Les Chaumees

Harvested at 23hl/ha, six barrels were made, seeing a third new oak. It carries the wood beautifully, with plenty of exotic and vanilla notes. There is great density and as ever, a hint of coconut richness and a thread of acidity which provides a taut spine. Quite open and approachable. Drink 2019-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Caroline Lestimé took over from her father, Jean-Noël Gagnard (b. 1926) in 1989, since which time she has fine-tuned the holdings, increasing the number of white wine cuvées by separating out each different vineyard. She has also planted new sites in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune to complement her range of Chassagne-Montrachet (including nine white and two red Premiers Crus) and Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet. Chassagne was badly hit by the spring frosts, especially in the vineyards above the village and towards Puligny. Nevertheless, this is an impressive result for Caroline and she was in ebullient form, despite the relative emptiness of her cellar, perhaps after the fecund volumes of 2017, just harvested. There is an amplitude about her wines this year, which matches the freshness of the vintage very well. Sadly, there is no Masures this year due to frost.

These are old vines which rarely yield many grapes. Indeed, the 2017 cuvée is only marginally larger than the frost-affected 2016. The result is an intensely concentrated wine with plenty of power and rich stone-fruit. It is however quite approachable and will drink relatively early amongst the range of Premiers Crus. Drink 2022-2028.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good but in no sense excessive crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.