Top Côte de Nuits 2020 en primeur wines
The Côte de Nuits fared well with the heat of the 2020 vintage finds Charles Curtis MW after tasting more than 1,200 samples across the region for his en primeur report.
Conditions were warm, sunny and dry throughout Burgundy in 2020, although there were differences between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune.
According to Frédéric Weber of Bouchard Père & Fils, the latter bore the brunt of the drought conditions: ‘In general, the Côte de Beaune suffered more from the heat, while there was a bit more rain in the Côte de Nuits.’ he says.
‘2018 was a sunny year that gave average volumes but with lower acidity; 2019 was more classic, where we began picking on the 11th of September, and 2020 was the hottest of all.’
Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Côte de Nuits 2020 wines
In addition to these differences, the Chardonnay that dominates the Côte de Beaune weathers the heat better than the Pinot Noir that dominates the Côte de Nuits, with young Pinot vines most susceptible to sunburn.
This logic helped determine picking dates. Cyril Jacquelin, the winemaker at Domaine du Clos Frantin, points out: ‘In 2020, the yield was lower than in 2018, and the maturity arrived later due to blockages from the heat in August.’
‘At the Bichot properties, we began with the young-vine Pinot on the 19th of August, switched to Chardonnay on the 27th, and returned to finish the grand cru Pinot in the Côte de Nuits after the rains, beginning on the 30th. The strategy generally worked well, although the whites are rich in phenolic compounds, which can make them a bit austere in the beginning.’
See the Burgundy 2020 score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits wines all scoring 95 points or above
See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores
Jérôme Flous, the winemaker at Domaine Faiveley, notes the effect on yields: ‘Yields overall for the Chardonnay were closer to normal, averaging 40hl/ha, while the Pinots gave 20-30hl/ha depending on the site,’ he explains.
‘The difference is because Chardonnay had an average bunch weight, since it flowers and sets earlier, but the Pinot is later and had a lower bunch weight because of the heat. The region which faced the most challenges was the Côte Chalonnaise since the quality of the clay was different and there was less water available for the vines. The Côte de Nuits can support more dryness for a longer period than the Côte Chalonnaise.’
Frédéric Drouhin sums up the difference in the wines: ‘It is an early year, but without haste,’ he says. ‘There was no frost or hail, no disease, and almost double the number of sunshine hours compared to any other year.
‘In terms of vinification, we look for balance and elegance, and the key thing was to work on the lees. In 2020, the quality of the lees was unique, bringing flavours and freshness to the wine. It is a good vintage, quite aromatic, and the key was keeping the freshness. We’ve probably lost 30% because of the lack of water, however you can still taste the typicity of each appellation: a Charlemagne tastes like a Charlemagne.’
Quick links:
See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:
Côte de Beaune | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise
Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée
Marsannay-based Bruno Clair gave further, intriguing details regards the ripening in his vineyards: ‘The grapes ripened because of the loss of water through dehydration and not through photosynthesis,’ he states.
‘Many of my vines are located in poor soils at the top of the hill, sites that suffered most during the drought conditions. [For Bruno Clair, across all appellations,] the yield averaged 24hl/ha, and some vineyards produced even less, 16-18hl/ha for the oldest vines, for example.’
Côte de Nuits 2020 top-value wines:
Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Marsannay, 2020
Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Aux Etalois, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2020
Côte de Nuits 2020 top producers:
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
Domaine Dugat-Py
Domaine Dujac
Domaine Georges Roumier
Domaine Grivot
Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair
Domaine Trapet
See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Côte de Nuits 2020 wines:
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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines
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Top 2020 Côte de Nuits en primeur wines
Domaine Georges Roumier, Musigny Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Despite being marked by the cask at this point, the wine is absolute perfection. Less forward than Roumier's Amoureuses, the wine reveals itself more complex...
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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole, Burgundy, France, 2020
The 2020 La Tâche incarnates everything wonderful about this vintage – it is ripe, exuberant, and approachable, yet packed with potential and the substance for...
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Anne Gros, Richebourg Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A great Richebourg, without a doubt, it is also a wine that needs time. This is firmly extracted and reveals itself only on the palate...
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Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, Musigny Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The mature vines in the domaine’s immense holding (5.56ha of old vines) have given us a wine with the youthful, plummy exuberance of Chambolle but...
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Domaine Dujac, Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
This is a genuinely epic wine: concentrated, tannic and impressively persistent on the palate. Delightful complexity, with lush, approachable red and black fruit, superb minerality...
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Domaine Faiveley, Musigny Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A stunningly beautiful wine from two small plots that total 0.13ha. The grapes are fermented as 50% whole clusters and since there is so little...
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Domaine Georges Roumier, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Amoureuses, Burgundy, France, 2020
One expects a rich wine, with a profusion of floral and red fruit aromas, and Roumier certainly delivers. 'The surprise of the vintage is the...
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Domaine Georges RoumierChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat, Richebourg Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
This is wine of another order. Hudelot-Noëllat farms 0.28ha of Richebourg in the heart of the appellation, next to DRC. His is a Richebourg of...
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Domaine Hudelot-NoëllatRichebourg Grand Cru
Domaine Jean Grivot, Richebourg Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A 'grand cru-plus', this is truly extraordinary wine, with expressive red and black fruits which show a saline minerality and floral notes. The texture is...
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Domaine Jean GrivotRichebourg Grand Cru
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Richebourg Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Simply spectacular. Profuse aromas of blackberry and plum, scented with rose petals, peonies, liquorice, spice and salty mineral notes. The texture is opulently rich on...
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Domaine Thibault Liger-BelairRichebourg Grand Cru
Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The 2020 Chambertin from Trapet is sublime. It owns 1.85ha over three parcels in a variety of soils and 15% of the vines are trained...
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Maison Pierre Millemann, Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A super-dense wine, with rich plummy fruit, showing notes of smoke, mineral and earth. The texture is dense and concentrated, yet there is an elegance...
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Chateau de la Tour, Hommage à Jean Morin, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
This is a wine of immense potential, yet one that is far from ready to drink. It is made as always from the bunches nearest...
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Chateau de la TourClos de Vougeot Grand Cru
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The Richebourg is noticeably darker in colour than the other wines. There is an inky black concentration of plum and mulberry fruit with abundant...
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Domaine de la Romanée-ContiRichebourg Grand Cru
Domaine Denis Bachelet, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
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Domaine Denis BacheletCharmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Echézeaux Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Before the recent expansion of his holdings, Comte Liger-Belair produced this wine from a blend of Les Cruots and Les Champs Traversins. The grapes are...
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Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, La Romanée Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The ripe, plummy fruit bears the mark of the robustly warm and dry vintage, but there is immense complexity, with notes of spice, smoke and...
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Domaine du Comte Liger-BelairLa Romanée Grand Cru
Domaine Dugat-Py, Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Dugat-Py used almost 90% whole clusters in the fermentation in 2020, but the wine has no rustic edges, and the focus remains on the finesse...
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Domaine Dujac, Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
After fermenting as whole clusters and ageing in 70% new casks, the wine has an exotic perfume, with a pronounced pomegranate and black cherry fruit,...
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Domaine Dujac, Clos St-Denis Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A vibrant and fresh wine, with bright red cherry fruit, a hint of rose petal and liquorice. The texture is silky yet dense, and the...
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Domaine Dujac, Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A spectacular result - nuanced and spicy, with a slight reduction that gives the lush blackberry fruit an exotic, slightly animal edge to it. There...
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Domaine Faiveley, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
This is a tremendous wine, with a ripe, spicy plum and blackberry fruit, touched with notes of mineral and earth. The complexity and depth of...
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Domaine Faiveley, Les Ouvrées Rodin, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The structure is massive, yet the wine still shows accessible aromas of raspberry, mulberry and blackberry liqueur, with a mineral undercurrent and a profusion of...
2020
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Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Ripe plummy fruit of exceptional purity, suggestions of mineral, smoke and wild roses. Despite the perfumed, ethereal aromas, the wine is broad-shouldered, tannic and powerful....
2020
Domaine Georges RoumierBonnes-Mares Grand Cru
Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A stunning wine. One sees the richness of the year in the ripe, dense, plummy fruit, yet it avoids over-concentration and has a lovely freshness...
2020
Domaine PonsotClos de la Roche Grand Cru
Hubert Lignier, Hommage, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Inky dark in colour, showing a ripe, brambly, blackberry fruit, with sweet spice and a marked mineral note. The wine is dense and concentrated, more...
2020
Hubert LignierClos de la Roche Grand Cru
Domaine Duroché, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
Must be tasted to be believed. Copious, forward red and black fruit aromas of great purity are given nuance by a mineral depth from the...
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Domaine DurochéGriotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
The dark plum and blackberry fruit is accented with notes of smoke, spice and rose petals. The texture is velvety and very fine. It is...
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Domaine Simon Bize, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
This is perhaps a bit closed initially, but it opens with time to show an elegant, restrained black plum fruit, with hints of mineral, mint...
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Hubert Lignier, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020
A concentrated wine, with a powerful black plum and blueberry fruit, replete with notes of mineral, rose petal, smoke and spice. The texture is very...
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