From: Rully, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Tasting Notes: To provide a tasting note for this wine à la minute would be an injustice because this little beauty shows itself in at least two different forms: Day 1 and Day 2. I say “at least” because the bottle hasn’t lasted more than two days (and I tried a few times before writing this) so there may well be other iterations of its personality yet to be discovered. On Day 1, this has an almost Meursault-like feel with its tinge of hazelnut, generous fruit, spice, dry honey notes, and hints of fennel. Quince and dried fruits with a mineral undertone and an aromatic flintiness round everything out in a relaxed, gentle finish. Revisiting this wine on Day 2 is a whole other experience. Many of the same aromas and flavors remain, but the difference lies entirely in vibes. (Perhaps a better word for it may be “texture,” but still, the term “vibes” portrays the overall feel of the wine, and that’s really what I’m getting at.) This wine on Day 2 feels like an infusion of energy. Even on the nose, citrus and flint notes are more lifted, with quince, spice, and honey falling into the background. The palate follows suit with a spine that seems to stand up straighter, a vein of virility that keeps going to an energetic citrus, stone fruit, and saline-tinged finish. Both iterations are intriguing; the preference for either will depend on your palate and at this price, it’s worth getting a few bottles to play around with. P.S. Want to indulge yourself? Treat yourself to a classic compare and contrast exercise between this Rully from 2015 and the 2018 Jean-Marc Pillot 1er Cru 'Les Raclots' Rully Blanc. –E. Lyman, Champion Wine Cellars, September 2024.
Pairing: I prefer seafood-based pairings, though the wine's quince notes allow for broader options. Ginger-garlic shrimp with coconut milk, pan-fried trout with rosemary, lemon, and capers, smoked trout with risotto, crab cakes, soft-shell crabs with curry butter (check it out below), crispy gnocchi with spinach and feta, sheet-pan chicken with apple, fennel, and onion, Dijonnaise-grilled chicken breasts, ginger chicken with sesame-peanut sauce, and endive leaves with crab rillettes are some fantastic ideas.
Soft-Shell Crabs With Curry Butter
By David Tanis
About. Many thanks to our friends at Wine Traditions Ltd. for the following information! Anne-Sophie Debavelaere, of Burgundian roots, began her domaine in 1984 with one hectare of land. Over the years, the estate has expanded and now includes 11 hectares divided among seven “climats.” The parcels are mostly in Rully but include small plots in Bouzeron and Beaune. In Rully they have vineyards in four “climats”: the 1er Cru “Les Pierres” and the three lieux dits “Les Cailloux”, “Moulin A Vent” and “Chaponnière.”
In 2014, Anne-Sophie’s son, Felix joined her at the domain. Their vineyards are all worked with respect for the environment. No insecticides or herbicides are used, and the ground is plowed, but otherwise, the use of a tractor is restricted. The winery or “cave de vinification” is a vaulted cellar which was dug from the Rully hillside in 1850. It was originally built by a local negociant who wanted to have a cellar for sparkling wine similar to those in Champagne. Today, it offers Anne-Sophie and Felix a wonderful environment in which to mature their wines.
On the 2015 vintage, Domaine Rois Mages (Rully), Anne Sophie Debavalaere :
"After a summer of mixed weather, the sun of September made the wine growers of RULLY smile once again.
We were already lucky having escaped the hailstorms and other inclemencies of summer.
The grapes are a beautiful , clean quality, both in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The grapes are healthy, sweet and aromatic, The Pinot Noir is sorted by hand on a large vibrating sorting table that is efficient and effective.
I tasted our RULLY Chardonnays in barrel, I find them to be already supple, well balanced, pleasing......
I think that this promising vintage could be a great year, notably for the whites... The pinot noirs, now tranquil in their oak barrels, will be tasted next......"
This wine. Rully “Les Cailloux” Blanc
Anne-Sophie and Felix farm 3 hectares in the “Les Cailloux” vineyard. 1.3 hectares are planted in Chardonnay, and the remaining 1.6 hectares are planted in Pinot Noir. The plant density is 8,000 plants per hectare, and the vines average over 50 years of age.
Anne-Sophie and Felix further ensure quality fruit by severely limiting the yields of their plants, with the Chardonnay yielding 40hl per hectare. The “Les Cailloux” vineyard descends from a plateau at one of the highest elevations in Rully and offers beautiful views of the Rully valleys below and the greater Côtes Challonnaise.
As the vineyard name suggests, this “lieu-dit” has many surface stones. They absorb the sun’s heat during the day and radiate it back to the plants after sunset. Wild herbs and grasses are encouraged to grow between the rows, and in the summer, they give their vineyard the look of an untamed garden. The grasses, combined with the rocky soils and dense planting, produce an environment where the vines produce a few bunches of beautifully ripe, concentrated, and balanced grapes.
All harvesting is done by hand. After the juice is very gently pressed from the skins, the Rully “Les Cailloux” Blanc is put into stainless steel tanks at a low temperature to allow for a natural settling of the must. The juice is then transferred to barrels (10% new), where it ferments with indigenous yeasts. During the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentations, the wine is stirred “battonage” daily. The wine then matures in barrels for a year without stirring or racking. The wine is fined but not filtered before bottling. An average vintage produces 600 cases.
