Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton Grand Cru 2021

Domaine Chandon de Briailles dates to 1834 and is run today by the de Nicolay family, who farm biodynamically and work with minimal intervention to let the terroir speak. This Chardonnay comes from the Corton Grand Cru hill on the Côte-d'Or, whose limestone and marl soils are the source of white Burgundy's mineral depth and structure, giving the wine both weight and a firm, saline line. Chardonnay ripens slowly on these cool, well-exposed slopes, retaining acidity for ageing. The wine is fermented and matured in barrel in the traditional manner, where malolactic fermentation softens the sharper malic acidity into a rounder texture, and lees contact and slow oxygen exchange through the oak add a creamy weight and a toasted, nutty complexity. The 2021 is bright gold with a nose of white peach, hazelnut and honey over toasted bread and citrus peel. The palate is full and layered, dry and mineral, with a vanilla note from the oak and a long, savoury finish. Serve at 12 to 14 degrees in a broad white glass.