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Chapuis & Chapuis, Bourgogne Blanc

Burgundy, France 2015 (750mL)
$30.00
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Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Chapuis & Chapuis, Bourgogne Blanc

We’re excited to offer a sneak peek at an emerging producer that will soon be on the minds of connoisseurs and the wine lists of in-the-know restaurants. I find that the best discoveries are made by asking winemakers, merchants, and sommeliers what’s in their glasses, and during my most recent trip to Burgundy, I heard quite a bit of chatter about Chapuis Frères.
Much of that chatter came from the friend I was traveling with, who introduced me to the jovial Romain Chapuis during a pretty epic dinner in Beaune. Let’s just say that Chapuis loves to drink the great wines of the world, and that a great time was had by all—and yet I didn’t actually get to taste any Chapuis wine until months later when I was back in the US. This 2015 Bourgogne Blanc was served blind to me and two fellow Master Sommeliers, and we were all in agreement that it was Premier Cru at a minimum—serious white Burgundy of profound depth, complexity, and mineral intensity. Upon learning that it was this modestly priced bottling from Romain and Jean-Guillaume Chapuis, I was of course pleasantly surprised but also not that surprised as I recalled Romain’s passion and deep knowledge during our dinner. We were thrilled to obtain a small parcel of the 2015—small parcels are all the brothers make—to share with you.
The Chapuis brothers were raised in the vineyards of Aloxe-Corton, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Romain fell in love with the wine and began touring the wine world to improve his craft. He had the luxury of learning under natural wine superstar Philippe Pacalet, who himself was educated by Marcel Lapierre (one of the most revered Beaujolais producers) and Jules Chauvet (the founding father of the French natural wine movement). Upon Romain’s return to Burgundy, he reunited with his brother and they decided to launch their own label. Starting a winery in Burgundy, however, is neither cheap nor easy; land is some of the most expensive in the world and regulations are strict. 

After founding Chapuis Frères in Pommard in 2009 (where their cellar once housed the kitchen of a 13th century castle), the brothers had just enough capital remaining for .8 hectares (two acres) of vines. Needing to supplement their own production with enough fruit to create a viable enterprise, they scoured the region for top sources of sustainably farmed grapes. For their 2015 Bourgogne Blanc, they went to the extreme northern limits of Burgundy to Domaine de la Cras, a multi-purpose agricultural property owned by the city of Dijon and headquartered just outside the city limits. The vineyards are farmed organically, and the Chapuis brothers identified a cooler plot that served them well in the hot 2015 vintage—they benefited from the ripeness of the vintage without too sharp a drop in acidity, as evidenced in the finished wine. The Chardonnay underwent a meticulous selection process in the vineyards and was all hand-harvested. In the winery, grapes were gently pressed, with whole clusters intact. After fermenting in oak, the wine was subsequently aged in mostly used barrels for about a year before bottling. 

The Chapuis & Chapuis 2015 Bourgogne Blanc is a good bit more substantial than what’s typical for this category/price point (think whole milk versus 2% milk and you’ve got a good idea). In the glass it’s a vibrant straw-gold with slight green reflections at the rim, with assertive aromas of ripe yellow apple, white flowers, white button mushroom, and crushed stones. There is a lot of fruit but also lots of savor and structure, with the mid-palate weight that suggests fancier vineyard real estate. This will reward short-term aging, but it’s also quite delicious to drink now—decant it about 30 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems around 50 degrees. In terms of pairings, this is a no-brainer roast chicken white, seemingly custom-made for it. Here’s an old favorite from the recipe files. Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceCôte de Beaune
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Mostly Used French
TEMP.
50-55
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
30-45 Minutes
Pairing
Jonathan Waxman's Roast Chicken

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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