Let today’s offer serve as a very welcome reminder. Not every great bottle of Burgundy–even an organically farmed, single-vineyard cuvée produced by the very founder of its appellation–needs to come with an astronomical price tag. André Bonhomme’s Viré-Clessé “Les Foretilles” is a minor masterpiece of classic Burgundian balance, creamy orchard fruit and sumptuous texture married to scintillating limestone minerality. “Les Foretilles” feels like the sort of white Burgundy we cut our teeth on, dripping with deliciousness now and sure to go a decade-plus in the cellar. And it can be had for less than $40 a bottle. One catch, though: SommSelect is the only place you’ll find it. Only a few cases made it stateside and we’ve got them all. They won’t be around for long, so stock up while you can. We promise you’ll fall back in love with white Burgundy all over again!

For many in the wine industry, ourselves included, the Mâcon was long considered simply the Côte d’Or’s homogenous country cousin. It’s time to reconsider. No, it isn’t as glamorous as Vosne or Meursault, with their walled climats and Cistercian rankings. But in the hands of careful farmers and winemakers, the vineyards of the Mâcon are no less deserving of the granular distinctions we find further north. Indeed, a handful of historically important sites here have been elevated to Premier Cru status in recent years. Viré-Clessé was the most recent village-level appellation to be formed. These two towns are bounded by hillside vineyards underlain with Jurassic marl and limestone. Slightly to the south of the Côte de Beaune’s hallowed vineyards, and planted to heavier soil, the Chardonnay here tends to be a little richer and more mouthfilling than in Puligny or Chassagne, but still underpinned with the limestone-derived minerality that marks out the best white Burg. It’s no surprise legends like Dominique Lafon have set up shop down here; they can produce top-notch white wines that are still affordable for mere mortals.

That Viré-Clessé is on our radar at all is thanks largely to André Bonhomme. Not only has the Bonhomme domaine been producing benchmark bottlings since 1956, André himself led the charge for the villages’ elevation to appellation status. Prior to André’s push, wines from here had to amend their name to the more general Mâcon designation. André’s daughter Jacqueline is now in charge at the estate, and things continue more or less as they always have. Farming has been organic from the get-go. No herbicides, no insecticides. Grapes get picked by hand, pressed gently, then fermented parcel-by-parcel with indigenous yeasts. The finished wines rest in a cold, dark cave for up to two years before bottling, and a further six months in bottle before release.

Domaine André Bonhomme’s Viré-Clessé "Les Foretilles" comes from a single vineyard near and dear to the family’s heart. This forty-year-old vineyard at the very center of the appellation features Chardonnay planted at high density in deep clayey limestone soil. At 1,000 feet, it’s one of the higher sites in the village. Perhaps that accounts for its deft balance between rich golden apple, pear skin, and citrus peel fruit and cooler, crushed rock, chalky minerality on the nose. There’s a delicate wrapping of white flowers and warm spice too, but the emphasis here is on unadorned, perfectly ripe fruit. The palate is dense and inviting, leaning into the orchard fruit tones, but elevated into greatness by a core of pulsing rockiness, and a long, lees-driven finish. This feels like Burgundy as it used to be: unabashedly great but totally humble in its greatness. And while we haven’t experienced it yet ourselves, we’ve been told Bonhomme wines age beautifully for decades despite their modest price. We’ve got no doubt. So go deep and get on board with Bonhomme. Only at SommSelect!