Visit to Charodon – Tasting the White 2022s

The 2022 vintage is a return to the global warming vintages … i.e. a somewhat hot vintage. While 2022 was warm and generous, the wines display a lovely freshness in general … so delightful to drink wines that entertain you … this is really nice, albeit with less intrigue than the way vintages with a more pronounced acidity and tension would.

Please note that the name used now is “Charodon” … without the “Château de” due to “rules” and an apparent marketing confusion.

So, to the pleasure of the Charodon wines.

Louis Vallet background

Louis Vallet is like his wines: vivacious, but with much more control and delicacy than one would expect. He is both a serious and talented winemaker,. Having grown up on his family’s Domaine Pierre Bourée, he will eventually get vineyards from that estate, but as is so often the case in Burgundy, family disagreements of inheritance seem to go on and on.

In the meantime, Louis Vallet has turned the page and started a negociant business in the buildings of his parental home in the Château de Charodon, located in Mantagny-les-Beaune, a commune just outside of Beaune.

There is little doubt that Louis Vallet will harvest the fruits of the family vineyards one day. For now, other vineyards are his focus.

Louis learned his trade from people like Pascal Marchand, and I see qualities in the (Château de) Charodon wines which are influenced by Marchand’s visionary ideas.

These influences result in wines with generous, pure, mid-palate fruit; drinkability and enjoyability; and complexity without being over-engineered. They keep their simplicity while revealing palpable potential. These are wines of good hedonistic quality, enjoyable yet controlled, despite higher sulphur levels in the reds.

Let’s taste the whites!

The whites are still my favourites at Charodon; they are often quite elegant and lovely wines with fine balance. Let’s see what Louis Vallet and the team have made for us in 2022.

Charodon Bourgogne 2022

The Bourgogne Aligoté 2022 is the prototype of a generous wine from this vintage … It is well-balanced and attractive, yet, not very precise or defined. In other words, a vin de soif of the enjoyable sort.

(Drink from 2023) – Good – (87p)

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Charodon Saint Aubin Frionne 2022

The Saint Aubin Frionne is also enjoyable and with greater precision. Rich on the palate for a Frionne, with a lovely generous nature. Would go well with oysters, and for my palate, a wine for food rather than a vin de soif. Ideal for summer food salads or light fish dishes.

(Drink from 2024) – Very Good – (88-89p) –

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Charodon Meursault 2022

The Meursault is rich and vivid. Classic Meursault and 2022 … nice structure and acidity for the vintage … a lovely entry-level village with a nice reductive note to keep the wine in place. 20% new oak is very suitable in this vintage.

(Drink from 2026) – Very Good – (89-90p) –

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