Domaine Lécheneaut 2022

Domaine Lécheneaut 2022

Anyone who thinks prices of red Burgundy have escalated to such an extent that the wines are out of reach should pay very close attention to this offer.

We have worked directly with Domaine Lécheneaut for more than a decade. These wines continue to offer unbelievable value not just in a Burgundian context but also when tasted against other similarly priced wines from around the world. Atlas clients who took our advice, when we first started offering wines from Domaine Lécheneaut, are universal in their praise as they now drink their way through their stocks of maturing bottles. They understand why we continue to extol the virtues of these outstanding wines.

It is always such a pleasure to visit the Lécheneauts. They collectively radiate humility, honesty, thoughtfulness and care. This comes through in wines that unerringly express themselves as the products of such qualities and such people. The wines are natural and at ease with themselves; they are all about meticulously cared for fruit that is handled with great sensitivity. Purity and sense of place are very much to the fore.

Tasting the Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Nuits-St Georges gives a very clear picture of the distinct fruit profile and structure of each village. Each Premier Cru sings of its more specific origin – Aux Argillas with its elegance, Les Damodes with its silky texture and Les Pruliers with its underlying mineral power. These are wines that clearly illustrate, through their purity and balance, the concept of terroir.

The Clos de Magny is a new wine to us, as it was to the Lécheneaut range last year. This wine really impressed me then and even more so in 2022. The style is scented and ethereal, or aérien as the French say. It comes from 60-year-old vines above Corgoloin, the most southerly village of the Côte de Nuits, from a vineyard with sandy soils and a slightly northerly exposure. It was bought by Jules Lécheneaut, Vincent’s son, who is now an increasingly significant presence in the team.

These are wines to buy across the board and enjoy for the sheer pleasure they give as highly affordable, true expressions of some of the fine terroirs of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. I cannot endorse them highly enough.

Please see below for my notes on the 2022s from November's visit.

Domaine Lécheneaut, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits 2022
£135 per 6 bottle case in bond
Perfumed floral red fruit on the nose. The palate displays lovely balance and freshness with a wonderfully at ease flowing texture. Drink 2026-2032 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Côte de Nuits-Villages, Clos de Magny 2022
£165 per 6 bottle case in bond
Closed nose but pure scented fruit behind. The palate shows vibrant red fruit and a long, mineral-infused finish. Vincent says this site is high on the Côte and on sand and gravel soils, thus always showing wonderful tension. He is not wrong. Drink 2026-2032 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Gevrey-Chambertin 2022
£240 per 6 bottle case in bond
Appealing, pure forest fruit on the nose. The palate is fluid and textured, with layers of fresh fruit and a mineral underpinning. The finish is long and mouthwatering, with a saline, mineral touch at the end. As always, this is such a fine expression of Gevrey with such admirable fruit purity and poise. Drink 2027-2034 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Morey-St Denis 2022
£225 per 6 bottle case in bond
Lifted, floral nose of violets and fresh red fruit. On the palate there is pure, ripe-skinned blue fruit and a subtle touch of spice. There is fine concentration at the core and a tremendous, vibrant persistence. Drink 2027-2034 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Chambolle-Musigny 2022
£270 per 6 bottle case in bond
Alluring, sweet red fruit and cherry blossom notes on the nose. The scented red fruit quality comes through on the palate with a controlled intensity. The sweet fruit gives way to a poised white-stone mineral touch that brings a fine sense of energy and freshness. Drink 2027-2034 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Nuits-St Georges 2022
£225 per 6 bottle case in bond
As with all the Lécheneaut 2022s, there is an aromatic side to this village Nuits, and an easy, fresh fruit quality with a lightness of touch. The tannins are fine and integrated but have an underlying gravelly power. The finish shows fine length of fruit with a gentle cherry fruit at the end vying with the iron-rich mineral tannins. This highlights, together with the village Gevrey, Morey and Chambolle the incredible ability the Lécheneauts have to express each wines origin. Drink 2027-2034 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Nuits-St Georges, Au Chouillet 2022
£245 per 6 bottle case in bond
There is a subtle yet noticeable increase in concentration here, more evident in this vintage than in some recent years. Pure fruit in abundance but really mineral and with subtle power. Very long and mouth-watering. Drink 2027-2034 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, Les Borniques 2022
£480 per 6 bottle case in bond
Intensely floral yet so elegant. Scented, spicy, white stone. The palate is beautifully focused. While linear and mineral, this is not overly austere but shows beautiful energy and poised harmony. The balance is exquisite and suggests this will age magnificently. Drink 2027-2035 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru, Aux Argillas 2022
£375 per 6 bottle case in bond
Lifted nose showing floral cherry and raspberry fruit, spice notes too. Lovely grippy palate with a juicy moreishness. Good aromatic complexity and much more complete and harmonious than previous vintages, this is now clearly a Lécheneaut wine. There is a lightness of touch but with a pleasing fruit core, minerality and persistence. Drink 2027-2035 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru, Les Damodes 2022
£390 per 6 bottle case in bond
Unusually closed on the day of tasting though the palate reveals the wonderful texture dark berry density typical of Damodes. The fruit weight is very appealing, carried as it is on the silky texture and fine, ripe, integrated tannins. Drink 2027-2037 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Nuits-St Georges 1er Cru, Les Pruliers 2022
£390 per 6 bottle case in bond
Aromatically open and expressive with evident aromatic complexity. Pure, floral, spicy red fruit. There is a fluidity to the palate from start to finish, when the notable mineral power of Pruliers asserts itself in its tight, powerful persistence. This is very strong in 2022. Outstanding. Drink 2028-2038 (ROM)
 
Domaine Lécheneaut, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2022
£600 per 3 bottle case in bond
Evident concentration and fine structure. On the day of tasting this was less aromatically expressive than most of the rest of the range. Vincent said it was in an angular phase, not yet finding its full expression. If so then this will be exemplary as the Grand Cru concentration and structure are strikingly clear nonetheless. So subtle. So long. Drink 2028-2040 (ROM)

Please let us know of your interest but also be aware that orders may be subject to allocation.

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