Winemaker Notes
Chanson is one of the major owners of Clos des Mouches with a vineyard totaling 4.5 hectares (11 acres). Chanson's vineyard enjoys an ideal location on the hill at the southern end of the vineyards of Beaune on a spur pointing toward Pommard. The 1er Cru Blanc is produced from a plot of 2.0 hectares (4.9 acres) characterized by stony soil of limestone, clay and silica. Careful selection of grapes in the vineyard and winery with regular battonage (stirring of the lees in the barrel) have produced very pure white wines well-balanced with fantastic acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe and rich, this full-bodied wine retains minerality as well as attractive acidity. Crisp lemon flavor is rounded out with peach and apple skin fruits. The wood, already integrated, gives richness and smoothness. Drink from 2016.
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Wine Spectator
This smells of flowers and spring blossoms, adding flavors of honey and vanilla. Open and inviting, showing fine length and harmony overall. Drink now through 2018.
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.