Domaine Alex Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieilles Vignes 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

… I do want to draw readers’ attention to two growers in Chassagne Montrachet who are “killing it” at the moment. Firstly, there is Alex Moreau at Domaine Bernard Moreau. This is a domaine whose wines have risen to a whole new level in recent years. Moreau’s portfolio is a veritable tour around Chassagne’s Premier Crus, showcasing the nuances between climats on the flatter lower sectors and more limestone-rich parcels located on higher contour…

Vinous – Neal Martin 2020

Full disclaimer – Domaine Bernard-Moreau et Fils has a sentimental place in my wine history. Alex came to work with us at Yering Station in 1999, I headed to Chassagne later that year working with him for the harvest. The hospitality of his family and the people of Chassagne was boundless! Since then the Domain’s portfolio has expanded to include a presence in Volnay and the addition of the two Grand Cru’s Bâtard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet. Under Alex’s leadership, the wines have continued to push to achieve excellence. It’s with a certain amount of pride that I offer his wines to the Wine Decoded community.

Vintage 1999 at Domain Bernard Moreau

The landscape of runs from just south of Chassagne (left) across to Puligny. The Grand Cru’s are in the 2nd and 3rd photo from the right. Yes, these pic’s were taken pre-digital! Read an almost finished retrospective of the vintage in the Wine Bites Mag.

About Domain Bernard-Moreau et Fils

The winery’s roots go back to 1809 when Auguste Moreau built a cellar across from the Champs Gain vineyard and farmed his few hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot along the golden slope. The 1930s saw an expansion of the family’s vineyards under the guidance of Marcel Moreau.

Roughly 80% of the Domaine’s current vineyard holdings were acquired by Marcel. At age 14, Bernard Moreau took over the vineyards and cellar in the early 1960’s. In 1977 the reputation of this great estate was fully established under the leadership of Bernard and Françoise Moreau and the winery was named Domaine Bernard Moreau. In addition to the changes in equipment, farming and winemaking, they also purchased additional land bringing the vineyard total to 14 hectares. To help with winemaking, viticulture and sales, sons Alex and Benoît joined the Domaine after having worked in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Alex and Benoit loosely split the responsibilities of the operation with Benoit more focused on the vineyards and Alex more focused on the cellar.

As with most all great Burgundian estates, the emphasis at Domaine Moreau is on terroir. Treat the vineyards right and they’ll reward you ith superior fruit. To maintain healthy, balanced soils the winery uses organic fertilizers and no pesticides. To ensure greater flavor intensity they farm the land for lower yields through pruning, debudding, green harvesting in August, leaf thinning for Pinot Noir (on the morning sun side), and the planting of cover crops in certain vineyards to encourage competition and soak up moisture.

The 1er Cru Chardonnays are barrel fermented and aged in French oak barrels (10%-30% new). The wine spends between 12 and 18 months in wood with a little lees stirring early on for added texture. Says Bernard, “The spirit of our winemaking is to not touch the wine too often. For Chardonnay, our aim is to produce very clean and precise wines which are not too austere. We like the minerality and purity.”

The red wines are aged in French oak barrels (10%-50% new) for 12 to 20 months depending on the vineyard and vintage. Bernard states, “For our Pinot Noirs we don’t do any racking, fining or filtration. We want to make the purest expression of the Pinot Noir from our vineyards.”

Levi Dalton spoke with Alex about his start at progression at Domaine Bernard Moreau.

The 2021 Vintage at Domaine Bernard-Moreau

“It was a big crop…joking,” winemaker Alex Moreau quips when I drop in at his winery in Chassagne-Montrachet. “No, it was a disaster with the huge frost, but for us, the damage was in different climats compared to 2016. Then it occurred in the north part of the appellation, but in 2021 it was in the south part towards Santenay. In 2021 we had decent volume at the regional and village levels, 30-40hL/ha. In 2021 I have the same cuvées as others years – I just lost the ones where I exchange fruit [Les Vergers, Chevalier-Montrachet inter alia.] After the frost, compared to 2016 when we had mildew pressure, in 2021, there was stress from oïdium. Rain was not huge, but it kept the atmosphere humid, so it was important to spray during dry windows. Fortunately, September was OK, so the maturity came slowly, and sanitary conditions were ideal for harvest, which began on 20 September. We needed a little sorting – just a few unripe bunches and a bit of botrytis. As always, we used natural yeasts; perhaps the fermentation was a little faster than usual, in two to three months [the opposite of what Damien Colin had told me an hour earlier!] Afterward, the wines are built around good acidity. The wines were quite acidic after alcoholic fermentation and attained more body after malolactic, though they remain leaner. The terroirs are easily identifiable. It was easy to overdo the wines, so I didn’t buy any new barrels using the previous year’s stock. There might be one or two new barrels in the larger cuvées but none for the smaller ones. The main problem is the huge demand for white Burgundy with a small volume. Due to the smaller volume [thanks to the vintage and the separation of the domaine with his brother Benoît Moreau], I am extending the duration of élevage as we have the space in the cellar. The reds went through a super early malo, so I may bottle these before Christmas.”

A new chapter chez Alex Moreau has opened since the division of Domaine Bernard Moreau between the two sons (Alex and Benoît). Afterwards, I suggest rebranding under Alex’s name rather than his father’s. Though he now farms fewer parcels, this has effectively freed up space in the winery, giving his modus operandi more flexibility. As Moreau says, the terroirs come through clearly in 2021, crowned by a fabulous Chassagne Les Grandes Ruchottes that has the audacity to challenge the Bâtard-Montrachet.

Neal Martin, Vinous

Nature is a tough taskmaster. Alex shares a depth of insight rarely explored. Just how do the best winemakers deal with tough vintages? What goes through their brains? How far ahead do they need to think?

You’ll hear Alex talk of the unknown, of thinking 3 years ahead in the vineyard, and, of the choices needed when your vineyard produces just two barrels instead of 12. The footage is ordinary, the words authentic.