Bursting with aromas of pear, toasted nuts and freshly baked bread, the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc is medium-bodied, lively and charming, with a pretty core of fruit and chalky grip on the finish.

The 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc exhibits notes of pear, mandarin orange, buttered toast and beeswax, followed by a medium-bodied, lively palate that displays good concentration and cut. Impressively long and saline, this has turned out very nicely.

The 2013 Chassagne Montrachet Village Blanc, which is already in bottle, has a fragrant bouquet with hints of white peach coming through, although it is more reticent than the premier cru as one would expect. The palate is crisp on the entry with very good acidity, a citric ribbon from start to finish that is nicely controlled. This seems like a step up from the 2012 last year and with aeration, a pleasant spiciness develops on the aftertaste.

The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet Village has a light, butterscotch-tinged bouquet that is clean and fresh. The palate is a little simple with primal melon and toffee-tinged fruit leading to a rather hollow finish. As an admirer of Michel Niellon wines, especially after a divine Chevalier-Montrachet 1986 earlier this year, it is with heavy heart that I have to report that this appears to be one producer unbalanced and compromised by the inclemency of 2012. Hail severely damaged several of their prime vineyards. Batard-Montrachet was reduced down to a nub, while propitious premier crus the calibre of “Chenevottes” was akin to a child being pushed off their bicycle. In Burgundy, I am afraid there are no stabilizers. Still, on September 19 they harvested what they could and bottled everything, including their Chevalier-Montrachet, at the beginning of September. Michel’s son-in-law Michel Coutoux and grandson Mathieu took me through these wines, which seemed to lack the vigor and precision that I found elsewhere and within the domaine’s own wines in previous vintages. I am sure they will be back on form next year. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (707) 299-2600

Niellon’s 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet is soft, floral and quite pretty. This is a decidedly easygoing, approachable style for the year and village. 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