Niellon’s 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chaumees wraps around the palate with nectarines, flowers, spices and mint. It shows the richness and viscosity of the vintage, but with brighter, more floral shades of fruit that avoid heaviness. Like all the Niellon wines in 2010, the Chaumees is medium in body, but it nevertheless possesses fine intensity and balance. A hint of sweet spices lingers on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012+.
Michel Niellon told me the key to the vintage was choosing the right picking date, especially after a thunderstorm in Santenay on September 12 forced many growers to pick a few days earlier than they had originally expected. Yields are down 15-30%, depending on the appellation, mostly because of the irregular flowering. The domaine’s parcels had a high percentage of coulure (shatter) and millerandage (shot berries). According to Niellon, it is the uneven size of the berries that marks the vintage, as the smaller berries gave concentration, while the larger berries contributed acidity. As was the case throughout the region, the malos were quite slow to develop, and a few of these wines were bottled a little later than usual, something that is now possible because of Niellon’s huge warehouse facility in an industrial section of Chassagne a few kilometers from the old, historic part of the village. The 2010s were aged in barrel until just before the 2011 harvest, at which time Niellon bottled the Chassagne-Montrachet, Champ Gains, Vergers and Chaumees. The Clos St. Jean, Maltroie, Chevalier and Batard (which I did not taste) were bottled in October and November 2011.
Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (707) 299-2600
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