Meo Camuzet - Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Cras 2020

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Chambolle-Musigny wine is produced in the village of Chambolle-Musigny in Côte de Nuits of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Chambolle-Musigny may only be used for red wine with Pinot noir as the main grape. There are 25 Premier Cru vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny, and two Grand Cru vineyards: Musigny and Bonnes Mares. The AOC was created in 1936.

In 2008, 152.23 hectares (376.2 acres) of vineyard surface was in production for Chambolle-Musigny at village and Premier Cru level, and 6,044 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to slightly over 800,000 bottles. Within the commune, there are also vineyards (on the flatter land to the east of the N74 road) which are only entitled to the regional Bourgogne appellation.

The main grape variety is Pinot noir for red Musigny, and Chardonnay for white Musigny. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wine, but this not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level wine, and 11.0 per cent for Premier Cru wine.

The wines of Chambolle-Musigny are typically described as the most "feminine" among the red wines of the Côte de Nuits, with floral elegance rather than power.

Meo Camuzet Description

Méo-Camuzet is one of the most celebrated domaines of the Côte d’Or, located in the heart of prestigious Vosne-Romanée. The domaine boasts fourteen hectares of land in some of the most spectacular appellations and crus of Burgundy. The vineyard land in Burgundy is highly parceled out among families, which makes it rare for anyone to have enough vines to be able to bottle one grand cru, let alone the six that the Méos have. The early beginnings of the domaine left it in the hands of share-croppers. The last twenty years have brought substantial changes that have fostered a new chapter for the Méo family.

A View from the Cellar: 92 Points

All of the Chambolle premier cru bottlings in the domaine’s cellars this year are quite black fruity in personality, in the style of the vintage. The 2020 les Cras offers up a fine aromatic constellation of dark berries, black plums, pigeon, chalky soil tones, a touch of balsam bough, woodsmoke and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off fine mid-palate depth, with lovely soil undertow, bright acids, good grip and a long, ripely tannic finish.

Wine Advocate: 90-92 Points

A fine success, the 2020 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras (Méo-Camuzet Frère & Soeurs) exhibits aromas of raspberries and cherries mingled with rose petals and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, it's taut and mouthwatering, with fine depth at the core and powdery structuring tannins. Jean-Nicolas Méo began his harvest on August 23, and he has produced another fine vintage at this Vosne-Romanée reference point. Méo has always done well in warm, sunny vintages (as a lovely bottle of his 2003 Nuits Lavières recently reminded me), and 2020 is no exception. Indeed, for a vintage that was generally somewhat primary and frequently tightly wound this winter, Méo's wines—habitually quite backward after 12 months' élevage—were remarkably put together and expressive. Mostly landing at around 13.5% alcohol, they're vibrant, concentrated and nicely balanced, showing considerable aging potential. (WK)