2012 Chassagne Montrachet Champs Gains
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Tasting notes
Bright lemon-yellow. Very ripe aromas of pear and honey. Sweet and very ripe in the mouth, but a bit dulled by SO2 and given an aggressive quality by some unabsorbed alcohol. No shortage of density here but my enthusiasm was dampened by some menthol bitterness on the back.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain comes from a single parcel of 0.54-hectares planted in 1983 and 1959. Quite deep in color, the nose comes at you with ripe Cornice pear and dewy green apples, lemon thyme emerging from underneath. The palate is well balanced with a spicy entry. There is plenty of dry extract here lending this weight and persistency in the mouth, hints of ginger interlacing the vibrant finish. Very fine. You should always appreciate Burgundy winemakers who agree to meet pesky writers like me at 9.00am on a Saturday meeting, when they ought to be lying in bed with a flaky croissant and “Le Monde”. Still, Francois Jouard was there at his winery opposite the church in Chassagne, not far from Pierre-Yves Colin, ready to show me through his 2012. These were picked from 22 September and delivered a decent 30 hectoliters per hectare – still below average but not as bad as some other producers. These were a very respectable set of Chassagne wines that deliver plenty of craftsmanship for the price. I look forward to tasting further vintages. Importer: Peter Weygandt, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800 and Charles Taylor Wines (UK)
The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain comes from a single parcel of 0.54-hectares planted in 1983 and 1959. Quite deep in color, the nose comes at you with ripe Cornice pear and dewy green apples, lemon thyme emerging from underneath. The palate is well balanced with a spicy entry. There is plenty of dry extract here lending this weight and persistency in the mouth, hints of ginger interlacing the vibrant finish. Very fine. ||You should always appreciate Burgundy winemakers who agree to meet pesky writers like me at 9.00am on a Saturday meeting, when they ought to be lying in bed with a flaky croissant and “Le Monde”. Still, Francois Jouard was there at his winery opposite the church in Chassagne, not far from Pierre-Yves Colin, ready to show me through his 2012. These were picked from 22 September and delivered a decent 30 hectoliters per hectare – still below average but not as bad as some other producers. These were a very respectable set of Chassagne wines that deliver plenty of craftsmanship for the price. I look forward to tasting further vintages. eRobertParker.com.December, 2013