Why it matters
The producer
Hand harvest and full destemming come before fermentation at Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard. Ambient yeast ferments the grapes in barrels, and the wines remain on their lees for 12 to 18 months. Lees are spent yeast cells, and contact with them can give wine a broader, more savoury feel during ageing.
The white wines use approximately 30% new oak for most of the cellar, while new oak use remains flexible elsewhere. The range includes white wines and the red Cuvée L'Estimée, with barrel work and lees ageing running through both colours.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Chassagne-Montrachet name appears in both a classified 1er Cru site wine and a red village cuvée. A 1er Cru is a named vineyard tier in Burgundy, placed above village wine and below Grand Cru. Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets carries that vineyard designation, while Cuvée L'Estimée is made from destemmed grapes from various village vineyard sites.
Wines to know
The range in view
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets is the named site wine, combining density of flavour with intense minerality and the capacity to age for a decade or more. Cuvée L'Estimée occupies a different place in the range: an attractive, perfumed, middleweight red made with minimal tannin extraction.
The white wines can seem relatively old-fashioned when young and benefit from bottle age. Cuvée L'Estimée is deliberately fresh and appealing for relatively early drinking.