Winemaker Notes
The 1er Cru Chardonnays from Domaine Bernard Moreau are barrel fermented and aged in French oak barrels (10%-30% new). The wine spends between 12 and 18 months in wood with regular lees stirring for added texture. Says Bernard, "The spirit of our winemaking is to not touch the wine too often. For Chardonnay our aim is to produce very clean and precise wines which are not too austere. We like the minerality and purity."
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly, which was taken from tank and fined, has quite a powerful, well-defined, lemon zest and walnut-scented bouquet that just springs from the glass. The palate is well defined with hints of blackcurrant complementing the malic fruit, with a touch of spiciness coming through on the finish. Very fine—one of the best from Alex Moreau this year.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.
A steep, upcountry basin (referred to as a combe in French) in the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, St. Aubin is a direct westerly neighbor to Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. Recent years have seen a boom in white wine production so that now Chardonnay accounts for more than three quarters of area under vine here. Two thirds of St. Aubin is classified Premier Cru (30 total vineyards); most notable include Les Charmois, La Chatenière, En Remilly and Les Murgers Dents de Chie. The Premiers Crus of St. Aubin, wrapping like a ribbon upon the southeast and southwest facing slopes, produce fresh and elegant whites from Chardonnay. When young, these tout a refreshing grip and convey qualities of white flowers, citrus, pear, green almond and wet stone. Given some age, a graceful evolution occurs so that older St. Aubin whites express richer aromas of beeswax, honey, marzipan and spice.