There are two important things to note about today’s wine: First, its Premier Cru vineyard source, nominally in Saint-Aubin but hugging the border with Chassagne-Montrachet, is mere moments from the Montrachet Grand Crus. Second, this is as ‘artisanal’ as wine gets.
Among the many visits in Burgundy we made on our recent trip to France, few were as intimate and authentic as our tasting with Fabrice Bouard—whose entire production is housed in a barrel room the size of a two-car garage (and happen to be adjacent to…a two-car garage!). I’d equate the feeling of being in Bouard’s cellar to having dinner at a great chef’s house rather than a restaurant; each wine feels so personal, so painstakingly wrought, at this scale. Bouard himself, an ex-officer in the French equivalent of the Secret Service, has embarked on a second career with the help of his wife, Carine Bonnefoy, whose family has long farmed vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet and beyond. He was remarkably sanguine for a man who lost 75 percent of his 2016 crop to Spring frosts, maybe because what wine he did manage to make is undeniably stellar. His ’16 from the perfectly positioned “Le Charmois” Premier Cru is one of the most dramatic illustrations of an ‘over-achieving’ wine I can conjure; compared to what similar wines fetch just a few moments in any direction, this broad-shouldered Chardonnay is an absolute steal. There is, however, precious little of it: We can offer up to six bottles per customer until our stock runs out, which, if our subscribers are as savvy as I think they are, should happen quickly.
The Bouard-Bonnefoy domaine is a tiny one, with about 8 hectares of vines concentrated in Chassagne-Montrachet and passed down via Carine Bonnefoy’s family. Carine is descended from a long line of vignerons in Chassagne, one of whom is her father—who was puttering in the vineyard behind the cellar when we arrived for our visit. Fabrice, Carine, and Bonnefoy père are effectively gardeners at this scale, farming according to lutte raisonnée (‘reasoned struggle’) principles. Chemical herbicides and pesticides are avoided at all costs, only indigenous yeasts are used in fermentations, and grapes are always harvested by hand. The couple still use an antique, hand-cranked wooden press and overwhelmingly favor used barrels for fermentation and aging. They also bottle their wines by hand.
The Charmois Premier Cru is on the ‘Chassagne side’ of Saint-Aubin, with a south-southeast aspect and a reportedly higher percentage of clay in the soils. Its wines tend to skew a little richer, although there’s some altitude (and corresponding cooling breezes) that help mitigate that and maintain freshness. While short, as noted above, 2016 nevertheless bore some similarities to ’15 in terms of the generosity of the wines in their youth. We were struck by the ‘completeness’ of Bouard-Bonnefoy’s Charmois at this young point in its life. It is supple, with a delicious core of ripe fruit and a silky, almost honeyed texture.
Sourced from impeccably maintained vines ranging from 30-60 years of age, the 2016 Le Charmois Premier Cru was barrel-fermented with only indigenous yeasts and aged in barrels (20% new) for one year. In the glass, it’s a deep yellow-gold with a slight hint of green at the rim, with expressive aromas of yellow apple, pear, acacia honey, salted lemon, white mushroom, a hint of fresh cream, and crushed white rocks. It is medium-plus in body, with a lush texture and well-integrated acidity. It’s quite delicious now, and should be magical with 3-5 years further aging, though I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as a ’20-year’ wine. I’ll be re-visiting my stash periodically over the next few years, and I’m confident it’s going to keep getting better. Decant this bold white about 30 minutes before serving at 50-55 degrees in Burgundy stems. Pair it with a rich, white-fleshed fish like cod or halibut, maybe something with an enriching crust as in the attached recipe. You don’t have to be wealthy to eat and drink like a king. Enjoy!
