I am glad this bottle was sound; Barb and I pulled two Roger Bellands, a blanc and a rouge Chassagne Montrachet Clos Pitois 1er Cru. Unfortunately the blanc was oxidized. The Clos Pitois is a monopole Chassagne premier cru for the Roger Belland family (if the label says “Clos Pitois” it must be Roger Belland). It was the first time Barb and I ever sat down with a Clos Pitois premier cru.
Full color. Rich, spicy nose. On the palate very juicy. Ripe. Extracted. A little too extracted for me. But nice zip and good balance . A new wave Chassagne 1er Cru rouge. But a little anodyne new wave. Good though. Not dull. Just not all that exciting. I would say we have a slight preference for a more traditional Chassagne (think Maltroye or, even better, Ramonet).
Chassagne reds never hit the soaring heights of the best wines from the Cote d’Or. They can alternatively be a bit brutal, a little rustic, a touch inflexible, and a tad one dimensional. Think plow horse pinot. But they keep. Don’t cellar them for twenty years but ten to fifteen years sounds just about right.