Girl Power – France: Blanc

Claire Naudin’s family has been working the vineyards in Burgundy since the 1500s, with Claire herself leading the domaine since 1994. Claire’s approach and style to her winemaking very much resemble herself: transparent and open. She believes in healthy vineyards and incorporated a number of biodynamic principles into the vineyards with a minimal intervention approach in the cellars. Majority of the estate’s holdings are in the less-famous Hautes-Côtes, where Claire’s work puts her amongst the top producers of the area. 

Le Clous 34 swims against the stream of most typical Aligoté examples, part of which why the wine is sold as a ‘mere’ Vin de France as opposed to Bourgogne Aligoté AOC. It is sourced from Claire’s oldest plots of Aligoté, some of which are more than 60 years old. The olde vine nature of the plots lead to naturally low yields which concentrate the flavours found in the grapes. True to Claire’s style, the approach in the cellars is very hands-off with only minor sulphur additions, if required. Its aging on lees, combined with the inherent concentration of the fruit, lead to a complex example of Aligoté that demonstrates a wider range of flavours than many expressions of the variety.

Chanterêves was created in 2010 by husband and wife oenologist duo Tomoko Kuriyama and Guillaume Bott. Hailing from Japan, Tomoko had left her home country in pursuit of oenology & viticulture at the renowned Geisenheim in Germany. As a harvest intern in 2005, she met Guillaume and moved to Burgundy permanently in 2011. The wines of Chanterêves are focused on purity and expression of their terroirs, led by Tomoko on a daily basis.  

Tomoko sources the fruit for the Bourgogne Chardonnay from two locations – two-thirds coming from Maranges and the remaining third from Pierres Dorées. Maranges lies at the southern end of the Côte d’Or, while Pierres Dorées is located at the southern tip of Beaujolais, adjacent to Lyon. Pierres Dorées sits on a unique soil of fossiliferous Bajocian limestone which imparts flavours not readily seen in wines of the surrounding areas. The wine receives the same attention and approach as the others within their range – natural fermentation, no fining, only a light filtration when they feel it is needed, with a minimal use of sulphur through the élevage. It spends around 12 months in barrels which vary in size from 228L to 600L.  

The nature of the fruit sources, combined with the warmth of the 2018 vintage adds a sense of generosity while still retaining Chanterêves’ distinct style. 

Around 35 years ago, Jean-Claude and Christiane Oudin returned to their roots in Chablis. They had good albeit stressful jobs in Paris, and the thought of building up a domaine as winegrowers was very appealing. Christiane’s father had a couple of hectares in the small village of Chichée, just south of Chablis. They nurtured domaine up to its current size of 10 hectares, and it is now run by their daughter Nathalie, with help from her sister Isabelle.

Nathalie’s tale is a familiar one amongst many born into wine families. She had initially left the domaine to study biology in the UK, before realising her love and passion for the world of wine and returning to the estate in 2007. She continues a number of initiatives begun by her parents, including ploughing the soils and avoiding the use of chemicals, whilst also taking it a step further by not using herbicides and natural composts. 

Oudin’s Vaucoupin vines are around 65 years old and certified organic. The wine is classic Chablis, fermented and aged in only stainless steel to retain the purity of the limestone soil of the site. It is aged on fine lees which help to add some body and complexity while drawing out the expression of the soil and the site.