2020 Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Grandes Ruchottes 1er (Pre-arrival)

The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes is spectacular, unfurling in the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of peach, orange oil and pear mingled with hints of nutmeg, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it’s deep and multidimensional, with racy acids, chalky structure and a long, saline finish.

The 2020 vintage is a brilliant success for Thierry Pillot, delivering concentrated, chiseled wines that will delight white Burgundy purists. As I’ve reiterated several times, Pillot is one of a handful of exciting producers who won Chassagne-Montrachet the title of the Côte de Beaune’s most dynamic white wine-producing village today, and as he enters his early forties, he’s reflecting on the next step. His viticulture is already innovative, with canopies trimmed high and, in some cases, managed with “tressage.” But the construction of a new winery building below the village, he ruminates, would make space for dry goods and bottled wine, allowing him to extend élevages longer in his historic cellars in the heart of Chassagne-Montrachet. I certainly hope he’ll embark upon this exciting new project. But in the meantime, don’t miss Pillot’s 2020s.