From: Tonnerre, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay

“What beautiful wines have emerged! Fine, sexy, juicy, vivacious, saline and chalky.” - The late, great Becky Wasserman 

Taste: A wine that completely delivers on any level from the fresh, bright fruit that greets you from the start, to the piercing minerality courtesy of that revered Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soil. Beautifully balanced, rounded, and mineral at the same time. Touches of salinity, lemon, aniseed and a hint of licorice on the nose meld with white flower, pear, and quince to express itself as a wine vibrantly fresh with more ripeness, density, and length than one might expect.

“A pale lemon and lime colour. Rather an elegant bouquet with substance beneath. Very consistent across the palate with an appealing flesh in the middle, white apples, middleweight, a correct fruit to acid balance, and fair length. 60% tank and 40%barrel is the usual recipe, but 50-50 in 2021. Excellent tension behind and then a bit of honeysuckle. Drink from 2023-2026.”
Tasting Date: July 2022.  Tasting Location: Burgundy.  Tasted By: Jasper Morris MW. 

Pairing: Seafood and light poultry are easy go-to’s with this wine. Seared scallops, poached sea bass, poisson en papillote, fried fish and chips or fish tacos, grilled prawns or clams served with risotto or pasta (check out the recipe below), herb-roasted chicken or turkey served as sandwiches or over potatoes are a few examples of fantastic wine pairings. Of course, if you can find any cheese from Tonnerre, you’ll be in great shape, and if not, go for semi-soft cheeses with herbaceous or subtle honeyed and spiced flavors (cow or goats milk).

Spaghetti With Clams
By Nigella Lawson

Many thanks to importer, Becky Wasserman & Co. for the extremely detailed and historic profile of Domaine Dominique Gruhier and Epineuil.

Notes on tasting Dominique Gruhier’s 2021 and 2020 vintages, by Jasper Morris MW. “I tasted the 2021 (just bottled the day before my visit) and 2020 vintages with the enterprising Dominique Gruhier. His is quite a large estate and some grapes are sold to other interesting producers who would like to make wines from his appellations, which have been farmed organically. The domaine is certified and a few biodynamic practices may be used. Dominique also practices a low sulphur regime, looking to finish with around 50 grams/litre of total sulphur and 22 g/l free for the white wines, and 30/15 for the reds which tend to be unsulphured until a month before bottling. One change here is that Dominique now opts for a longer pressing of the white grapes.”