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Domaine du Penlois, Chardonnay du Chatelard

Burgundy, France 2017 (750mL)
$22.00
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Domaine du Penlois, Chardonnay du Chatelard

Ever had legitimate white Burgundy for a hair over $20? I thought it was pure conjecture until the son of the legendary Jean Foillard personally introduced me to one of his favorite rising talents last year. He told me Sébastien Besson of Domaine du Penlois was an under-the-radar winemaker shattering the price-to-quality spectrum and doing it in style. I was beyond excited, and that excitement lept off the charts when young gun Sébastien began pulling corks in his cellar. His are truly authentic Beaujolais that burst with extraordinary levels of purity and value. Many of you learned firsthand, having fervently snatched up and enjoyed his Cru bottlings over the last year.
But today’s offer is a different shade of wine, one that demands even more attention: The Besson family were among the very first to plant Chardonnay in their home village of Lancié almost 100 years ago. Accordingly, their “Chardonnay de Chatelard,” culled from hand-farmed vines reaching up to 50 years of age, is more than delectable white Burgundy—it’s authentic through and through. Every so often, we’re compelled to remind people that Beaujolais is part of Burgundy, but today we feel no need to preach. Instead, we’re going to let this sensational bottle of white Burgundy speak for itself. It has the easy-drinking deliciousness of Mâcon and the vibrantly layered tension of Côte de Beaune, again, all for $22. Best of all, this small parcel is coming directly from Sébastien’s cellar—you can’t find better provenance and quality!
The Bessons are no novices when it comes to Beaujolais: It all started when patriarch Benoît Besson arrived in the small hamlet of Lancié (located roughly between Morgon and Fleurie) during the advent of the Roaring Twenties, where his brother Paul was already tending family-owned vines. It was here in Lancie where Benoît spearheaded the cultivation of Chardonnay, a tradition that survived and still thrives to this day. After four generations of handing off this grape growing and winemaking enterprise father to son, the Bessons are now nearing 30 hectares of vines most notably spread throughout the crus of Morgon, Juliénas, and Moulin-à-Vent. Now coming up on the century mark, Domaine du Penlois is a staple of traditional Burgundy—and their wines reflect that to their very core. 

Domaine du Penlois’ “Chardonnay du Chatelard” has no peer when price to quality is the topic of discussion. It’s sourced from “le Châtelard” in Lancié, a clay-limestone hillside parcel containing 30-50-year-old Chardonnay vines. The Bessons farm with lutte raisonnée (“reasoned struggle”) principles and harvest is always carried out by hand. The Chardonnay grapes are transported to their winery in small baskets and fermentation, including malo, occurs in stainless steel tanks. The wine ages for roughly one year prior to bottling with a light filtration.  

For Penlois’ 2017 “Chardonnay du Chatelard,” keep the temperature around 50 degrees, decant for 30 minutes, and serve in Burgundy stems—that’s all the work required. Following that, all you need to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the immense thrill of a ride that comes with this brilliant $22 white Burgundy. It shines a limpid straw-yellow in the glass with vibrant platinum hues and it only takes a few swirls for the aromas to leap from the glass. The nose reveals notes of candied lime, underripe pineapple, white peach, tangerine peel, crushed almonds, white pear, lemon blossoms, freshly cut white flowers, wet chalk, and finely crushed stones. The layered, mouthwatering palate is full of vibrating tension that pings your taste buds with pleasant jolts of electricity, piquant spices, and beautifully ripe, fresh fruit that feels as if it was hanging on the vine just yesterday. While drinking this over the course of three hours, it seemed to improve with each passing minute and I couldn’t stop myself from throwing another bottle in the fridge as a backup. I guarantee you’ll be thrilled with the superb levels of quality Sébastien packed into this bottle of Chardonnay. Enjoy now and over the next three years. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceBeaujolais / Village of Lancié
Soil
Clay & Limestone
Farming
Lutte Raisonnée
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
TEMP.
50
Glassware
Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2023
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Haddock w/ Lime Butter

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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