2021 Chateau de la Maltroye Chas.-Mtr. 1er Cru Les Chenevottes

France / Burgundy / Cote de Beaune / Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Blanc

Critics have scored Château de la Maltroye's Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes Bblanc as one of the top 5 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes wines.
 
Les Chenevottes is a Premier Cru vineyard at the base of the Mont-Rachet hill in the commune of Chassagne-Montrachet. It is one of the larger climats in the region, covering 11ha of land planted entirely to Chardonnay. 
 
The vineyard is at the northern end of the commune, near the southern end of the Montrachet Grand Cru vineyard and the Saint-Aubin Premier Cru climats that stretch up the hill. Les Vergers and Les Chaumées are on the hillside to the southwest, and the streets and houses of Chassagne-Montrachet itself are just a stone's throw to the southeast.

Les Chenevottes is further sub-divided into two further Premier Cru lieu-dits, or titles: Les Commes and Les Bondues which run along the vineyard's northeastern border. Wines from these two sites are permitted under appellation law to use either their own names or the Chenevottes title.

Les Chenevottes benefits from a gravelly, pebbly soil that, despite the vineyard's relative flatness, offers good drainage. The soil is rich in limestone, which imparts its flinty minerality into the wines.
There is plenty of sunshine in Les Chenevottes, and the almost imperceptible slope angles toward the south-east, taking advantage of this fact. This means that vines have plenty of time to ripen over the sunny growing season, while cooler nights help with the retention of acidity.
Many vineyards along the Cote d'Or are named for vegetation that was once found there. Many believe Les Chenevottes to be named for the French word chanvre, meaning hemp, a crop which doubtless once covered this land.