling, open, good energy – not too much intensity but you know what you’re drinking here. Layered in the finish – a supple middle and finishing texture. Sustains a very good finish too. Simply excellent villages Meursault.
Mainly Benoîtes but due to the frost some others too.
Not a big nose but one that gives a relaxed and composed impression. Hmm, that has a little depth to the mouth-filling flavours, texturally lovely, multi-dimensional flavour too – a shame that there’s so much less of this – bravo – top villages.
2019 Puligny-Montrachet
Not a lot of domaine villages here so this an assembly with multiple contracts too. ‘Normally three parcels with a hint of 1er from the Meursault side. Mainly Sous la Velle, Levrons and Rue Rousseau, plus some must from colleagues as I own only a dozen ouvrées.’
A little gas, a little oak, I prefer the first half of the Chassagne, but here’s a truly great finish for a villages wine!
2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières
Ooh – here is more – that’s super attractive and super inviting; freshness, clarity. A little more attack and behind is more density. Supple but with a fine fresh intensity. Holding that intensity and line for quite some time in the finish. Excellent again.
The 102nd vintage for this wine at the domaine.
Ooh – yes! Deeper, fuller, hyper attractive – some oak but hardly contributing to this great nose. Big in the mouth, energetic, just a couple of mm of plushness to the texture. Not hyper-energetic but always changing, always fresh. Great wine in preparation here already with a great finish – bravo!
Also the 102nd vintage for this wine chez Chartron. This, together with the Clos Chevalier and Clos de Pucelles were bought from a Madame Billerey – her domaine had an amazing collection of vineyards. Jean-Michel’s grandfather had half a hectare of pinot in here.
A much more strict nose – deep and fine, stonier, more vertical. Similar in the mouth; not an excess of energy, but a growing open clarity of flavour – a completely different style to the previous Clos – in the future I’m not sure which I will prefer but today it’s this!
The following all sampled form barrel:
2019 Corton-Charlemagne
Domaine plus 50% from 2 other sources, Aloxe, Pernand and ‘Charlemagne’
Depth of aroma, a little barrel showing today – but aromatically it’s quite modest. Great mineral style, a structural shape in the mouth – that’s super – so mouth-watering, the barrel just the merest accent. Excellent grand Cru…
2019 Bâtard-Montrachet
Mainly domaine with a little additional from the Chassagne-side.
A waft of open freshness but still a nose that is hiding much. Freshness here too – super width – a different shape to the Charlemagne. Finding all the gaps between your teeth and gums. Still growing in the finish in classic Bâtard fashion. Another wine to be very happy with…
A more vibrant depth of agrume aroma. Wow – that’s a wine with energy! Gorgeously agrumed flavour – energetic flavour – but never too much. Layered and with a subtle richness, but never anything heavy – just a little barrel talking here. Bravo!
Les Reds:
Again the label depends on markets – but it’s the same wine.
A vibrant red berry nose, darker red but still the impression of redcurrant/raspberry. In the mouth too – vibrant, energetic, finely and precisely fruited. I can’t really ask for more – bravo Bourgogne – the faintest kiss of tannin in the finish…
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Sous la Roche
A hint more colour. Again a freshness of forward, high-toned fruit – perhaps in this case with a little graphite minerality too. More seriously structured but the tannin has hardly any grain and isn’t a bit frightening. Wait 12+ months but this wine has a very sensuous texture and fruit. Probably will better the previous wine in a year or so!
2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clos du Cailleret (Rouge)
Another very small harvest in 2019.
Both depth and width of aroma, ripe fruit for sure. Yet fresh attack in the mouth, juicy and much purity of very interesting and very mouth-watering juicy fruit. Excellent wine – even for red Puligny!
