2018 Domaine Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet

The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet Village had been blended in July and fined three weeks prior to my visit. It has a delightful bouquet of orange blossom, tinned peach and touches of wild mint, quite intense for a Village Cru. The palate is taut, fresh and spicy on the entry, with touches of white pepper and fennel infusing the citrus fruit. An almost clinical saline finish lingers in the mouth. Superb.

There are fully 125 barrels of the 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet Village, a lovely wine in the making that reveals aromas of warm bread, citrus oil, fresh peach and dried white flowers. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and nicely concentrated, with fine cut and a well-defined finish. That there's so much volume this year is great news for Moreau fans.

This wine represents 40% of the domaine’s production and comes from several parcels but 30% is from the south of Chassagne, below Les Champs Gains and Morgeot and the rest from further north, on the border with Puligny. Blended as must because harvest times may be different. One bottling for consistency. He could produce a single-vineyard Les Masures but prefers to benefit from the reputation of the village appellation. Tank sample. Fined mid October and will be bottled in January. Smoky and spicy but super-ripe fruit character. Lemon and orange, almost but not quite tropical. Chewy, deep and full of fruit but no lack of freshness, generous fruit rather than piercing precision, balanced by sufficient freshness. (JH)