From: Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Tasting Notes & Critical Acclaim: "Once again there is enough wood to merit mentioning framing the aromas of petrol, rosemary oil and poached pear scents. There is good vibrancy and detail, though not the same mid-palate density, to the delicious middleweight flavors that also terminate in a clean and dry finale that could use better depth." –Burghound
Note: Okay. While the above review is entirely accurate, it warrants a little more expansion. If you’re already a white Burgundy lover and well-versed in regions, vintages, and producers, please ignore me and refer to the above review by Burghound. If you’re not, trust me, you won’t be disappointed, especially with this price. It’s an excellent wine. The aromas of “petrol, rosemary oil, and poached pear aromas” are effusive and rounded, and those lovely scents translate to a mid-palate that shows focus, vibrancy, and a flinty golden-fruited tone with a slight edge of lingering toast and salinity that finishes cleanly with lift. Get it, drink it, and then try Jean-Philippe Fichet’s Meursault’s. Or, if you’re on a budget (same), his Bourgogne Côte d’Or Vieilles Vignes Blanc typically always shows far above their pay grade. –E. Lyman, Champion Wine Cellars, September 2024.
Pairing: Go for classic, simple dishes made from excellent produce. I’m a huge fan of poulet roti with gravy from its drippings and a baguette to soak up all the bits and sauce. When deciding on your pairing, it’s absolutely worth a trip to your local butcher or fishmonger. Some other base ideas for inspiration include poultry in sauce, veal fried with mushrooms, classic fish in butter recipes like sole meunière, seared scallops, dishes that feature Dungeness crab, mushrooms— especially wild or button or chanterelles as mushroom risotto or polenta, or even on toast would be excellent (we’re doubling down on this idea in the recipe below), and if you can cook cauliflower well, something with a cauliflower base would also be a fantastic pairing.
Chanterelles on Toast
Recipe from Hugh Acheson, adapted by Tara Parker-Pope
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. Jean-Philippe has been working for many years to develop and nurture a relationship with the grower of these vines in Chassagne.
Soil. Clay-limestone
Winemaking. Fermentations take place in barrel and goes wine through malo in barrel. Aging. Aged in untoasted DAMY barrels
Production. Limited
Notes. In recent years, Fichet has been among the Cotes de Beaune growers who have suffered Mother Nature's many blows, most notably of which is hail. He has sought out overperforming villages terroirs in an effort to diversify his lineup with the idea that some terroirs will be separated her continuous cruelty.
