From: Auxey-Duresses, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Taste & Critical Acclaim: "Pretty lemon yellow quite an exotic, almost musky nose, which is tamed with a little aeration. There is a very good heart to the fruit, fresh lemons and a generosity not always to be found in Auxey- Duresses. Drink from 2025-2030." –Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
"A note on comparison: If you compare this to the 2021 vintage of the exact wine, you’ll find the difference obvious even if you don’t open the two simultaneously. Though both are beautiful, the 2022 vintage feels more youthful, taut, and tension-filled. This may seem obvious, but the 2021 vintage, with only a year more in a bottle, has already developed more richness of fruit, though the 2022 will assuredly do so as well with another year or two. The musky note Jasper Morris mentions above immediately draws the mind to crave dishes with fresh and savory components." –E. Lyman, Champion Wine Cellars, September 2024.
Pairing: Lively, youthful, and energetic, this 2022 Auxey-Duresses blanc from Jean- Philippe Fichet would be fantastic alongside white fish or light poultry dishes that incorporate flavors like garlic and ginger or leeks and olives (check out the recipe below!). Other pairing ideas include serving this with grilled or sautéed prawns/shrimp, poached salmon, and cheeses in the Gruyère family served at room temperature.
One-Pot Chicken and Rice With Ginger
By Yasmin Fahr
About. Perhaps more than any of his peers, Fichet is testing the limits of transparency, to find the very soul of Meursault’s terroirs. It was Meursault’s destiny to have its soils revealed in this way: their intense stoniness is magnified by an exceptionally low water table, forcing the vines’ roots deep underground. Even if uneconomical, Fichet would rather produce a very small amount of wine from his best sites than to lose their unique character in a blend. Fichet has flown largely under the world’s radar. He began as a grower in 1981 but was forced to rebuild his domaine from scratch in the 1990s, having lost all his best fruit sources—including a piece of Meursault-Perrières—for lack of long-term contracts. But he learned from this experience. By 2000, he had used carefully negotiated long-term fermage and mètayage agreements to create an extraordinary new domaine, brimming with exceptional sites. Fichet’s methods reflect his philosophy: he is famously meticulous and abhors taking short cuts. His low yields, the foremost key to quality, are achieved through severe winter pruning rather than by green harvesting. And he believes his wines’ expressiveness is enhanced through a patient 18-month élevage, with little new oak and by avoiding aggressive lees stirring.
Wine Notes.
Vineyard: 2 parcels of old vines from the places called Nampoillon and Largillas
Soil: Clay-limestone
Viticulture: Viticulture is reasoned organic. Jean-Philippe aims to know his vines, and to work with them to find a healthy equilibrium. Grapes are hand harvested.
Winemaking: Fermentations take place in barrel and goes wine through malo in barrel. Aging: The wines enjoy an unhurried 18-month maturation. 12 months in wood (mix of 600-liter demi-muids and regular 225-Liter barrels), and then 6 months in tank to refine further and come together. New wood is no more than 10% for this tank.
