The Union de Maisons de Vins de Grande Bourgogne (link) invited about 80 journalists, wine writers and guests to a tasting event in at the Chateau Philippe Le Hardi (link) -earlier called Château de Santenay- on the 14th of March 2024, as part of the Grands Jours de Bourgogne 2024. It was a terrific event, probably my favourite of the week, because of the meticulous preparation with a nicely styled tasting note booklet, great location in the cellar of the Chateau Philippe Le Hardi and the intimate atmosphere of limited guests which allowed ample time for tasting and discussions, followed by a dinner.
The 2020 vintage created ripe and rich wines due to the hot and dry summer including a warm September. Burgundy has obviously adapted itself and managed this vintage much better than the hot 2003 for example, which produced wines that are too cooked and today don’t present themselves with tension and finesse. Here we have a different picture. The reds remind me of 2015, one of my favourite years combining richness, freshness and structure. The whites are even more surprising. Ripe, generous but with bright acidity, something that for example cannot be universally said for 2022. I think it will be an interesting exercise in 10 years to taste the 2020 next to the cooler and much less heralded 2021 and see which palates prefer which wines.
The Tasting
We tasted and rated 35 wines.
Jean-Marc Brocard (Link)
Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 2020
Lovely nose of citrus and hazelnut. Not as complex as the Preuses next to it but good mid-level Chard. 17.75/20 (92/100).
Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 2020
The first Chablis that convinced me. Beautiful flinty notes with lemon zest, mint and good mouth fill. A success. 18.5/20 (95/100).
Bouchard Père et Fils (link)
Corton Le Corton 2020
Beautiful nose here, deep aromas of cured meat, red and dark fruit, earthy elements. Polished tannins, especially for a Corton. Great showing. 18.5/20 (95/100).
Corton-Charlemagne Domaine 2020
After the red Corton a great follow-up with this white. Expressive nose of lemon with mint and greens. Complex and balanced. Very good showing of the Bouchard wines indeed. 18.5/20 (95/100).
Joseph Drouhin (link)
Marquis de Laguiche Montrachet 2020
This was really elegant for a Montrachet, nothing heavy here, composed and fresh. Really nice, aromatically not really that much ahead (at least at this stage) of the Corton Charlemagne served at the same event, at dinner. 18.5/20 (95/100).
Musigny 2020
OMG, nose of the night and wine of the night. Absolutely stunning, so floral, red fruit with peony, violets and sweet spices. Sublimely elegant palate. A wine to die for. Clearly the wine of the night. Given the prestige, quality, and small production not really a steal anymore unfortunately. 19.25-20/20 (98-100/100).
