Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune blanc Montagne 382 AOP 2023

A Chardonnay with fullness and drive. On the nose, a touch of reduction and oxidation sits alongside wood and vanilla, without masking the ripe, juicy fruit. The volume stays lively thanks to bright acidity.

The grapes grow in the Montagne de Cras vineyard in Nantoux, a parcel of the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune at 382 metres above sea level. Cras or Crag means "pebble" in Celtic, and it is precisely these pebbles that run through the soil alongside limestone, marl and clay. Of the vineyard's four hectares, three carry vines, while the fourth is a compensation area of scree, hedges and fruit trees; the grassy meadows are home to numerous orchids and rare tree species.

Pure Chardonnay from very densely planted vines: 10,000 vines per hectare, trained in Guyot and Lyre systems. The wine fermented spontaneously and aged for twelve months in pièces with 15% new oak and 35% second-fill barrels, with occasional lees stirring (bâtonnage).

Medium lemon-yellow with a slightly green tinge. The nose shows ripe yellow apples, pears, apricots and citrus fruit, followed by hay, cider apples and a hint of green pineapple. This is joined by pleasant fullness, ripe yet lively acidity, volume from white-fleshed fruit, subtle oak spice, a touch of vanilla, tangy, slightly bitter lemon zest and a fine salinity.

Domaine Boris Champy in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune was the first estate in Burgundy to be Demeter-certified, back in 1984, and has farmed biodynamically ever since; a self-built tisanière supplies the preparations. Boris Champy, who spent ten years at Dominus Estate in Napa Valley before becoming estate director at Clos des Lambrays, took over the property from Didier Montchovet in 2019. The label carries the Demeter logo.