“Another name that’s new to my report is Domaine François Legros, in Nuits Saint-Georges. Legros, who took over the domaine in 1988, is one of those “dirt under the fingernails” winemakers, a man who is happiest out working in the vines. “My ancestors worked at Château de la Tour and my parents still live in Vougeot,” he told me. “They lived in the chateau.” He has expanded the holdings to around eight hectares that, unusually, span both white and red in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, this diaspora due partly to working parcels previously owned by his father-in-law. He is now assisted by his daughter Charlotte, who trained at the University of Beaune. Legros has converted all his vineyards to lutte raisonée, works some parcels by horse, and hand-picks and sorts his fruit in the vineyard and then on a vibrating table. For the reds, around 90% is de-stemmed, with manual pigeage. He keeps the wines on the lees with no racking, employing around 30% new oak for his Premier Crus. He told me that the whites were bottled the previous week and came in with 13.6–13.8% alcohol. Tasting through his 2020s, I preferred his reds to his whites, which displayed traits of sur-maturité. By contrast, the reds were fresher and more terroir-driven and therefore come recommended. I look forward to returning to this address in the future.”
“Another success, the 2019 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Noirots is a lovely wine that evokes notions of raspberries, sweet spices, orange rind and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, with melting tannins and lively acids, it concludes with a long, precise finish. This under-the-radar cuvée is well worth seeking out. Drinking window: 2021-2039. 92+ points
Domaine François Legros comprises fully 57 parcels, up to 50 kilometers apart—a considerable logistical challenge! Yet Legros has cultivated the soils for the last 15 years and works along largely organic lines, excepting only some synthetic anti-mildew treatments in years with elevated disease pressure. Much of the domaine’s Pinot Noir is pruned in cordon, and yields are controlled. Winemaking is simple: a brief cold soak, when punch-downs are employed, followed by three to four weeks’ maceration, with tanks heated to 31 degrees centigrade at the end. After pressing, the young wines are drawn off into barrels from Chassis, Cavin and François Frères, each barrel seeing four liters of lees. The most serious reds see two winters in barrel, with bottling in March. The style here is very classical and charming: no smoke or mirrors, just classic, well-made Burgundy. The insider’s choice is the lovely Vougeot 1er Cru Les Cras, a cuvée well worth seeking out, but everything here comes recommended.”
“Aromas of raspberries, plums, musky spices and loamy soil preface the 2019 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered wine that’s understated but complete, with powdery tannins and succulent balancing acids. Drinking window: 2021-2035. 89 points
Domaine François Legros comprises fully 57 parcels, up to 50 kilometers apart—a considerable logistical challenge! Yet Legros has cultivated the soils for the last 15 years and works along largely organic lines, excepting only some synthetic anti-mildew treatments in years with elevated disease pressure. Much of the domaine’s Pinot Noir is pruned in cordon, and yields are controlled. Winemaking is simple: a brief cold soak, when punch-downs are employed, followed by three to four weeks’ maceration, with tanks heated to 31 degrees centigrade at the end. After pressing, the young wines are drawn off into barrels from Chassis, Cavin and François Frères, each barrel seeing four liters of lees. The most serious reds see two winters in barrel, with bottling in March. The style here is very classical and charming: no smoke or mirrors, just classic, well-made Burgundy. The insider’s choice is the lovely Vougeot 1er Cru Les Cras, a cuvée well worth seeking out, but everything here comes recommended.”
“The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Village has a very pure bouquet of black cherry, raspberry, sous-bois and touches of white pepper, the 20% new oak nicely integrated. The medium-bodied palate offers grainy tannins that frame the fresh, red currant and cranberry fruit, laced with thyme and clove toward the persistent finish. This is another fine Cote de Nuits from Marchand-Tawse. Drinking window: 2022-2040. 90-92 points
Given the wide range of wines under Domaine Tawse and their négociant arm “Marchand-Tawse”, I needed two or three hours to go through the entirety of their range with the ever-garrulous Pascal Marchand and Mark Fincham. “The 2018 was a lot about picking dates,” Fincham told me. “We picked early, for example, the Beaunes picked the first week of September and the Gevrey crus around 8 September and the Gevrey Lavaux on the 9 September. There was beautiful phenolic ripeness. The malic and tartaric acid was low, so you had to be careful as there was a lot of ripeness, so it was important to pick before phenolic ripeness. By picking it fractionally early we kept very good acidity. By the Monday or Tuesday the alcohol had gone up to around 14° whereas at the weekend it was 13.4°. We finished the picking on 11 September.” Fincham offered a useful and interesting view upon why it is vital to maintain acidity. “If you lose the acidity then you lose part of the information. You can acidify but there is nothing better than natural tartaric acid. The only time I acidify is if I am doing a cold fermentation and want to protect it against bacterial infection.””
