2011 Chassagne Montrachet Les Ancegnieres

A direct, highly expressive wine, the 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Enseigneres manages to be both intensely mineral yet also open and resonant in the style of the year. Smoke, tangerine, anise, oyster shells crushed rocks and white stone fruits all flow through to the crystalline, energetic finish, which is where the Enseigneres shines brightest. This is a drop-dead gorgeous Chassagane with tons of appeal.

The 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Ancegnieres lies just below Batard-Montrachet and comes from 85-year-old vines. They are Pierre-Yves’s oldest and are usually the first to be picked around three days before others depending upon the season. It has an extrovert bouquet with captivating wild fennel and minty scents leaping up and down for attention. The palate has a slightly viscous, honeyed entry with a keen thread of acidity to keep it in balance. There is certainly good weight here: a powerful Puligny with a long fantail of white peach and a hint of passion fruit. This is very fine. Drink now-2022. Following last issue’s “amuse bouche,” I could not miss an opportunity to visit Pierre-Yves at his winery in the village of Chassagne to take a look at his 2011s. “I like the 2011s because they give a lot of pleasure when they are young,” he said to me. “But I think they could age very well. The wines are on the ripe side – a bit like 2001 or maybe 2002. But I think it is a complete vintage. Personally, I prefer 2010 which is more on the mineral side, but the 2011s appeal to a wider audience, and in a way, bring people to Burgundy. When the customers come to the estate, they seem to have never heard about the 2011 vintage and so they do not know what to expect. But when they taste them they were quite easy to sell.” Pierre-Yves 2011s do not disappoint, mostly imbued with the delineation and poise we have come to expect from this top-tier producer who demonstrates that you do not necessarily have to own all your vines to create exceptional wines. We briefly discussed his move away from new oak and he admitted that perhaps during his initial vintages he was trying to impress. That is only natural. He has retreated from the cooperage to employ a minimal amount of new wood and things are about to change again. He had just taken delivery of two 11-hectolitre wooden troconic tanks that he will trial with the 2013 vintage, probably on one of the St. Aubin wines such as En Remilly. I cannot wait to taste the results. The Chassagne-Montrachets underwent a longer elevage than the St. Aubins and were bottled two months prior to my visit in July 2013. Importer: Daniel Johnnes Selection, imported by Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300; also imported by Bertin Henri Selections, Doral, FL; tel. (305) 343-4054

Bright yellow. Very ripe aromas of grapefruit and pineapple complicated by petrol and nutty nuances. Plump and oaky on the palate, showing a slight bitter edge to the very ripe pear flavor. I find less definition and cut here than the Saint-Aubin en Remilly is showing today.