Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with fine cooked meats, meat pies, warm pâté, snails.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Part of the Bouchard range since 1907, this wine features 17 of the extensive lineup of Beaune premiers crus, grown on a mixture of soil types. Part of Frédéric Weber's skill lies in the blending of all these different cuvées to produce a wine that's textured, floral and sweet, with subtle reduction, some whole-bunch spice and a backdrop of 35% new wood.
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James Suckling
Peaches on the nose with an edge of spiced toffee. The palate has a very plush and fleshy feel with plenty of fruit delivered into the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Beaune 1er Cru du Château Blanc displays aromas of green orchard fruit, blanched almonds and white flowers, followed by a medium-bodied, elegantly delicate palate with good concentration and a saline finish. Supple and open-knit, it will drink well in its youth.
Barrel Sample: 88-90
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.