Jamessuckling.com | JS 100
Published: Nov 14, 2024

They say that first impressions are the most important, and my first impression of this is that it's the white burgundy of my dreams. Astonishing Amalfi-lemon, pineapple and wildflower aromas with touches of flint and wet stones on the nose. Then comes the overwhelming minerality on the extremely concentrated, medium- to full-bodied palate. It is not only of mind-blowing intensity, but it just does not want to stop. The fruit is all there, but is right to the back of the stage upon which the stone figure of the heroine stands. And yet all of this is is so precise and finely nuanced. From a 2.33 hectare parcel in this legendary site. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

The Wine Advocate | RP 94-95
Published: Jan 18, 2024

The 2022 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is unusually textural and muscular for this bottling, delivering aromas of pear, yellow orchard fruit, buttery pastry, white flowers and freshly baked bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's rich and unctuous, with terrific depth at the core and a long, resonant finish.

The 2022 vintage is another tour de force for Bouchard, as the accompanying tasting notes reflect. Technical director Frédéric Weber reported little in the way of hydric stress, with rapid ripening at the end of the season that saw some parcels accumulate 1.5% potential alcohol in as little as three days. Fortunately, the team hadn't performed any deleafing and were able to apply protective kaolin clay as sunblock for the leaves and fruit to ride out the heat wave. Harvest began on August 26, with anything picked after 11 a.m. left overnight in a cold room for processing the following day, and the harvesters stopping work at 2 p.m.

As I've written before, viticulture chez Bouchard is among the best of the big houses (I drive past their Beaune vineyards several hundred times every year). Organic conversion is underway, and canopies are now hedged to 1.30 meters, around 30 centimeters higher than the classic low rognage that still predominates along the Côte—forward-thinking innovations that will no doubt find imitators in short order among other big players. Vinifications in red increasingly incorporate whole bunches, and whites are barreled down before the end of alcoholic fermentation, with foudres now employed for the second winter of élevage for some cuvées.

Winemaker

According to the legend, the Lord of Montrachet shared his land out between his two sons. One became a Chevalier during the crusades and the other, illegitimate, is supposed to have given his name to Batard-Montrachet. Chevalier-Montrachet forms a horizontal strip at the top of the upper part of Montrachet and is made up of four terraces with different sub-soils, giving four different facets to this exceptional Grand Cru. During the 19th century, we acquired several vineyards and have now become the main owner and the only producer with vineyards on all four terraces.

TASTING NOTE: Distinguished bouquet, with floral and fruit aromas as well as a toasted note. Complex and rich, without the least heaviness, this wine is elegance itself. Very good ageing potential.

FOOD/WINE PAIRING: Fish dishes in sauce, foie gras, elegant starters.

SERVING TEMPERATURE: Between 12C to 14C

AGEING POTENTIAL: 7 to 10 years and more

HARVEST: manual, in small cases of 13 kg. Careful manual sorting of each grape.

VINIFICATION: The pressing takes place in two phases: evacuation of the first juice, then pressing in two-hourly cycles.

MATURING: 12 to 13 months in French oak, with up to 15% new oak, depending on the vintage.

AGEING: The cellars located in the Bastions of the ancient Chateau de Beaune offer ideal ambient conditions. Thanks to their natural hygrometry and constant temperatures, the Grands Crus enjoy from their first youth an environment that is perfectly adapted to tranquil ageing.

GRAPE VARIETY: Chardonnay

EXPOSITION: East-Southeast

SOIL OF THE APPELATION: A lot of limestone, marly on stony subsoil

TOTAL SURFACE OF THE APPELATION IN PRODUCTION:7.59 hectares

DOMAIN SURFACE IN PRODUCTION: 2.33 hectares