From: Rully, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Tasting Notes & Critical Acclaim: "Pretty aromas include those of white orchard fruit, crushed anise and a floral top note. The mouthfeel of the slightly bigger and richer flavors is also sleek and detailed while displaying a bit better persistence on the dry, clean and balanced finale that is firm enough to repay 5-ish or so years of keeping." –Burghound (on the 2021 vintage)
Taste: Jean-Philippe Fichet 2022 Rully Blanc is excellent and carries many of the same feels as Burghound’s review above (plus a more pronounced note of lemon curd). The exception is that the 2022 vintage holds more freshness and tension at this point, and I’d say that the 2021 Rully has been showing “bigger and richer” fruit from its release to now (September 2024) in comparison. Both are excellent, but if you’re new to Fichet or this wine, I’d recommend 2022 for people who prefer more mineral styles of white Burgundy. –E. Lyman, Champion Wine Cellars, September 2024.
Pairing: “As the Saône River is just across the plain to the east, you often see river fish, sauteed and in wine or butter sauces or fine Bresse poultry in creamy sauces. It also adapts well to hard cheeses such as Comté.” Yes to all of the above! We’ve also found that white wines from Rully, like this one, are especially wonderful when paired with light poultry or white fish dishes that balance sweet/citrus and savory/umami. Some examples include miso-honey chicken, garlicky chicken thighs with scallion and lime, and one-pot chicken and rice with caramelized lemon. You could easily take the cue from the poultry dishes above and swap out the protein for seafood. And, on that cue, we’re sharing a classic recipe that leans on these principles of balance below.
Oven-Poached Pacific Sole With Lemon Caper Sauce
By Martha Rose Shulman
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.
