Bruno Lorenzon - Mercurey Clos du Chapitre 2020 (750ml)

William Kelley 

"Last year, I wrote that the 2019 vintage might turn out to be the best of Bruno Lorenzon's career to date. Tasting those wines from my cellar, I see no reason to revise that claim—with the sole exception that his 2020 vintage seems liable to be even better! Lorenzon hadn't yet bottled the 2020s when I visited this spring, and I can understand why: serious, concentrated and tightly wound, they're chiseled, intense wines that are as intellectual as they are sensual. Indeed, my sole concern about this immensely good portfolio is that it might not receive the time it deserves and needs to show all its cards; consumers are in the habit of waiting at least a few years before approaching the Côte d'Or's grander wines, but the wines of the Côte Chalonnaise are seldom accorded the same respect. Having followed Lorenzon's wines for the better part of a decade, however, I know exactly what these 2020s will deliver with time. Indeed, I am convinced that there are very few estates in the Côte d'Or operating on Lorenzon's level today, and the quality of these nascent 2020s only confirms my view that this is one of the best addresses in contemporary Burgundy. Everything reviewed here is worth a special effort to seek out, but please exercise a little patience! Readers looking for more insight into Lorenzon and his methods are referred to my extensive report in the End of July 2021 issue of The Wine Advocate."