From: Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay

Taste & Critical Acclaim: This gorgeous Bourgogne Blanc that drinks like a baby Puligny-Montrachet hits far above its price point and humble regional designation. Flinty aromas open into pure white fruits, citrus, hawthorn blossoms, freshly baked croissants, and a hint of lemongrass. The palate is elegant and regal, with fantastic acidity, concentration, and volume.

From Jasper Morris: “Pale lemon and lime colour, a light whiff of sulphur, pure white fruit, elegant yet concentrated, good acidity, then surprising volume at the back, as it keeps getting a little richer. Drink from 2023-2025. Tasted: March 2022.”

Pairing: This wine shows off pure, balanced, complex, rich aromas and flavors in the glass. To pair this wine, I’d lean toward flavors or dishes that are delicate and rich. The quality of any spices or produce in your dish will matter more than the quantity of ingredients listed. Some ideas include swordfish piccata, roasted chicken in cream or white wine sauce, fried veal with mushrooms, lapin à la moutarde (we’re sharing a version of this recipe below in David Tanis’ White Wine-Braised Rabbit With Mustard; check it out below), lobster, grilled prawns, and white fish (like cod or halibut) prepared fried, grilled, or sautéed.

White Wine-Braised Rabbit With Mustard
By David Tanis

“This 20-hectare domaine ranks as the finest winery in the Côte Chalonnaise. Organic farming, cultivated soils and virtuosic winemaking combine to striking effect, yielding textural but incisive whites and perfumed, supple reds that number among my favorite wines in Burgundy…Plenty will find a place in my own cellar, and I couldn’t recommend them to readers more warmly than that.” –William Kelley, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

About. Many thanks to importer, Skurnik Wines, for the following information. The village of Rully (pron: rooh-ee), named after the Gallo-Roman lord Rubilius, lies just 5 miles south of Chassagne-Montrachet – at the northern limit of the Côte Chalonnaise. In many ways, it is a continuation of the Cote d’Or, with a south-southeast facing slope made of clay and limestone. The terroir near the top of the slope is a white chalk-laden soil markedly different from the reddish clay found at the bottom, mirroring the geological composition of the more famous Côte to the north. If you have heard of the village before, it is likely due to the brilliant work of one Vincent Dureuil of Domaine Dureuil-Janthial.

Standing unquestionably at the very apex in this region is Vincent Dureuil, who for the last 25 years has worked tirelessly to raise the image of this historic appellation through his organic farming and commitment to showcasing the village’s terroir with an unparalleled range of white and red Rully. Vincent took over the domaine from his father Raymond in 1994 at the tender age of 24. Vincent has always been an elite “switch-hitter” who can make both red and whites of EQUAL quality.

In Burgundy, where there is a clear geographic dividing line between red and white, only a handful of producers can claim such an attribute. For Vincent, the magic starts in the vineyards. Since taking over the estate, Vincent has worked under organic principles, with each site treated as one would treat their own personal garden.

His approach in the cellar is classic and minimalist. For the whites, the whole bunches are pressed slowly and racked straight into barriques, about 20% of which are new. Fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts, with little sulfur used at any point except before bottling. The wines are aged in barrel for 12 months after which they are racked to tanks for a further 4-6 months of aging, depending on cuvée. The reds are mostly destemmed with some small whole cluster employed for the single-site wines and given a cold maceration of 8-10 days in old wooden upright fermentation tanks. They ferment slowly before being racked into barrique (25% new) and aged for 12 months. After another 4-6 months in tank, they are bottled unfined and unfiltered. From the Bourgogne Blanc to the over 20 top parcels throughout Rully, this range of reds and whites never fails to astound and delight – one must truly look toward Chassagne, Puligny or Chambolle to find his true peers. In fact, it has been open secret for some time that Vincent is a go-to favorite for many of Burgundy’s top vignerons.

This wine. The 2020 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial Bourgogne Blanc is a product of meticulous hand-harvesting, where grapes from the north-facing La Combe parcel in Puligny-Montrachet are selected for their perfect balance of sugars and acidity. Planted predominantly between 1953 and 1965, with a small addition in 2015, this 2.474-acre vineyard on clay soil is the foundation of this exceptional Chardonnay.

Vinification involves a gentle, direct press without crushing, followed by static settling and fermentation in barrels (20% new) to enhance the wine's complexity and texture. The wine matures in barrels for 12 months. Then it finishes its aging in stainless steel vats for an additional 6 months, with bottling aligned with the lunar calendar to preserve its intrinsic qualities.

The 2020 Bourgogne Blanc is distinguished by its superb minerality and the capacity for long maturation, achieved by harvesting at peak ripeness. The wine's depth and complexity testify to the estate's dedication to producing wines of great integrity and personality.

• Practicing organic
  
• From the lieu-dit “La Combe” in Puligny-Montrachet
  
• Planted in 1953 and 1965
  
• 1.12 ha parcel
  
• Indigenous yeasts
  
• Aged in barrel (20% new) for 12 months + 6 months in tank