"91-94 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound.com
♥ Sweet spot Outstanding
Once again the aromatic profile is composed by a broad-range of floral and spice elements on the slightly earthy, ripe and ultra-fresh aromas of both red and dark cherry. The succulent, round and relatively supple medium weight flavors immediately tighten up on the powerful, focused, palate coating and lingering finale that is firm but not really austere. This is potentially outstanding. Drink: 2030+
93 Points - Neal Martin, Vinous.com
The 2020 Chambolle-Musigny Les Baudes 1er Cru takes time to open on the nose, eventually offering sappy red fruit, hints of black olive and a light sea spray scent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, vibrant red fruit with a hint of spice originating partly from the 30% whole bunch, fanning out beautifully on the finish. Excellent.Drinking Window 2025 - 2045"
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com
As is usually the case, I met with Véronique Drouhin who pulled no punches in describing 2020 as "a magnificent vintage and, most unusually, one that is great in both colors. One of the most difficult, and perhaps the most critical of all, aspects of this vintage was deciding when to begin the harvest. Ultimately, we chose to pick basically from the middle of August and in another unusual aspect for this vintage, we began with the pinot. Because there was so little disease pressure during the hot and dry growing season, the fruit was super-clean with good ripeness levels, which is to say between 12.5 and 13.5% in white and 13.5 to 15% in red. Yields though were another story because while around 40 hl/ha in white is comfortable if not high, in pinot they came in between 20 and 30 hl/ha. One of the characteristics that is tough to explain is why the heat had such an impact in terms of volumes on the pinot, yet the chardonnay behaved as though the growing conditions were normal. For the vinifications, we used between zero and 50% whole clusters and while we are always careful with the extractions, we were particularly attentive in 2020 with its very thick skins to be sure that we didn't advertently produce overly tannic reds. As to the wines, the reds are dense and powerful but balanced while despite the elevated ripeness levels, the terroir is incredibly clear. Moreover, while the same could be said of the whites, they are much less marked by the warmth of the vintage, and it would be perfectly appropriate to describe them as classic." As the scores and commentaries confirm, I found much to like in the Drouhin portfolio and many of them are worth searching out. Moreover, as I have observed in the past, the Drouhin style of elegance and refinement seems to marry particularly well with hotter, riper vintages and such is the case in 2020
