Producer: Domaine Moissenet-Bonnard
Wine: 2020 Auxey-Duresses Blanc L'Argillat
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Harvest/Vinification: The vines are worked to promote aeration of the soil so that the roots can draw on the essence that is the terroir. Grapes are harvested by hand and pressed gently using a pneumatic press, which allows us to adjust the presses according to the grape quality. After a clarification phase, the must is transferred to stainless steel vats for fermentation; once the density reaches about 1020, it is placed in oak barrels (30% of which are new) to age on the lees for 12 months. Stirring takes place every 15 days for 5 months..
Nose: Pale straw color and crystal clarity, matching its aromas of candied citrus fruits, fresh almond and apple with biscuity and mineral (gunflint) notes.
Palate: Mineral, grilled almond and lemon notes, with an agreeably fresh finish.
Food: Perfect with a monkfish terrine, pike with a curry sauce, pan-fried scallops, sole meunière, snails in a puff-pastry case, frog llegs, veal blanquette, grilled potato, chicken chaud-froid. Delicious with cheeses such as Morbier, Bleu de Bresse, Bleu de Gex, Tomme de Brebis, mature Comté. Dessert: Sicilian cassatines with pistachio nougatine, pear crumble with hazelnuts, mirabelle tart, saffron panna cotta with cinnamon biscuits.
Cellaring: Drink now or cellar until 2028
DOMAINE MOISSENET-BONNARD
Pommard, Burgundy
Domaine Moissenet-Bonnard has been in the family for eight generations and was taken over by Jean-Louis Moissenet in 1987. In 2005, he extended the wine-growing estate to the Meursault and Auxey-Duresses appellations. The estate produces nine red wines, four white wines and a Crémant de Bourgogne. The vines are protected from pests and fungal diseases without the use of herbicides or pesticides, and are ploughed in order to obtain healthy vines that dig deep to extract the riches of the soil.
The estate went HVE (Environmentally High Value) in 2014. This certification valid for three years guarantees the methods practiced on the domaine follow strict guidelines for an environmentally friendly approach to viticulture. Focus is on biodiversity, strategic use of non-synthetic products and fertilizers as well as proper usage of water and protection of the water source. The grapes are hand picked, hand sorted, hand selected and then gently pressed pneumatically.
Auxey-Duresses is a village appellation located in the Côte de Beaune region which includes 9 Premiers Cru Climats. The only producing commune is Auxey-Duresses. On the label, the appellation Auxey-Duresses and Auxey-Duressest Premier Cru may be followed by the name of the Climat of origin.
Auxey-Duresses (pronounced “Aussey”) stands at the entrance to a valley which runs from the Côte de Beaune into the Hautes Côtes, following the road that leads from Beaune to Autun amongst hump-backed hillsides. Together with its hamlets of Petit-Auxey and Mélian, Auxey-Duresses is one of Bourgogne’s Celtic and Gallo-Roman wine-growing districts. It was formerly an outlying property of the abbey of Cluny, producing both grains and grapes. Auxey-Duresses was granted its AOC status in 1937.
Auxey-Duresses "Les Fosses"
Covering about one acre, this plot is planted with 30-year old Chardonnay vines. Located on the east slope of Mont Mélian, this plot is very close to the Meursault vineyards. In geological terms, "Les Fosses" means soil fracture (collapse); they have been covered by erosion over millennia.
More information: Wines of Burgundy
