Alex Moreau Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru – 2022

“Derived from Les Fairendes, which tends to produce rather elegant wines, the 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot exhibits aromas of minty pear, green apple, nutmeg and toasted bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, bright and pure palate that’s chalky and suave.

After the division of Domaine Bernard Moreau between brothers Benoit and Alex, Alex was left with only 10.5 hectares of vines. This year, that shrinks to a mere 5.5 hectares after the loss of a five-hectare fermage. Readers will imagine how disruptive that must be to a domaine’s distribution when clients find their habitual allocations reduced not by one-half but to one-quarter of what they used to be. So to mark a clean break, Alex has rebranded with his own label, effective from the 2021 vintage. As was the case under the Bernard Moreau label, he’s also complementing his domaine holdings with a little négociant activity. Of course, if the size of the estate has changed, the approach has not—long pressing for white, followed by vinification in barrel (predominantly from François Frères) with indigenous yeasts, with élevage lasting a year in wood, followed by six months on the lees in tank before bottling under natural cork.” 91-93pts Wine Advocate