Producer note: Michel Niellon's son-in-law, Michel Coutoux, who has been at the domaine since 1990, has now taken over as his father-in-law has retired. I will have Coutoux's views on the 2019 vintage in Issue 83. With respect to the reds, I would observe that for years the Niellon style has been for fruity and relatively light wines that drank well almost immediately. In the last two vintages, the style has clearly changed as the reds have definitely become more age-worthy and serious. Indeed, these may be the best reds that I have ever seen from the domaine. The reds were bottled in August 2020. (Treasury Château & Estates Wines, www.tweglobal.com, CA and Terlato Wines International, www.terlatowines.com, IL, both USA; O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com and Robert Rolls & Co., www.robertrolls.com, all UK; Altaya Wines, www.altayawines.com, Hong Kong).
Tasting note: Whiffs of menthol and wood surround the peppery and spicy red and dark berry fruit aromas. There is very good volume and punch to the medium weight flavors that possess more supporting structure than usual on the nicely complex and persistent finish that exhibits only a trace of rusticity. This is a quality Chassagne villages.
