Where Vincent Boyer goes, we follow. That includes the Languedoc. It might not be the first place you think to look for world-class Chardonnay, but one sip of Boyer-De Bar’s “Les Peyrarols” and you’ll know you’re in skilled Burgundian hands: The ripe, juicy stone fruit screams “South of France,” while the breezy minerality and crisp tension call to mind Vincent’s home base in Meursault. 

The 2020 “Les Peyrarols” Chardonnay pours a luminous yellow-gold. One whiff and its origins are clear: This is wide open, fruit-inflected goodness begging to be drunk with abandon. Juicy white peach, white cherry, pear skin, Meyer lemon, orange pith,  jasmine, and a hint of cinnamon oak sit alongside a subtle salty minerality. The palate is amply medium-full, continuing the just-ripe stone fruit and sweet citrus notes. The acid here keeps all the Mediterranean warmth in check, bringing tension and a throughline of lemon and sea spray that keeps the whole package supremely refreshing. This stuff screams out the gate, and served at 50 degrees in all-purpose stems, it’s a complex yet thirst-quenching weekday beauty.