White Burgundy

A big “Thank you” goes out to Roger and Chris Wooley for hosting out May Confrerie White Burgundy tasting.

Roger Wooley gave a brief overview of the Burgundy region and where the wines we were tasting were from. Also, John Montegue was kind enough to speak to what we should look for in these wines as well.

White Burgundy wines are 100% Chardonnay. These wines are full of character and I have heard them referred to as: “The red wine of white wine”. Our starter wines were from the Chablis region of Burgundy.

This is a brief break down of the regions of Burgundy that we tasted.

Chablis: Chablis will have a very pale straw color often with a tinge of green. It is grown on a Jurassic clay and limestone soil called Kimmeridgian that is laden with exogyra virgula (a comma-shaped fossilized mollusk), which lends a defining gout de la pierre a fusil, or gunflint character, to the wines. Chablis is light- or sometimes medium-bodied, but in any case deceptively powerful. The wines have mouthwatering acidity, almost saline in nature, and can age extremely well.

Chassagne-Montrachet: In general these wines are feminine, but not in a girlish sense. Chassagne-Montrachet is usually fuller than its counterparts from Puligny-Montrachet and usually features more densely concentrated fruit.
They are mature, complex and sophisticated with depth and character. There are ripe yellow and green fruits, good spice and perhaps a touch of white flowers.
Puligny-Montrachet: What makes Puligny-Montrachet so special? More than anything else it is the balance and harmony. The result is a finesse and breed that sets Puligny-Montrachet apart. In addition, Pulignys are noted for having a steely, vibrant core in the very center of their flavors. When young, they are lean and hard, but the balance of elements allows aging (6 to 8+ years for a 1er Cru) and consequently the wines develop great complexity.

Meursault: In most cases, Meursault despite an almost olive-oil texture is countered by a precise mineral character, stoniness and a more refined overall palate than, for instance, Chassagne-Montrachet. It shows the unique stony/mineral character that often gets lost when tasting Meursault, as many concentrate on the ripe, hedonistic primary flavors and aromas. It shows the bipolarity of the wine, the interplay of both factors, that makes Meursault one of the most sought after white wines in the world.


We began our tasting with:

Starters
1. 2005 Simonnet-Febvre Chablis
2. 2005 Ch. de Beauregard St. Veran Classique

Flight #1 –Sampling the 4 different area of Burgundy-2006 Vintage
1. Chablis: Louis Michel Montee de Tonnerre 1er Cru
2. Chassagne Montrachet: Pillot Vergers 1 er Cru
3. Puligny Montrachet: Carillon
4. Meursault: Remoissenet Pere & Fils Cuvee Maurice Chevalier

Flight #2-Sampling of 3 consecutive years of Meursault (Not same vineyard)
1. Matrot Blagny 1er Cru 2004
2. Boillot Meursault 2005 3. Matrot Chevalier 2006

Flight#3 2006 Puligny Montrachet, Single producer- 3 separate vineyards.
1. Giradin Champgains 1er Cru
2. Giradin Referts 1er Cru
3. Giradin Vielles Vignes (Old Vines)


The first flight was meant to show the regional differences in the wines from four distinct regions in Burgundy.

Our second flight profiled Meursault. The most common descriptors attached to Meursault are hazelnuts, honey and vanilla for its aromas and creamy for its texture.

The final flight from Puligny Montrachet showed what a single producer can do with fruit from different vineyards, but from within the same region. The wines were concentrated with a depth of fruit and minerality. This would be a fun (expensive) flight to taste in 10 years.