Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru 'Morgeot' Rouge, Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard 2021

The wines from Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard have a clear purity and minerality as well as a lovely weight and richness of fruit. Céline Fontaine and her husband Fred Robert (formerly of Armand Rousseau) have over the past decade raised their stock exponentially. Céline has introduced using only natural yeast and prefers to age the top cru’s slightly longer in tank, meaning they age more slowly in bottle than we saw previously. This is a well-regarded estate which has moved into its next epoch and with quality only on the rise, there is a lot to love about all of these wines. Morgeot, which lies mid-slope with a south-easterly exposure, is a perfect example of the Chassagne-Montrachet style. Morgeot lies on the border between the Côte d'Or and Saone-et-Loire regions, and it was actually the boundary in the Gallo-Roman period. At this time the plot of land was called Morga (from the Latin "Margo" which means edge or border). The Abbey of Morgeot dates back to year 864, but around 1150 the Cistercian monks benefited from numerous donations and built a communal farm, vineyard and chapel in the vicinity.