Winemaker Notes
This is considered to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Chardonnay growing site in the world. Located in the village where the Cluny monks first planted the varietal, this is the finest vineyard in the area. The perfect mix of clay and limestone combined with a medium steep slope and good eastern exposure, you can really feel the history here as you walk the vineyard. The resulting wine is very poised and possesses that perfect balance of crisp acidity, good mineral backbone and a very intense, long mouth-feel. The fruit shows both ripe apples and citrus with just a little spice.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Lafon holdings in the northern Mâconnais lost 90% of their production in 2021. As with Bussières, the Mâcon-Chardonnay is blended. The wine is usually a single vineyard from the walled Clos de la Crochette; this year, other parcels in Chardonnay have been added. The quality of the wine, however, is not in doubt. There are charming nectarine and lime peel aromas with a hint of fresh acacia flowers. The texture shows the lively acidity of the year, but there is enough body and ripeness here to balance it and give it a pleasantly lingering finish.
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.
These are the fun, fruit-driven and lively Chardonnays of white Burgundy, often offering some fantastic values and options that you don’t have to cellar. Flavors range from fresh green apple and lemon to melon or pineapple; some of the best are fleshy and mineral driven or balanced by a light touch of oak.
Mâconnais Chardonnay may have the weight of their more serious Côte de Beaune sisters, but not quite the refinement. Still, this appellation is one of the best ways to jump from California Chardonnay to something new and begin to understand white Burgundy.
The Mâconnais region is warmer and drier than the rest of Burgundy to its north (Côte d’Or) and has a landscape of rolling hills and farmland interspersed among vineyards. The region produces a lot of Chardonnay—Viré-Clessé and Pouilly-Fuisse are among the best—and a very small amount of red wine from Gamay and Pinot Noir. The soils of Mâconnais remain limestone dominant like in the Côte d’Or, making it a wonderful spot for Chardonnay to thrive. Gamay's home of Beaujolais lies just to the south.