alex moreau chassagne montrachet 1 er cru maltroie 2021

after the division of domaine bernard moreau between brothers benoit and alex, alex was left with only 10.5 hectares of vines. this year, that shrinks to a mere 5.5 hectares after the loss of a five-hectare fermage. readers will imagine how disruptive that must be to a domaine's distribution when clients find their habitual allocations reduced not by one-half but to one-quarter of what they used to be. so to mark a clean break, alex has rebranded with his own label, effective from the 2021 vintage. as was the case under the bernard moreau label, he's also complementing his domaine holdings with a little négociant activity. of course, if the size of the estate has changed, the approach has not—long pressing for white, followed by vinification in barrel (predominantly from françois frères) with indigenous yeasts, with élevage lasting a year in wood, followed by six months on the lees in tank before bottling under natural cork. reds see an appreciable percentage of whole bunches. the 2021 chassagne-montrachet 1er cru la maltroie is another one of the standouts in the range, offering up aromas of citrus zest, mint, crisp green apple, white flowers and freshly baked bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and fleshy palate that's suave, seamless and penetrating.