Chassagne-Montrachet

The name of Chassagne-Montrachet is firmly associated with white wines normally (65% of the 174,000 cases produced annually) but most vineyards grow at least some red wine, with Morgeot, La Boudriotte and Clos St-Jean the most famous. These red are naturally tough, earthy, tasting like a rustic Gevrey-Chambertin but nowadays the trend is to vinify them to maximize the fruit characters. The most famous white comes from Le Montrachet, with the dry, succulent golden white scented with flowers and sometimes hazelnuts. The cream of the white comes from the broad band of slopes above and on either side of the village. The rock here is mainly limestone.

In the village, one can find many families whose names have for centuries been associated with this commune: Colin, Delagrange, Gagnard and Morey. But the habit of adding the spouse’s surname creates a lot of confusion and many wine-lovers need to do a deep dive to verify whether he is dealing with the right domaine.

Until mid-1980s the village produced more red than white. But the demand for the white (with the significant premium also) resulted in a large scale re-planting. However, many recent replanting has been on flatter land with high-yield fertile soils, thus not suitable in producing good Chardonnay, resulting in only diluted and mediocre wines.

The appellation covers 300 ha, with 55 premiers crus covering 150 ha, with many having sub-divided into individual climats. Two of Chassagne’s three grands crus, Le Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet, are actually straddled with Puligny-Montrachet. The only one completely within Chassagne is Criots-Batard-Montrachet, a small area of 1.57 ha producing only 800 cases per year. Among the premiers crus, the best known are Les Chenevottes, Clos de la Maltroie, En Cailleret, and Les Ruchottes. Good producers include Ramonet and Gagnard, which needs 5-10 years of ageing.

Wines I have tasted and currently owned from this commune:

• Bernard Morey et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2006
• Henri Boillot, Criots-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2008
• Louis Latour, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret 2004
• Marc Morey et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Virondot 2003
• Marc Morey et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vide-Bourses 2008
• Morey-Coffinet, Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 2007
• Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2006
• Vincent Girardin, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret 2007