Domaine Buisson-Charles Chablis Beauroy Premier Cru 2019
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This energetic Premier Cru Chablis opens with a pronounced bouquet of white flowers accented with fresh sage and mint. A rich, textured palate rounds out the racy acidity, setting the stage for the elegant, balanced finale.
Several years ago, Michel Buisson, the third-generation vigneron of Buisson-Charles, turned over the reins of this 6.3-hectare domaine to his daughter Catherine and son-in-law Patrick Essa. They, in turn, have now handed them to their son Louis, who vinified the 2019 vintage.
Under Patrick’s leadership, the house has reached new heights, producing wines that show beautiful balance; they are concentrated and rich, yet pure and expressive, featuring both the crystalline purity and opulence of Meursault. Vines are tended organically, and the wines see no chaptalization, acidification, or SO2 added during vinification. They are bottled without fining or filtration.
Louis has followed in his father’s footsteps, espousing the estate’s philosophy that many Meursault are harvested too early and, as a result, are too lean, highly sulfured, and one-dimensional. The picking dates and other growing milestones, such as pruning, are later than most peers to extend the overall vegetative cycle. Following these methods, Bouisson-Charles’ finished wines are richer in style than most while also possessing excellent acidity and tension. Buisson-Charles has holdings among the top vineyards in the Côte de Beaune, including parcels of Meursault vines more than a century old. Both Patrick and Louis believe the terroir, not the winemaking, should determine the taste of the wine, and these creations reflect the essence of their appellations.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The source of the most racy, light and tactile, yet uniquely complex Chardonnay, Chablis, while considered part of Burgundy, actually reaches far past the most northern stretch of the Côte d’Or proper. Its vineyards cover hillsides surrounding the small village of Chablis about 100 miles north of Dijon, making it actually closer to Champagne than to Burgundy. Champagne and Chablis have a unique soil type in common called Kimmeridgian, which isn’t found anywhere else in the world except southern England. A 180 million year-old geologic formation of decomposed clay and limestone, containing tiny fossilized oyster shells, spans from the Dorset village of Kimmeridge in southern England all the way down through Champagne, and to the soils of Chablis. This soil type produces wines full of structure, austerity, minerality, salinity and finesse.
Chablis Grands Crus vineyards are all located at ideal elevations and exposition on the acclaimed Kimmeridgian soil, an ancient clay-limestone soil that lends intensity and finesse to its wines. The vineyards outside of Grands Crus are Premiers Crus, and outlying from those is Petit Chablis. Chablis Grand Cru, as well as most Premier Cru Chablis, can age for many years.