Article: Niellon 2024
Niellon 2024
In Burgundy, there is no shortage of new names generating excitement, especially if you can stomach the price some of these things sell for. Every year brings another rising star, another must-have wine, then there are the estates that never needed to chase attention, because their reputation was built long before any of that mattered.
Domaine Michel Niellon is one of those estates.
I was introduced to these wines in the early nineties and they quickly became reference point wines for me, across the entire range the wines were spectacular. Like so many domaines in the nineties and into the early part of this century, they suffered badly with premature oxidation. It rattled collectors, and I would be less than honest if I said it did not shake my own confidence in the wines as well.
Nobody can say with certainty what caused the premature oxidation, though most believe it had something to do with closures. Domaine Niellon made the decision to move to Diam over a decade ago, and from the bottles I have opened over the past ten years, this appears to have solved the problem. I would argue that it was 2017 when the wines turned the corner, and since that time I feel they have not only returned to form but are producing the best wines they ever made.
I first offered the 2024s in early January, as Niellon is among the first releases to hit the market each year. They sold out to the faithful almost immediately, which tells you something. I did manage to taste through a number of them
before they were gone, and have been searching for more ever since. These are classically styled, reserved wines, with the telltale minerality, transparency, and energy that define great Chassagne, these are wines of real balance and length, and frankly, just a pleasure to drink.
I did manage to secure a small reload of some of the best cuvées. These wines will ship over the summer and be ready for delivery this fall when the weather cools. You can't go wrong with any of these, and the Clos St. Jean and Clos Truffière are don't-miss wines.
Pale lemon colour. The bouquet has a little extra concentration, firm footed fruit. The white fruit blossoms rather more on the palate, delivering an attracting middle weight Chassagne, extending further at the finish. The Chenevottes was a little riper at the harvest, coming in at 12% before chaptalisation. Drink from 2029-2033. Tasted Oct 2025.
- Jasper Morris, 92
They were thinking about pulling this plot out but it has come through the wetter conditions of 2024 very well, so they may keep it going. Clean pale lemon. The bouquet is quite reticent. Concentrated white fruit, plenty of energy here, the fruit well married with the oak, fair length. A little extra here in 2024. Drink from 2029-2033. Tasted Oct 2025.
- Jasper Morris, 91
The 2024 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Jean ler Cruis very aromatic and generous on the nose, with scents of white flowers, mirabelle and light beeswax aromas that blossom in the glass. The palate is very well balanced, with more body and depth than the Maltroie. Really good mineralité in this Clos Saint-Jean, very persistent in the mouth; this is exactly where the vintage excels in the Côte d'Or. Recommended.
- Vinous Media / Neal Martin, 94
The Clos de la Truffière loved the wetter year! Mid lemon yellow. There is more flair to the nose, a greater depth of orchard fruit to cover the oak and the structure. The first wine that really fills the mouth here in 2024, while retaining the fresher style of the vintage. There is much more at the finish, accompanied by a light toasting. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Oct 2025.
- Jasper Morris, 94
