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Wine Description
The Story
Chassagne-Montrachet is a commune of about 2.5 square miles that, along with Puligny-Montrachet, contains much of the world's best white wine land. Those wines are separately classified under the 5 Montrachet Grands Crus, but wines labeled Chassagne-Montrachet can also be world-class. As well as possessing a share of Bâtard-Montrachet and Montrachet (wines from the Chassagne side of Montrachet are known as Le Montrachet), Chassagne-Montrachet also fully encompasses the small Grand Cru of Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.
Morgeot: A vineyard perhaps even more common than Les Caillerets. The size of the vineyard and the amount of wine produced does not, however, vary inversely with quality, as Morgeot also has to be one of the leading Premier Cru vineyards of Chassagne-Montrachet and therefore the Côte de Beaune. In general the standard is fairly reliable, although even some leading domaines don't measure up with their Morgeot offering. Unlike Les Caillerets, even among leading wines the general style varies greatly. The great Morgeots, all of which should be more expensive than the average Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru but not by much, come from 6 domaines. Bruno Colin's is rich but with a dry intensity and mineral flavor that can make aging beneficial to the wine. The more citrussy, lemony, acidic Fontaine-Gagnard is also good. Both Girardin and Jadot make great "Abbaye de Morgeot" from old vines, and Jadot's Clos de Chapelle Domaine du Duc de Magenta is also good in its fruity-rich but nonetheless complex style. Thomas Morey's example also combines complexity with elegance in a pleasing way. The more spicy, exotic, but also fruit-forward Ramonet wines are also leaders.
Vintage 2004
2004 VINTAGE in Burgundy
2004 will be remembered as the year of wonderful surprises. The month of September was hot, dry and sunny contributing to an excellent harvest which in turn gave birth to fruity, elegant wines.
The harvest started on the 13th September in Burgundy, the Mâconnais and the Côte Chalonnaise during a long awaited spell of mild weather following a summer characterised by climatic instability.
These conditions slowed down the colouring of the grapes, disturbed the start of ripening and provided ideal conditions for the development of oidium. Luckily the return of a long period of warmth and sun from the beginning of September onwards accelerated the ripening process with a sharp increase in sugars.
This summery weather accompanied by a warm drying wind also allowed for the vines to maintain a satisfactory sanitary state. The hailstorms unfortunately destroyed a number of important parcels in the Mâconnais and in the vineyards of the Côte d?Or at different stages of their vegetative cycle. Contrary to 2003, nature showed herself to be kind and the wine-growers had to go ahead with intensive green harvesting to control the yields, taking off the damaged grapes or leaf-thinning.
In mid-september estimations put the forthcoming harvest at about 10% above that of an average harvest.
Although the particularly successful 2002 and 2003 vintages are tasting beautifully at the moment, it is still to early to define the profile for the 2004 vintage.
We will have to wait until after various tastings in November in Beaune, Chablis and in the Auxerrois region before getting a preliminary idea of the qualities of the 2004 harvest.