Jean-Pierre Cournut noted 2020 is “one of those rare vintages where it was possible to have zero interventions of any kind as the fruit was essentially perfect. One oddity though is that we began picking the pinot before the chardonnay. We picked from the 20th to the 25th of August and the fruit was spotless so there was almost no sorting required. Yields were variable at between 45 to 50 in white but definitely lower in red. The potential alcohols were also variable but basically ranged mostly from 12.8 to 13.3% with one wine at 13.9%. One change that I did make though was I reduced the total cuvaison time for the reds to between 15 and 19 days rather than my usual 25. I really wanted to preserve as much freshness as I could, and I didn’t see the extra 5 to 7 days adding anything beneficial. 2020 is an excellent vintage and in both colors and if you put 2018 and 2019 together, you would have something approximating 2020.” I would agree with Cournut as 2020 is a very good vintage for him and, as he correctly notes in my view, in both colors.
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet “Clos du Château”: (a monopole of the Domaine). Here too moderate wood influence can be found on the equally spicy and even a bit earthier dark pinot fruit aromas. The beautifully textured and slightly denser middle weight plus flavors possess fine density and more evident minerality on the balanced and lingering if mildly more austere finale. This too is recommended. (91-93)/2028+