Country: | France |
Region: | Burgundy |
Winery: | Meo-Camuzet |
Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
Organic: | Yes |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
A clearly pronounced personality: powerful, sometimes wild aromas; a marked acidity, which give it a captivating freshness; a fine roundness, sometimes even opulence. In short, an intense wine which has many cards in its hand to win you over.
Review:
Notes of cherries, cassis, peonies and rich spices preface the 2020 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated wine that's lively and penetrating. Like its 2019 predecessor, it's especially seamless and charming.
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92-94 Points
Domaine Meo-Camuzet Corton Les Perrieres Grand Cru 2020
Your first impression of Les Perrieres is that of a typical Corton, as it is so frequently described: austere, slow to mature, tannic. But that impression should be moderated because the wine is apparently multifaceted: frankness, certainly, but also an underlying structure that lines the palate and a finish marked by minerality. There's no heaviness, which facilitates the expression of this complexity. A long ageing period is certainly beneficial.
Review:
One of the highlights of the range this year is the 2020 Corton Grand Cru Les Perrières, a vibrant, mineral wine evocative of wild berries, forest floor, rich spices and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and vibrant, with beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it's well worth seeking out.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 93-95+ Points
Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 38.3 acres spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
About the Vineyard:
Clos de Vougeot grand cru was acquired by Étienne’s grandfather, Gaston Grivot, in 1919. The total holding is 4.6 acres from the middle of the vineyard to the lower wall and the average vine age is 40 years old. A good Clos de Vougeot should be a complete wine without any one feature standing out. It is a perfect balance of power, aroma, and flavor.
Wine Production:
The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 40-70% percent for the grands crus.
Tasting Notes:
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 40-70% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Food Pairing:
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Review:
This round version is packed with ripe black cherry, violet, graphite and tobacco flavors. The silky texture and vibrant acidity work in tandem, while refined tannins provide support without getting in the way. There are a few edges to be worked out, yet this is long and concentrated.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points
Domaine Michel Magnien Cote de Nuits-Villages is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Michel Magnien has evolved into a Burgundy producer of a singular style and philosophy from cellars located in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis. In 1993, Frédéric Magnien persuaded his father Michel to begin domaine bottling. The domaine is now certified biodynamic by Demeter and the wines are produced without the use of new oak.
The domaine’s 45 acres are spread across the villages of Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, and Vosne Romanée, with holdings in several premier cru and grand cru vineyards. These include the grand crus Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis, and Charmes-Chambertin. Frédéric Magnien maintains an average vine age of 50 years.
Côte de Nuits-Villages is from two climats in Brochon: Créole, Les Carrés. Brochon is a neighboring commune of Fixin and Gevrey-Chambertin and often carries similar characteristics of those two villages. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks followed by several months aging in 100% used pièce. Around 20% whole clusters were included in the cuvée.
Côte de Nuits-Villages shows bright and fresh red-fruit character with notes of earth and spice. 50-year-old vines contribute weight and richness to this otherwise fresh-tasting Burgundy unadorned with the taste of new oak. It’s a pure expression of red Burgundy from biodynamically farmed grapes.
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Échezeaux is loyal to its appellation through the finesse of its attack on the palate and its overall balance. But it's also a wine with pronounced acidity, which gives it freshness and structure and bestows upon it a sometimes austere finish.
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 38.3 acres spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er cru lies in the “Zone Vosnoise” or northern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges just below Les Damodes. It borders Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er just to its north. Its position slightly lower on the slope with deep soil full of pebbles results in a richer and fuller wine.
The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 30-60% for the premier crus.
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 30-60% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Reviews:
‘The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots Ter Cru has the best aromatics among Grivat Nuits Saint-Georges with very well defined red berry fruit, briary and lignt sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-badied with fine-grain tannins, slightly savory on the entry, fresh and saline on the finish. This has real verve and class, though it will benefit from time in bottle
-Vinous 93-95 Points
A wine with the substance and structure to support the generous lashings of new oak used for maturation, and the overall effect is elegant and classic in style. Aux Boudots, where Grivot has 0.85ha, is at the northern edge of Nuits, just over the border from Vosne-Romanée Malconsorts. They began to pick on the 3rd of September – Etienne specified that they are very particular that the tannins are ripe and do what they can to prolong the vegetative cycle. Still, the grapes were picked with an entirely correct pH of around 3.4.
-Decanter 94 Points
Thanks to its originality, this very generous wine avoids the generic characteristics of its appellation. Its rich and often tropical aromas, its freshness on the palate and its mineral character are remarkable.
For more than four centuries, the members of the Méo family have devoted themselves to growing vines and making wines. They came originally from the Burgundy village of Selongey, in the north of Côte d'Or, where today, even if the vines, alas, have disappeared, a pressing house, dating from the year 50 AD, bears witness to the presence there of Gallo-Roman winegrowers.
From the 19th century onwards, the Méo children chose the course of study. The great-grandfather of Jean-Nicolas, for example, was a primary-school teacher, his grandfather graduated from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (civil engineering) and his father, Jean Méo, was a graduate of the École Polytechnique and an engineer in the Corps des Mines. Jean was later to be elected a Member of the European Parliament and sat on the Council of Paris.
It was thanks to Jean Méo's mother, Marcelle Lamarche-Confuron, originating from an old winegrowing family in Vosne (with already a small activity as négociants), that the Méos came to settle in Vosne-Romanée.
Jean Méo's grandmother was the first cousin of Étienne Camuzet, a very colourful character.
Étienne Camuzet (1867-1946) was a winegrower in Vosne-Romanée, mayor of the village and also an MP for Côte d'Or from 1903 to 1932. In 1920, he had the opportunity to purchase the Château du Clos de Vougeot with some of the vines, but instead of living there, he preferred to lodge his tenant farmers in it (indeed, because of his political activities, he no longer had time, himself, to look after his own vineyards). He was to sell it in November 1944: not surprisingly, the château had suffered during the war. He had (already!) understood the importance for Burgundy to have a "temple” to help promote its wine. Étienne Camuzet thus chose to pass it on to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.
As for the vines, it was the 20 hectares (50 acres) at the top of the Clos that were for sale ... Étienne Camuzet enlisted the help of his fellow winegrowers from Vosne-Romanée to acquire them. He would keep 3 hectares (7.5 acres) himself, immediately below the château.
Following the death of Étienne Camuzet, his daughter, Maria Noirot, inherited the estate from her father and retained the tenant farmers. She had no children, however, and when she died, in 1959, she bequeathed the estate to her nephew, Jean Méo, who at that time had already left Vosne-Romanée, and since 1958 had been a member of General de Gaulle's cabinet. Having been regularly in close contact with his uncle, who had shared with him his passion for the vine, teaching him to respect and love wine, the youngest of the Méos could not allow the winegrowing saga of the family to come to an end. He decided, therefore, to take the estate in hand, with help from his father, Gaston, initially, and then from his mother. In that way, Jean Méo was able to remain with General de Gaulle and to pursue his career in Paris, which would lead him to manage in succession several large companies: ELF, France Soir, Agence Havas, Institut Français du Pétrole and others. He was also elected to the European Parliament and sat on the Council of Paris. Throughout that period, he relied on four tenant farmers, including the great winegrower, Henri Jayer, who was one of the first to control temperatures systematically during vinification, always bringing out the freshness and the fruit, thus making the nose and the texture of the wine more attractive. Jean Méo was to manage the estate from 1959 to1984, after which he called upon the new generation.
In 1981, the Camuzet estate became Méo-Camuzet, and the first wines bottled under that name were those of the 1983 vintage.
Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico is made from 90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot.
The vineyards of Volpaia are among the highest in Chianti. Their Chianti Classico is characterized by elegance and finesse with a rich bouquet of red fruits and spices.
Review:
Black-cherry and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Some lead pencil and slate, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins and firm acidity, which adds verve and tension to the wine. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 93 Points
A bright, succulent style, this exudes cherry, strawberry, earth and tobacco aromas and flavors, with spicy character. Shows vibrant structure and balance, with a lingering finish. Sangiovese and Merlot.
-Wine Spectator 92 Points
Maggy Hawk Unforgettable Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The 2018 Unforgettable was harvested and vinified separately for its unique qualities. After an initial five-day soak, the fruit fermented in three-ton fermenters with pump overs twice daily. Freshness, power and persistence. Unforgettable offers up a delightful balance of jammy blackberry, boysenberry and blueberry with lively aromas of violets, lilac and pennyroyal.
Review:
A dark heart of black fruit centers this complex and well-balanced wine. Enticing, spicy clove, cedar and earth aromas lead to a supersmooth but well-structured palate that reveals black-cherry, rhubarb and black-tea nuances. It's distinctive and should age well in the mid-term. Best from 2023. Jim Gordon
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
The 2018 Pinot Noir Unforgettable is built on texture and creaminess. It offers a bit more mid-palate structure than some of the other wines in the range. The mix of mostly Pommard and Wadensvil clones works so well here. Silky and open-knit, the 2018 can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring.
-Vinous 93 Points
"Aromas of fresh herbs, pungent cedar, and forest swirl in the glass with more delicate floral notes, black pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and crushed rock. On the palate, a little brambly-vine quality clings to blackberry flavors, and warmly spiced dark plum is layered with fresh herbs for a lively, sweet-savory balance. Fine tannins yield satisfyingly rich, velvety textures, while vibrant acidity keeps you coming back for another sip." - David Jelinek, Winemaker
Faust Cabernet Sauvignon is our statement about what a cutting-edge Napa Valley Cabernet can-and should-be. In 2020, we achieved the Holy Grail of balance between richness and freshness with a blend of fruit from our cool Coombsville vineyard (always the core of the Faust blend) with carefully selected, complementary lots from other cool sub-regions in the valley. The result is a Cabernet Sauvignon with broad varietal character, including appealing herbal notes with its generous ripe fruit, and depth and texture not often found in this price
Review:
Aromas of tobacco, currants and iodine. Crushed oyster. Medium- to full-bodied with chewy tannins with spice, bark, and wet earth character. Fresh.
-James Suckling 93 Points