2020 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet
“If a word Lovely”
I’ve been touting the wines of Domaine Michel Niellon for several vintages; at least since 2017. The domaine has returned to top form and appears to have solved a pre-mox situation that plagued the wines for two decades.
If you have not gotten back onboard with these wines, what are you waiting for? They have never been better!
I’ve made a number of offers this year for Niellon and all have been met with very strong response. I’d like to think when my prices are 15% less than my competitors, people take notice.
Now, I’ve snagged another parcel of the amazing 2020’s and am offering them at the same great price. This is a tremendous vintage for one of Burgundy’s legendary producers.
I’ve tried a number of the cuvees from this outstanding vintage over the past year or so and love the balance they display. There is plenty of richness and flesh to the wines but at the same time an underlying acidity that creates lift and energy, making them truly outstanding.
They come with my highest recommendation - the wines are the real deal and not to be missed! This parcel will arrive in the October/November timeframe.
2020 Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Clos St Jean
| Compared Elsewhere $169-299 |
A notably more restrained nose is both cool and pure with its combination of spiced pear, Granny Smith apples, lemon-lime and petrol aromas. There is impressive mid-palate density to the unusually powerful medium-bodied flavors that also conclude in a lemon-tinged and beautifully persistent finish. If I'm being picky, this bone-dry effort could use a bit more depth, but that should reasonably occur if allowed at least a few years of cellaring.
- Burghound, 93
As was the case in 2017, the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean has turned out especially well this year. Bursting with aromas of pear, freshly baked bread, orange oil and beeswax and framed by a deft touch of reduction, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, its fleshy core of fruit girdled by tangy acids.
- William Kelley, 94
| Compared Elsewhere $169-299 |
There is a whiff of the exotic present on the slightly honeyed aromas of white peach, freshly sliced citrus and a floral top note. The succulent, even seductively textured medium-bodied flavors possess both good volume and density that contrasts somewhat with the bone-dry, moderately austere and borderline tannic finale. The Clos de la Maltroie is usually approachable young, but this sneaky long effort is going to require at least some patience. In a word, lovely.
- Burghound, 92
2020 Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Champgains
The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Gain unwinds in the glass with aromas of pear, fresh bread, confit citrus and toasted almonds. Medium to full-bodied, bright and chalky, with a charming core of fruit, lively acids and a saline finish, it's a fine effort.
- William Kelley, 92
