Winemaker Notes
The warmest climat of the trio of whites, “Sous le Château” offers an incredibly satisfying white Burgundy experience, with a presence and finesse one might mistake for Puligny-Montrachet if served blind. This wine shares a quinine imprint with Buisson’s “Sous la Velle” Blanc, but with an intriguing note of white pepper and a bit more regal, less punchy sense of minerality. The tension between its ample fruit and tingling acidity is mouthwatering.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
Mid lemon yellow, showing a very reductive nose with a touch of licorice. The reduction is less evident on the palate. A lovely intensity throughout, a light creaminess, obviously this will be cleaned up later on but I suspect this is going to be brilliant. Drink from 2027-2032.
Barrel Sample: 90-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Saint-Romain Sous le Château has turned out beautifully, offering aromas of tangerine, pear, grapefruit zest and dried white flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, ample and layered, underpinned by racy acidity and chalky extract, it concludes with a long, saline finish. It comes from a sunny, south-facing site that the Buisson brothers typically harvest among the first.
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Wine Spectator
The 2023 Saint-Romain Sous Le Château has a slightly richer bouquet with more yellow fruit and brioche notes than other cuvées. Hints of custard creams and almond shavings appear with aeration. The palate is well balanced, tensile and fresh with a fine bead of acidity delivering ample salinity on the finish that lingers on the aftertaste. This is superb and seductive—and only a Village Cru!
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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 classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.