2018 Morey-Coffinet Chassagne-Montrachet Blanchots Dessus

Morey-Coffinet is on the southern edge of the village of Chassagne. It was started in 1978 when Michel Morey and his wife Fabienne combined vineyard parcels they’d received as wedding gifts. Michel Morey is the son of the late, highly regarded producer Marc Morey, and Fabienne is from the distinguished Pillot winemaking family. Both families have deep roots in the region and generations of history as winemakers, and together the couple worked their 22-acre domain. Now their son Thibault is sharing responsibility for the estate. Three-quarters of the estate’s wines are Chardonnay, mostly from Chassagne-Montrachet. Morey-Coffinet’s domain includes grand cru parcels in Batard Montrachet and Corton Charlemagne, as well as numerous premier crus.

Chassagne-Montrachet is the appellation that covers the communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Remigny, and it is the southern-most of the Côte d’Or’s three great white wine appellations of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. With 1,200 acres of vineyards, it is one of the largest appellations in the region, and more than half the vineyard acreage is Grand Cru or Premier Cru. The three famous Grand Crus are Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. There are also 16 main Premiers Crus, most of them considered very high quality, and village wines. One fact rarely noted is that historically the appellation produced more red than white wine. In the late 1990s the ratio of white to red wines changed, however, as more vineyards were converted from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, a logical decision given the acclaim of the appellation’s whites. There are still intriguing red wines produced. Clive Coates wrote that the appellation’s white wines generally are “full and firm, more akin to Puligny than to the softer, rounder wines of Meursault.”

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.