We aim to have all wines be vintage specific. In the case the listed vintage is out of stock and you note you would like that particular vintage, we will inform you via email for approval to go ahead.
About This Wine
This cracking dry sparkling wine is 100% Chardonnay from a single parcel of vines just north of the Chermette cellars at a place called Le Bois-d’Oingt. It’s a 2.5-hectare southwest-facing site on limestone/clay soil, so perfect for Chardonnay. The wine ages for 18 months in bottle, minimum sulphur is used, it is neither fined nor filtered and very little dosage liqueur is added (4 g/L). Already the story is ahead of the vast majority of Champagne these days!
This shipment is a blend of 2018, 2019 and 2020 and is showing creamier, lemon-curd intensity and more length than previous bottlings—perhaps due to the low yields and warmer vintages involved. There are well-pitched notes of pear, citrus, chamomile, toasted hazelnuts and subtle buttery brioche, while the palate is vinous and focused, balanced by stony acidity. We love the fine, airy bubbles in this wine as well as its fresh, sculpted energy and finesse. If you don’t know this wine, do yourself a favour; French sparkling wine this impressive, and at this price, does not grow on trees.
This shipment is a blend of 2018, 2019 and 2020 and is showing creamier, lemon-curd intensity and more length than previous bottlings—perhaps due to the low yields and warmer vintages involved. There’s well-pitched notes of pear, citrus, chamomile, toasted hazelnuts and subtle buttery brioche, while the palate is vinous and focused, balanced by stony acidity. We love the fine, airy bubbles in this wine as well as its fresh, sculpted energy and finesse. If you don’t know this wine, do yourself a favour: French sparkling wine this impressive and at this price does not grow on trees.
Type | Champagne & Sparkling |
---|---|
Varietal(s) | Chardonnay |
Country | France |
Region | Burgundy |
Brand | Domaine Chermette |
Vintage | NV |
Wines from Burgundy
A legendary wine region setting the benchmark for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay worldwide. In the Jurassic time period, the area was part of a vast, tropical sea. Over hundreds of millions of years, the seabed transformed into various layers of limestone, sandstone and clay soils that have entrapped the fossils of ancient sea creatures. These soils are the secret behind the zesty minerality that Burgundy wines are famous for.
Burgundy is probably the most terroir-centric wine region in France. Huge emphasis is placed on the specific vineyard, soil type, elevation, and angle of slope where the wines were made. This is reflected on the wine's labels where appellations are more prominently displayed compared to the producers’ names.
The most prestigious wines of the region come from a long and narrow escarpment called the Côte d'Or split into the Côte de Nuits to the north and the Côte de Beaune to the south. Côte de Nuits produces many of the world’s finest Pinot Noir’s, all but one of Burgundy’s red Grand Crus are made in this area. Whilst interestingly, the opposite is true for the Côte de Beaune where all but one of the Chardonnay Grand Crus are made. From this information it may seem you should be buying a Pinot from the North and Chardonnay from the south, that is only true for the pinnacle of Burgundian wines. Both outstanding reds and whites are produced throughout the Côte d'Or.
In Burgundy, they use a wine quality tier system that goes:
Grand Crus 1.4% of total production
Premier (1er) Crus 10.2% of total production
Appellations Villages 37.3% of total production
Appellations Regionales 51.1% of total production
When one refers to “Burgundy wines” they are usually talking about those produced in and around the Côte d'Or. While the Chardonnay’s from Chablis and the Gamay’s from Beaujolais are formally apart of the Burgundy wine region, those subregions are generally referred to by their own names rather than being considered “Burgundy wines”.