2023 Vincent Dancer Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru, Burgundy

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot is one of the more generous wines in the range, delivering aromas of pear, orange soil and white flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and succulent palate with a textural core of fruit and a saline finish. As readers may remember, it's derived from a high-density planting at 20,000 vines per hectare.

Théo Dancer bottled all his 2023s in October under Diam 30 (in 2022, everything was bottled under Diam except the Chevalier-Montrachet), since he is beginning construction of a new winery, sacrificing a bit of Chassagne-Montrachet to expand the size of his cellars. It has been several years now since Théo took the reins here, and the evolutions continue. An agroforestry project in the Hautes-Côtes is underway, combining vineyard development with fruit trees and flowering verges. Along the Côte, Dancer is now pruning without a cane and attaching his vines to individual "échalas" stakes, reducing cultivation of the soils to the bare minimum. In the cellar, Théo has banished all new oak (never an important presence, in any case, at this address), instead preferring to purchase used larger-format barrels from another winemaker. The cellar has also been given a thorough cleaning. The 2023s are a strong follow-up to the 2022s, exhibiting good depth and cut, and while Dancer was a little concerned about comparatively high turbidity in some cuvées, given their earlier-than-usual bottling, I didn't see anything to cause concern.

92 points robertparker.com

Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru is a profound and quietly thrilling white Burgundy from one of the Côte de Beaune’s most soulful winemakers. Based in Meursault, Dancer is known for his uncompromising organic practices, low-intervention cellar work, and wines that speak in a voice that’s more whisper than shout. His Morgeot is a masterclass in tension, texture and terroir.

The Morgeot 1er Cru vineyard sits on the southern side of Chassagne, where the soils are richer and deeper with a mix of clay and limestone. This gives the wine more body and depth than Dancer’s Meursaults, while still maintaining the elegance and finesse he’s known for. It’s fermented with indigenous yeasts in older oak barrels, with no battonage, no fining or filtration, and minimal sulphur.

In the glass, it opens with white peach, citrus oil, toasted hazelnut, flint and a whisper of sea spray. The palate is layered and structured, with a creamy core balanced by crystalline acidity and a savoury mineral drive. There’s a quiet power here, more suggestion than overt richness, and a finish that lingers with saline finesse.

Food pairings include lobster with beurre blanc, roast chicken with tarragon, or a simple plate of grilled white asparagus with lemon butter. It’s drinking beautifully now with a decant, but will reward cellaring over 10 to 12 years.