2020 Domaine Jean Chartron Chassagne-Montrachet

Domaine Jean Chartron was founded in 1859 by a cooper named Jean-Edouard Dupard. He became the town mayor and is credited with coming up with the idea of adding the name Montrachet to Puligny, thereby creating a name that is now synonymous with the world’s most prestigious dry white wines. Jean-Michel Chartron runs the 33-acre estate today. The estate was larger at one time when it was part of the Chartron et Trebuchet negociant, which made less complex wines. But today the estate is a single business, with no connection to the former negociant. Wine Advocate wrote this in 2015: “Readers of this publication will already be aware that I am a big fan of the work that Jean-Michel Chartron is doing at his winery in the heart of Puligny…I find his wines to be complex, terroir/vintage expressive, perhaps you could say more "serious" without losing the sheer pleasure they give.”

Chassagne-Montrachet is the appellation that covers the communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Remigny, and it is the southern-most of the Côte d’Or’s three great white wine appellations of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. With 1,200 acres of vineyards, it is one of the largest appellations in the region, and more than half the vineyard acreage is Grand Cru or Premier Cru. The three famous Grand Crus are Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. There are also 16 main Premiers Crus, most of them considered very high quality, and village wines. One fact rarely noted is that historically the appellation produced more red than white wine. In the late 1990s the ratio of white to red wines changed, however, as more vineyards were converted from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, a logical decision given the acclaim of the appellation’s whites. There are still intriguing red wines produced. Clive Coates wrote that the appellation’s white wines generally are “full and firm, more akin to Puligny than to the softer, rounder wines of Meursault.”

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.