THE WHITER SIDE OF BURGUNDY

By Robyn James, Proprietor

The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room

Downtown Southern Pines

winecellar@pinehurst.net

            “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay, please.” 

            With these words, millions of people order up a glass of what is by far the world’s most popular type of wine. Yet as they sip their Chardonnay, only a tiny proportion of them are aware that the grape that gives its name to the wine they are enjoying is also responsible for some of the finest wines in the world, the great white wines of Burgundy.

            The Chardonnay grape is capable of producing – with a little time and care – very decent wines almost everywhere it is grown.  But it is only in Burgundy, where it first originated, that it reaches and achieves the sublime perfection of which it is capable. 

            White Burgundy remains defiantly different from Chardonnay – that is, Chardonnay as it’s known in America.  Americans have grown to love the warm sunniness of New World Chardonnay.  But the grape performs best in the chill, chalky soils of its native land.

            There is a profound stylistic difference that sets white Burgundy apart from other Chardonnays.  White Burgundy is all about acidity, finesse and elegance.  There should be minerality to the taste from the chalk soil, giving White Burgundy a sense of place.  Either you choose acidity and balance as in White Burgundy, or you go for commercial, fruity, overoaked and easy to drink wines from the rest of the Chardonnay world. 

Apart from simple, commercial Bourgogne Blanc, which is sometimes marked Chardonnay on the label, no white Burgundy carries any indication that it is made from Chardonnay grapes. They are always labeled by the name of the village where the grapes are grown, such as Pouilly Fuisse’, Puligny Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet, Chablis and Meursault.

            Unfortunately, this confusing situation is further complicated by the fact that unlike every other wine region, in Burgundy it is rare to have only one owner of a vineyard.  Most have a dozen different proprietors and these smallholders do not have the resources to make and market the wine themselves.  Enter the negociants.  These are wholesalers or merchants who buy up the grapes or newly made wine from the growers and age, blend, bottle, mature and market the resulting product.  In Burgundy, the name of the negociant on the bottle is as important as where the wine came from – often more so. 

 People who have grown up on Chardonnay are often astonished that the grape that is so widely grown in California is the same grape from which White Burgundy is made. 

            The best white Burgundy comes from just two small areas of the region; Chablis is in the north and the Cote de Beaune, the southern half of the Cote d’Or, the heart of Burgundy.

            In Chablis, the heavily limestone soil produces a pale, dry wine that despite its acidity is soft and immediately drinkable.  It is fermented almost exclusively in stainless steel tanks giving the wine a subtle and refined complexity without the obvious opulence of the oak-fermented wines from the Cote de Beaune. 

            In the Cote de Beaune, the wines achieve almost unbelievable heights of intense yet nuanced flavor.  Here you will find peach, apple and lemon flavors plus a little hazelnut, honey and enough minerals to make the wine distinctive.  The French spend a lot of time ensuring balance in their wines, seeking a harmonious relationship between fruit and acidity.

Despite centuries of winemaking, one thing hasn’t changed:  Great White Burgundy is still as scarce as ever.  The region produces around 67 million gallons of wine a year, and only a third of this is white.  Two thirds of that comes from Chablis to the north and the Maconnais to the south, leaving just over 7 million bottles from the prestigious villages to go around the world.  These wines can be phenomenally expensive, coming from the Montrachet and Corton Charlemagne vineyards, as much as several hundred dollars a bottle. The producers of these wines do not sell it; they allocate it, rationing out a few cases at a time to favored distributors. 

            Wine made from the Chardonnay grape is far and away the most popular wine in the world.  If you are one of those who have never experienced the superb perfection it can achieve in Burgundy, you owe it to yourself to explore this unique world.  It won’t a

cheap journey, but I guarantee that you will never think about Chardonnay the same way again.

MATROT MEURSAULT, BURGUNDY, FRANCE Approx. $34

“Minerals, chalk, and hazelnuts can be found in the nose of the 2002 Meursault. This light to medium-bodied, satiny-textured wine has excellent minerality, a fresh, citrus component, and a long, pure finish. Drink it over the next 3 years.”

RATED 88 POINTS, ROBERT PARKER, THE WINE ADVOCATE

OLIVIER LEFLAIVE BOURGOGNE SETILLES, BURGUNDY  Approx., $18

“Produced almost entirely from parcels located within the communes of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, Olivier Leflaive’s 2003 Bourgogne Les Setilles (white) furthers my belief that low-lying terroirs with clay-based soils were able to produce well-ripened fruit in 2003. Its apple and pear aromas lead to a light to medium-bodied personality filled with fresh, lush white fruits. Spicy, satin-textured, and seamless, this wine has impressive mouth-feel, flavors, and length.”

RATED 88 POINTS, ROBERT PARKER, THE WINE ADVOCATE

LOUIS LATOUR PULIGNY MONTRACHET, BURGUNDY Approx., $42

“Sweet, vanilla notes balance the pure green plums and delicious acidity. This is an immediately attractive, which will develop over the next five years.”

RATED 89 POINTS, THE WINE ENTHUSIAST

FRANCOISE CHAUVENET POUILLY FUISSE’, BURGUNDY, Approx., $14

Rich, broad and buttery, this creamy, spicy mineral-scented wine is light to medium-bodied, silky-textured, and concentrated. Its liquid mineral flavors are intermingled with butter, spices, and fresh herbs