Yes, they make Chardonnay in Beaujolais—this is Burgundy after all—and while you might expect today’s offering from Jean-Peal Dubost to resemble one of its hefty, juicy counterparts from neighboring Mâcon, think again: Stylistically, you should be looking farther north to the Côte de Beaune for an appropriate analog. This 2020 ranks as one of the most pleasant Burgundy surprises we’ve encountered all year, given that we’ve only ever tasted red wines from this acclaimed estate.

Jean-Paul Dubost is a fourth-generation Beaujolais vigneron whose home base is the village of Lantignié, which borders Morgon and Régnié to the west. Fans of wines from this region will recognize Lantignié (cited on the wine’s label) as perhaps the best known of the region’s villages that isn’t one of the 10 officially designated crus. We’ve always loved the high-toned, precise character of Dubost’s Gamay-based reds, but here he shows an equally deft touch with Chardonnay—a wine which, like many a Cru Beaujolais red, eclipses a number of noble Burgundies costing more. One of us went as far as to compare this $32 bargain to Puligny-Montrachet; it’s a ripe, crystalline, high-toned expression of Chardonnay with all the mineral energy a white Burgundy fiend could ask for!

If Beaujolais were to ever add an 11th “cru” village—and there have been whispers—Lantignié would be it. Here, vineyards are cultivated at higher elevations than Fleurie and Morgon, located a bit more into the low mountains. Overall, Dubost farms 26 hectares of vineyards in Lantignié, Brouilly, Moulin-à-Vent, and Morgon, in soils dominated by decomposed granite. The soils in Lantignié are characterized by yellow granitic sand mixed with blue clay.

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Jean-Paul Dubost assumed control of his family’s vineyards in the mid-1990s. His first order of business was to convert all the estate’s farming to organics, which he has done, with many biodynamic practices added for good measure. His winemaking style might best be described as “transparent,” in that he employs a low-intervention approach in the cellar—in the hopes of communicating as much as possible about the vineyard(s) each wine is sourced from.

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The source site for this Chardonnay, fermented and aged in a mix of stainless steel and used oak barrels, is on an old riverbed; the soils are dark and silty, and Dubost notes that it is harvested some two weeks after the reds. But again, this is not a typical “southern Burgundy” Chardonnay—it really shows off a more high-toned, aromatic side of the grape. In the glass, it has a light straw-gold hue with a slight silvery cast. Scents of jasmine, ripe yellow apple, citrus, fresh cream, and wet stones translate into flavors on the crisp, medium-bodied palate. Given how rich most of the Chardonnay is in neighboring Mâcon, this wine is revelatory—it’s ready to enjoy now and over the next three years, and would make an exceptional “house pour” for those who think wine first, name recognition second. Pair it with sole meunière or crab salad and enjoy Chardonnay at its brightest and most buoyant. Cheers!