Here’s a perfect white Burgundy for the well-curated cellar, an affordable Premier Cru that doesn’t scream “Blue Chip” but instead conveys a different kind of status: insider. Someone who knows the lay of the land well enough to find the over-achievers. Someone who doesn’t need to sweat reservations at the impossible-to-get-into restaurant because he/she knows a place that’s just as good, and cheaper to boot. Someone who listens through specific albums, rather than a greatest-hits compilation. Are you that someone? If so, you’ll flip for Domaine Pavelot’s Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc “En Caradeaux,” which comes from vines at the base of the famed Corton-Charlemagne. This is a wine that’s not only delicious now, and ageworthy, but under-valued in a way that makes you not want to tell anyone about it – until, of course, you open it for someone and blow their mind.
As we’ve mentioned many times before, one of the great joys of tasting and shopping for Burgundy is studying maps of the region. Nowhere else in the world have vineyards been so carefully diagrammed and codified, and what we especially love is to find the vineyard sites within shouting distance of the most exalted Grand Crus. This wine hails from one of those.
Pernand-Vergelesses is the village to the north and west of Aloxe-Corton, in the northern part of the Côte de Beaune. It’s not one of the more famous Burgundy villages, which, from a wine-quality perspective, often comes down to often minuscule variations in the soils and aspects of the vineyards. En Caradeaux is an extension of Pernand’s best-known Premier Cru, Ile des Vergelesses, wrapping around a hillside to face east – and look directly at one of the most revered vineyards in all of Burgundy, Corton-Charlemagne, which sits on the other side of the road, maybe 50 yards away. En Caradeaux is a cooler site in relation to Corton-Charlemagne, which faces more south/southeast, but as with everything in Burgundy, we’re talking about subtle shades, not worlds of difference.
Domaine Pavelot’s history in Pernand dates back to the 17th century; today it is ably run by brother-sister duo Luc and Lise Pavelot, who’ve cultivated a dedicated following since taking over the estate in the early ‘90s. Following their formal winemaking education in Beaune, they each set out to see the wine world outside of Burgundy: Luc in the cellars of northern California’s Navarro Vineyards and Lise at the famed Domaine Dagueneau in France’s Loire Valley. After taking the reins from their father, Régis, Luc and Lise moved toward organic viticulture, which was certified by Ecocert in 2009. Their winemaking approach is a mix of modern and tradition: they continue to hand-harvest into old-school Burgundian wicker baskets, but also embrace modern techniques, including moderate amounts of new oak for the aging of some cuvées.
From the outset, it’s clear that Pavelot’s 2014 En Caradeaux is a wine of serious pedigree: It’s a bright, shimmering straw gold in the glass, with deeply mineral/oyster shell notes layered over some ripe white peach, hazelnut and cream. It’s powerful and taut, in need of some aggressive decanting and aerating if enjoying now, but what I really want is to experience this wine ten years from now. It promises to be downright explosive, aromatic, elegant…and I will remember that I paid just $42 for such a soulful wine. I suspect I will be very pleased with myself.
And while I highly recommend snapping up some of this for your cellar, I could also endorse enjoying it now, provided you give it some time to open up in a decanter (45 minutes is ideal). Serve it in big Burgundy stems and let its temperature come up 60 degrees or so, yes similar to a red wine. It has serious structure, and I could see it knifing through some sauce béarnaise or other rich French creation spooned over a
luscious piece of pan seared turbot or halibut. It simply doesn’t get any swankier than that, and you won’t have to break the bank to do it!
