Placeholder Image

Domaine Borgeot, Bourgogne Blanc “Clos de La Carbonade”

Burgundy, France 2018 (750mL)
$35.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Domaine Borgeot, Bourgogne Blanc “Clos de La Carbonade”

We could (and probably should) write a book focused exclusively on Burgundy’s greatest “sleeper” wines—the ones that most dramatically exceed expectations for their appellation/price point. If or when we do, we’ll save a chapter for Domaine Borgeot’s sensational “Clos de la Carbonade,” a wine from a Borgeot family monopole (one-owner vineyard) that would make even the most seasoned Burgundy connoisseur stand up and cheer.


This wine comes from brothers Pascal and Laurent (“P&L”) Borgeot, two salt-of-the-earth vignerons whose reputation extends well beyond their tiny home village of Rémigny, a little hamlet right on the edge of Chassagne-Montrachet. Clos de la Carbonade is located further south in Bouzeron, in the Côte Chalonnaise, and even though the Borgeots farm some serious Premier Cru real estate in Puligny, Meursault, and Chassagne-Montrachet as well, Clos de la Carbonade never suffers by comparison. In fact, when you factor value-for-dollar into the equation, this might be the family’s crown jewel. It challenges everything you think you know about Burgundy’s classifications and pricing structure, and it has something else going for it—hand-farmed, hand-crafted authenticity. Even though I’ve had this wine before, each new release feels like a thrilling new discovery—as far as “sleeper” superstars go, this one cannot be beat!


For a wine geek like me, this wine serves many valuable purposes. For one, I can hold it up as undeniable proof that value exists in Burgundy. For another, I can pour it for sommelier friends “blind” and they’ll peg it as something much more expensive—a Meursault maybe, or Puligny. It is that good, and consistently so—which is why the Borgeot brothers give the name of the vineyard pride of place on the wine’s label. It may not carry any kind of official ranking, but unofficially, Clos de la Carbonade is a very special site.



It’s not easy to find much information about Clos de la Carbonade beyond its location in Bouzeron, right near the northern tip of the Côte Chalonnaise (and, it’s important to note, all of 10 minutes from Puligny-Montrachet). It’s a small parcel, part of an extensive range of holdings that today totals 23 hectares—assembled across four generations. The vines in the site are more than 30 years old, with some much older, and the amount of purity and concentration this bottling delivers, year in and year out, is simply extraordinary. Although they make every effort to follow organic practices in their farming, the Borgeots describe their approach—as so many do in Burgundy—as lutte raisonnée (“reasoned fight”), in which organic methods are followed except in the most extreme circumstances. 



The 2018 vintage was a hot, ripe one in Burgundy, but the ’18 Clos de la Carbonade is defined by fantastic freshness and tension—which must owe at least in part to the moderating effect of those old vines. It is lush and accessible now, but not sweet or flabby in the least—on the contrary, it’s got ramrod-straight posture and lots of aromatic lift. In the glass, it’s a deep yellow-gold with flecks of straw and green, offering up inviting aromas of green and yellow apple, nectarine, lemon zest, fresh cream, white flowers, and wet rocks. It is medium-plus in body, layered, and long on the finish. As in previous vintages, it checks all the white Burgundy boxes in grand style—persistence, depth, minerality, polish…it has it all! Decant it 15-30 minutes if serving now and give it some air in a Burgundy stem, or lay it down for 3-5 years and marvel at what a $35 bottle of wine is capable of. Try it with  the “one-pot” chicken preparation attached, and stock up if you can—regardless of how much you take, you’ll wish you had more! Cheers!

Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceCôte Chalonnaise / Bouzeron
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Lutte Raisonnée
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
New & Used French
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2028
Decanting
30-60 Minutes
Pairing
Chicken w/ Lemon-Garlic Cream

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.

Others We Love