Meo Camuzet - Vosne Romanee 1er Cru 'Les Chaumes' 2020 (750ml)

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Producer	Meo Camuzet
Country	France
Region	Burgundy
Subregion	Vosnee-Romanee
Varietal	Pinot Noir
Vintage	2020
Sku	38034
Size	750ml

 

WA

91-93

BH

90-92

Founded in the early 20th century by Étienne Camuzet, a French Parliament member who acquired exceptional Burgundy vineyards, including prime plots in Clos de Vougeot. His daughter, Maria Noirot, bequeathed the domain to distant relative Jean Méo in 1959. Initially managed under sharecropping agreements, the estate began selling under its own label in 1985 and progressively took charge of its vineyards after 1988. Today, Jean-Nicolas Méo, assisted by Henri Jayer and Christian Faurois, runs the estate. Their philosophy emphasizes creating structured yet delicate wines that reflect their terroir, using careful vine-growing techniques, hand-harvesting, minimal intervention in winemaking, and well-planned barrel aging.

A slightly shy nose at first, which gently opens on menthol, aniseed, vanilla and white pepper notes. Wood remains very present to this day.

In the mouth, the wine takes up space and envelops the palate. It asserts itself with its power and firm tannic structure. The ensemble is still sheathed and needs to relax. Its power offers it a long life ahead. 10 to 12 years old.

It is therefore a very special vintage, which has been bottled, after a few logistical disorders (see our chapter about "dry products"), now unfortunately a rather common occurence whatever the sector. 

With a rather high alcohol content, the wines are not at all heavy, held by a firm acidity that highlights aromas of black fruits, rather characteristic of a cold vintage!

The combination of high maturity and acidity is the dream of the Burgundian winemaker. This is a rare but not exceptional phenomenon since the vintages 1990, 1999, 2015 and to a lesser extent 2005, 2009 and 2019 can be considered to meet this characteristic. But it reached an unprecedented high in 2020.

Given their concentration, these wines will need time, including for "entry-level". While they do seduce by their aromatics, in the mouth, they exhibit some tension, which leads us to say that keeping them for some time is a better option.

The personalities of the terroirs have emerged during aging and in this powerful vintage, we find the finesse of Chambolle, the distinction of Vosne, the structure of Nuits, the complexity of Clos Vougeot and Richebourg ... Patience will be required however, as these are serious, structured wines that do not want to be taken lightly. 

Paradoxically, this does not necessarily mean we'll see an aromatic closure in the bottle, given the strong acidity which should allow the freshness of the fruit to show for a long time. But evolution will be slow and certainly very profitable for these wines which will undoubtedly represent bottles of anthology in the decades to come!

The 2020 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes unwinds in the glass with aromas of sweet cherries, cassis and rose petals, framed by a discreet patina of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and vibrant, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a saline finish, it is very promising.  William Kelley

Very Vosne-like aromas blend nose of clove and anise with those of black cherry, violet and cassis. The plush and lavishly rich medium weight flavors possess fine punch before culminating in a relatively robust, indeed even slightly chewy finale. This is certainly attractive in its fashion but it's not typical for Chaumes.