2019 Beaune 1er cru "Reversées" Blanc
The 2019 Beaune "Reversées" Blanc from Clos de la Chapelle is a beautifully expressive wine right out of the blocks. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a vibrant blend of apple, passion fruit, a lovely base of chalky soil tones, honeysuckle and a stylish framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is ripe, full-bodied and juicy at the core, with good soil undertow, zesty acids and fine focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This has the structure to age nicely over the next decade or so, but it is so easy to drink right from release that I have to imagine the vast majority of bottles of this wine will not see their fifth birthday! Good juice.
2021-2030+. 90 pts.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er cru Sous Frétille
The 2019 Sous Frétille from Clos de la Chapelle shares the same early seductive charm as the Reversées, but I have the sense that the superior mineral foundation here will also take the wine further into the future if cellared for an extended period of time. The bouquet is pure and complex, offering up scents of lemon, pear, a touch of fresh pineapple, a beautiful base of chalky soil tones, a touch of citrus zest, spring flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a lovey girdle of acidity, fine focus and backend bounce and a long, complex finish. This too is certainly going to be very easy to drink in its youth, but I have the sense that there are more layers here to unfold with a bit of bottle age and I would try to keep my hands off of bottles for at least a couple of years and let it blossom more completely. 2023-2035. 92 pts.
2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is as beautifully cool customer for this vintage, coming in at 13.5 percent octane and offering up a pure and classic bouquet of apple, pear, spring flowers, a hint of iodine, a complex base of chalky soil tones, incipient notes of the crème patissière that will come with bottle age and a deft foundation of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is precise, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, zesty acids, impeccable balance and a long, pure and gently reductive finish. Believe me, I had no trouble drinking this sample bottle, but in reality this wine is still three to five years away from truly blossoming and deserves at least that much time in the cellar. It should prove to be beautifully long-lived. 2024-2055+. 94+ pts.
2019 Beaune 1er cru Champs Pimont
2019 vintage of Champs Pimont from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is an absolute charmer on both the nose and palate. The wine is nicely ripe, coming in at 13.5 percent alcohol and offering up a pure and sappy bouquet of red plums, black cherries, woodsmoke, gamebird, a lovely base of soil tones, fresh-culled thyme, peonies and a discreet framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely plush on the attack, with a sappy core, fine soil undertow, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Though this is very accessible on the nose, the plush fruit covers up a lovely structural chassis, so I would do my best to not touch a bottle for at least the next eight to ten years and let it really open up. 2029-2075. 92 pts
2019 Beaune 1er cru Teurons
These sixty-three year-old vines in Teurons have turned out a beautiful wine in the 2019 vintage. I really like the contrast in style between the domaine's Champs Pimont and Teurons, as the former has the deeper soils and produces the more broad shouldered example of Beaune, whereas the high limestone content of Teurons always produces a slightly lighter, more dancing version of the commune. The 2019 Teurons shows a lovely streak of red fruit in its aromatic constellation of wild strawberries, cherries, pigeon, cocoa powder, chalky soil elements, roses, fresh thyme and a refined touch of cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent in personality, with a lovely core of red fruit, suave, buried tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine, fine juice. 2030-2075+. 92+ pts.
2019 Volnay 1er cru En Carelle
Domaine Clos de la Chapelle has fine old vines in the vineyard of en Carelle, with the vines now sixty to sixty-five years of age. The 2019 en Carelle is nicely light in color and offers up a marvelous bouquet of red and black cherries, a touch of pomegranate, raw cocoa, dark soil tones, a touch of venison, gentle smokiness, lovely spice tones and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent, with a sappy core of fruit, fine-grained tannins, impeccable balance and a long, focused and complex finish. This is gorgeous Volnay in the making! 2029-2080. 93 pts.
2019 Volnay 1er cru Clos de la Chapelle monopole
The Clos de la Chapelle monopole has become one of my absolute favorite bottlings in the village of Volnay in a relatively short time, as 2019 is only the tenth vintage fashioned here since Mark O'Connell purchased this vineyard and started piecing together what is now one of the Côte de Beaune's finest estates. The 2019 Clos de la Chapelle comes in at 13.5 percent octane (as is the case with all of the domaine's red wines in this vintage) and delivers a stunningly precise and deep bouquet of red plums, black cherries, raw cocoa, pigeon, a touch of nutskin, youthful notes of sweet stem tones, a gorgeous base of soil, incipient notes of fresh nutmeg and a judicious foundation of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and complex, with a sappy core of fruit, stellar soil signature, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, perfectly balanced and stunning finish. This is a great bottle of Volnay in the making, but though it is certainly approachable out of the blocks, please tuck it away in the cellar for a decade or so and let the fireworks really mount! 2029-2085. 94+ pts.
2019 Volnay 1er cru Taillepieds vieilles vignes
The Domaine Clos de la Chapelle's Taillepieds parcel is beautifully placed, lying between the vines of the Marquis d'Angerville and the de Montille family in the heart of the vineyard. And, of course, it does not hurt that the vines are now closing in on seventy years of age! The 2019 Taillepieds is beautifully black fruity and pure on the nose, wafting from the glass in a mix of black cherries, sweet dark berries, raw cocoa, duck, dark soil tones, a touch of hazelnut, woodsmoke, hints of the nutmeg to come with bottle age and a lovely foundation of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and supremely elegant in personality, with a great core of black fruit, excellent transparency and grip, ripe, well-integrated tannins and a long, vibrant and nascently complex finish. This is an utterly refined young bottle of Taillepieds, and though it will demand cellaring to soften up properly, it should prove to be a very long-lived and stunning wine in due course. 2032-2085. 95 pts.
2019 Pommard 1er cru Les Chanlins vieilles vignes
I have felt for many years that Chanlins is one of the most under-estimated terroirs in the village of Pommard, which is itself one of the least well-understood communes in all of Burgundy in the twenty-first century. Domaine Clos de la Chapelle has a parcel of very old vines here in Chanlins, now over ninety years of age, and they have produced a marvelous wine in 2019. The aromatic constellation is pure, red fruity and precise, offering up notes of cherries, pomegranate, quince, gamebird, a touch of youthful stem tones, fresh thyme, a gorgeously complex base of soil, gentle smokiness and a touch of new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil undertow, ripe, buried tannins and a long, sappy and complex finish. This is stunning wine in the making and one of the most refined young examples of Pommard I have ever tasted! 2031-2085. 94 pts.
2019 Pommard 1er cru Grands Epenots
The 2019 Grands Epenots bottling from Clos de la Chapelle is another outstanding wine in the making, exuding the same purity, transparency and seamless structural chassis as is found in the Chanlins. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a mix of red and black cherries, plums, bitter chocolate, dark soil tones, gamebird, a touch of youthful stem tones, bonfire, fresh thyme and cedar. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and shows off stunning mid-palate depth, with plenty of black fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe, well-integrated tannins and a long, nascently complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is dynamite Pommard in the making as well, but it is more structured out of the blocks than the Chanlins and will demand a few years longer in the cellar before it starts to give up the goods. 2033-2085. 94 pts.
2019 Corton Bressandes Grand Cru
The 2019 Corton "Bressandes" from the Domaine Clos de la Chapelle is a simply stunning wine in the making. The bouquet is pure, nascently complex and so beautifully delineated, offering up scents of cherries, red plums, red currants, spiced meats, raw cocoa, a hint of orange zest, a complex base of stony soil tones, gorgeous spice tones and deft framing of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and soil-driven, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe, well-integrated tannins, excellent focus and grip and a long, complex and very, very promising finish. This is going to be stunning Corton with sufficient bottle age, but despite its beautiful fruit component, it is built for the long haul and will need plenty of time in the cellar before it blossoms properly! 2034-2100. 95+ pts.