critic reviews
The 2023 Mâcon-Pierreclos Juliette et Les Vieilles de Chavigne comes from vines planted in 2003 on one of the highest points of the hill, the fruit tending to reach maturity quicker than others. This has quite a floral bouquet—dandelion and peony—that marries nicely with the citrus fruit. The palate is well balanced, slightly viscous in texture, with a very Coche-like reduction on the finish. Fortunately, it's not Coche-like in secondary prices.
The 2023 Macon-Pierreclos Juliette et les Vieilles de Chavigne is the latest rendition of this singular cuvee, a sort of ne plus ultra bottling from his holdings in Le Chavigne, blending juice from a parcel of 20-year-old vines named "Juliette" (a former aviator, Guffens enumerates his various parcels in lieu-dit Chavigne using the phonetic alphabet) that was stunted in the 2003 heat wave with juice from old vines in neighboring parcels. Every rendition to date has been extraordinary, and the 2023 is no exception. While it was less aromatically put together than some of the other cuvees in the range when I tasted it, there was no mistaking its deep, exotic bouquet or its full-bodied, muscular and multidimensional palate. Long, dense and girdled by chalky dry extract, it's nipping at the heels of the Croux this year.